Empirical Operations Management - Publications - Faculty & Research

09 Apr 2025
News

The Working Parent Revolution

parents in the last decade. What are people reacting to? SK: Certainly this idea of managing both productivity at work and having a good family life has been something that's been really important forever. And the reality is there are... View Details

22 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

The COVID-19 Mutiny: When Teams Leave and Take Their Clients

"The biggest transition? Establishing a new Zoom account." Leadership integration—ensuring a fit between the acquiring firm’s top management and the team leader—has become part of the courtship phase. And remote work has radically... View Details

Keywords: by Robin Abrahams, Boris Groysberg, and Steven L. Manchel

18 Oct 2024
News

My Worst Job

muck. Somehow chicken wing bones would find their way into my shoes. When my mother would pick me up, the stench was so bad, she would roll down all the car windows, even in the dead of winter. It was easily the worst job I ever had. But I learned the responsibility of... View Details

01 Sep 2012
News

Faculty Books

How did the United States lose its leading edge in producing innovative goods and services? Pisano, the Harry E. Figgie Jr. Professor of Business Administration, and Shih, professor of management practice, demonstrate the disastrous... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

10 Jul 2023
News

Why Everyone Is Mad about New York’s AI Hiring Law

28 May 2013
Research & Ideas

Can LEGO Snap Together a Future in Asia?

Mintzberg argued that strategic planning techniques (such as scenario planning) do not work well for organizations because they typically fail to engage business managers and remain detached from everyday action. But Mikes says the... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

20 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Misgovernance at the World Bank

development projects around the globe. The study, by Harvard Law School student Ashwin Kaja and HBS professor Eric Werker, is detailed in the working paper "Corporate Misgovernance at the World Bank" [PDF]. Theirs is the first known study to View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

03 Nov 2022
Op-Ed

Feeling Separation Anxiety at Your Startup? 5 Tips to Soothe These Growing Pains

worries, friend.” Customer Support Rep: “Keep me in the loop too, all. I want to be prepared if customers start asking questions about the new layout or pricing changes.” CTO: “You got it, friend.” Operations Tech: “Yo, after lunch today... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

02 Sep 2018
News

Havana Rising

When hotel manager Alessandro Benedetti worked for Kempinski chain locations in Spain and Switzerland, morning meetings were a time to go over the numbers and discuss strategy for the days ahead. But ever since Benedetti moved to Havana... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; photographed by Eve North

10 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 10

economic harm that system operators could prevent or mitigate. Although the legal system can respond, regulations have mixed results. I examine the applicable legal rules that constrain online fraud and the economic underpinnings to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

25 Aug 2022
News

Action Plan: Fired Up

growth at a 26-year-old regional business. Its self-described “Traegerite” customers were intensely loyal to the company’s signature wood pellet–fired grills and smokers. But he didn’t anticipate the challenge of managing a disgruntled,... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; company culture; barbecue; entertaining; food; marketing; brand

05 Aug 2010
What Do You Think?

What Is Customer Opinion Good For?

research and shoring up the weakest, all competitors' products take on the same characteristics. As she puts it, "Meanwhile, the very instruments that these managers are relying on to establish and reinforce differentiation—competitive... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Technology

17 Aug 2022
News

Keeping Your Team Motivated When the Company Is Struggling

20 Aug 2021
News

Let Your Top Performers Move Around the Company

01 Sep 2022
News

Work-Life Supports That Truly Help Your Organization

September 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Electronic Arts: The Blockbuster Strategy

Describes the process that the firm employs to allocate resources to new product development projects. Examines whether the firm can sustain its competitive advantage given its existing game design process. View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Competitive Advantage; Decision Making; Product Development; Video Game Industry

Citation

Educators

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September 2010 (Revised January 2014)
Supplement

Aspen Skiing Company (D)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Having begun improving the environmental performance of its own operations, Aspen Skiing Company is considering "greening" its supply chain and lobbying for greenhouse gas regulations. A world-renowned ski resort vulnerable to global climate change, Aspen's activities... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Supply Chain; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; Aspen

Citation

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25 Sep 2017
News

Challenge for Honeywell’s New CEO: Keep Up the Winning Streak

Profile

Claire Freidman

Why was earning your MBA at HBS important to you? Prior to business school, I spent five years working in finance. My clients were entertainment companies and I knew I wanted to switch careers and work on the operations or strategic side... View Details

Keywords: Investment Management / Hedge Fund; Investment Management / Hedge Fund; Investment Management / Hedge Fund