Publications

Video

Introduction to Power and Influence for Positive Impact

January 2022
Technical Note

Ethical Analysis: Well-Being and Rights

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Christopher Diak

This note introduces students to two central concepts for ethical analysis: well-being and rights. It illustrates ways in which they figure in managerial decisions and challenges that arise, including how to frame trade-offs across individual well-being and... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Analysis; Rights; Well-being; Management Practices and Processes; Decision Making

November 2021
Article

The Effects of Retirement on Sense of Purpose in Life: Crisis or Opportunity?

By: Ayse Yemiscigil, Nattavudh Powdthavee and Ashley V. Whillans

Does retirement lead to an existential crisis or present an opportunity to experience a renewed sense of purpose in life? Prior research has documented a negative association between retirement and sense of purpose in life, suggesting that retirement could lead people... View Details

Keywords: Aging; Meaning; Socioeconomic Status; Life Experiences; Retirement; Well-being

16 Jun 2023
Blog Post

Actively Addressing Unconscious Bias in Recruiting

The importance of naming and addressing institutional racism has many people focusing on what can be done—as individuals and as employers—to improve diversity, inclusion, and understanding in an organization. Below are several resources... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Article

The Persuasive 'Power' of Stigma?

By: Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Dana R. Carney and Dan Ariely

We predicted that able-bodied individuals and white Americans would have a difficult time saying no to persuasive appeals offered by disabled individuals and black Americans, due to their desire to make such interactions proceed smoothly. In two experiments, we show... View Details

Keywords: Persuasion; Stigma; Interactions; Interracial Relations; Power and Influence; Personal Characteristics; Interpersonal Communication; Attitudes

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Apr 2015
Video

An Economy Doing Half Its Job

Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin discuss the findings of Harvard Business School’s 2013–14 Alumni Survey on U.S. Competitiveness. Their report, "An Economy Doing Half Its Job," focuses on a troubling divergence in the American economy: large and midsize... View Details

Research Summary

Strategy Implementation: Role and Management of the Sales Force

By: Frank V. Cespedes

My research concerns the role and management of the sales force as agents of a firm's business strategy and not only as individual or team contributors to profitable growth. This work takes the form of course development, teaching and workshops in HBS executive... View Details

January 2005 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Parisian: productivity and selling cost

By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han

Presents the dilemma facing George Jones with respect to the high selling cost at Parisian Department Stores. The challenges to be considered reflect issues at different levels of the organization, including individual salespeople, the store itself, and the merchandise... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Executive Compensation; Production; Sales; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry

November 2003 (Revised March 2005)
Compilation

Being a Professional

By: Ashish Nanda

We encounter in all aspects of our daily lives groups of individuals who identify themselves as professionals. Many of us aspire to be professionals in our vocation and conduct. But what are the aspects of being a professional? The following anthology of book excerpts... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Personal Development and Career

Research Summary

Overview

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan

How do people manage their professional identity alongside other identities traditionally considered outside the domain of work, such as identities stemming from their family roles, personal values, race, class, gender, and nationality? Professor Ramarajan’s research... View Details

Research Summary

Can Gambling Increase Savings? Empirical Evidence on Prize-linked Savings Accounts

This paper studies whether prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts, which offer random, lottery-like payouts to account holders in lieu of risk-free interest, can aid individuals in increasing savings levels by adding the chance to “win big.” Using micro-level data from... View Details

Keywords: Lottery; Banking; Saving; Commercial Banking; Africa

Article

Trust: The Foundation of Leadership

By: Frances Frei and Anne Morriss

The authors contend that if leadership is about empowering others, in your presence and your absence, then trust is the emotional framework that allows that service to be freely exchanged. Based on their experiences advising individuals and organizations, their basic... View Details

Keywords: Trustworthiness; Authenticity; Empathy; Trust; Leadership; Competency and Skills; Behavior

2017
Working Paper

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

By: Rafael Di Tella, Lucia Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom and Mariano Sigman

We study desensitization to crime in a lab experiment by showing footage of criminal acts to a group of subjects, some of whom have been previously victimized. We measure biological markers of stress and behavioral indices of cognitive control before and after treated... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Attitudes; Perspective; Behavior

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This paper analyzes interactions between agents who are overconfident regarding their own future self-control relative to others. The paper considers the problem of incentivizing several such agents, and compares two methods: assigning work individually to each... View Details

2008
Working Paper

Workplace Peers and Entrepreneurship

By: Ramana Nanda and Jesper B. Sorensen

We examine whether the likelihood of entrepreneurial activity is related to the prior career experiences of an individual's co-workers, using a unique matched employer-employee panel dataset. We argue that coworkers can increase the likelihood that an individual... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence

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Web

Faculty & Research

existing understanding of the psychological concept of personal identity. Apparently, people can psychologically represent people, including themselves, as multiple individuals at the same time. Here we ask whether the intransitive... View Details

13 Nov 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion

Keywords: by Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

July 2007
Case

Kroger Union Negotiations 2005

By: Dennis A. Yao and Mary L. Shelman

A stylized version of the negotiations between Kroger Company and its local unions during 2005. Management faces a sequence of individual negotiations with local unions in addition to meeting the new competitive challenges presented by Wal-Mart's expansion in the... View Details

Keywords: Labor and Management Relations; Labor Unions; Reputation; Wages; Management; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Style; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

November 2006
Case

Kroger Union Negotiations

By: Dennis A. Yao

A stylized version of the negotiations between Kroger Company and its local unions during the mid-1980s. Management faces a sequence of individual negotiations with local unions during a time of weak economic performance when management is seriously considering... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Wages; Management; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics