Publications

Read Now

June 14, 2023
Article

How New CEOs Establish Legitimacy

By: Nitin Nohria

CEOs are given the authority to lead by the rules of corporate governance. They gain additional influence and credibility by demonstrating competence. CEOs who achieve legitimacy have a higher level of trust and influence. This legitimacy will be gained by consistently... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Leadership Style; Power and Influence; Trust; Competency and Skills

Read Now

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Companies, Cultures and the Transformation to the Transnational

of doing things" and shape its international organization structure and processes. Business historian Alfred Chandler has traced the influence of the cultural values and social structures on British... View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

Teaching Interest

Overview

Business, Government, and the International Economy (BGIE) is a course about the broad economic and political context in which business operates. Throughout their careers business leaders are asked to formulate and lead their firm's responses to the external... View Details

Keywords: International Economy; Macroeconomics; Political Economy

Teaching Interest

Business, Government, and the International Economy

Business, Government, and the International Economy (BGIE) is a course about the broad economic and political context in which business operates. Throughout their careers business leaders are asked to formulate and lead their firm's responses to the external... View Details

Keywords: International Economy; Macroeconomics

2003
Book

The Monied Metropolis: New York City and the Consolidation of the American Bourgeoisie, 1850–1896

By: Sven Beckert

This book, first published in 2001, is a comprehensive history of the most powerful group in the nineteenth-century United States: New York City's economic elite. This small and diverse group of Americans accumulated unprecedented economic, social, and political power,... View Details

Keywords: Literacy; Income; Identity; Culture; Economics; Power and Influence

Find at Harvard

Article

Visual Attention to Powerful Postures: People Avert Their Gaze from Nonverbal Dominance Displays

By: Elise Holland, Elizabeth Baily Wolf, Christine Looser and Amy Cuddy

This paper investigates whether humans avert their gaze from individuals engaging in nonverbal displays of dominance. Although past studies demonstrate that both humans and nonhuman primates direct more visual attention to high-status others than low-status others,... View Details

Keywords: Nonverbal Behavior; Eye-tracking; Dominance; Nonverbal Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Power and Influence

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Current working papers

Organizational restructuring: the influence of formal and informal structure on tie formation. This paper considers how changes in formal structure and a key element of informal structure – the embeddedness of employee... View Details

January 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Elon Musk at Tesla

By: George Serafeim and Amram Migdal

This case gives an overview of Elon Musk’s career arc through the lens of the 2003 founding of Tesla and its growth through 2022. Background information is included on Tesla’s unique strategic decisions, its operational and reputational struggles and successes, and the... View Details

December 2019
Article

The Ethical Perils of Personal, Communal Relations: A Language Perspective

By: Maryam Kouchaki, Francesca Gino and Yuval Feldman

The current paper focuses on how the type of relationship that exists between a group and its members influences misconduct by fostering certain perceptions of the group. Using multiple methods, lab- and field-based experiments (N = 1,679), and a large dataset of S&P... View Details

Keywords: Language; Codes Of Conduct; Ethics; Communication; Perception; Behavior

Find at Harvard

March 2001 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Katharine Graham

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Lisa M. Gunther and Dina R. Pradel

Details the career of Katharine Graham of the Washington Post Co., a pioneer in her field and one of the first high-profile women to lead a major public company. Her story is a unique example of how power and expertise are built over time, and differs from those of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Journalism and News Industry

January 2025
Module Note

Understanding and Addressing Gender Gaps

By: Katherine Coffman

This module provides a framework for students to analyze how gender stereotypes, through their impact on beliefs about others and beliefs about ourselves, contribute to gender gaps in the workplace. The module proceeds in three parts. First, through a case and an... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Gender; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Prejudice and Bias

November 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Iggy's Bread of the World

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Alexis Lefort

In January 1994, Igor and Ludmilla Ivanovic opened the doors of their bakery, Iggy's Bread of the World. This case describes their unusual mission statement and the way in which they try to bring a social consciousness mentality to a for-profit business. Six years... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Restructuring; Family Business; Power and Influence; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Massachusetts

June 2013
Case

Ron Ventura at Mitchell Memorial Hospital

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Heide Abelli

Mitchell Memorial Hospital is a 750-bed regional academic medical center in Ohio. Andy Prescott, Chief of the Cardiovascular Center, is reviewing the performance evaluations of his star vascular surgeon Ron Ventura. The evaluations, the result of a 360-degree... View Details

Keywords: Performance Expectations; Conflict Management; Behavior; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Resignation and Termination; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Evaluation; Health Industry; Ohio

Research Summary

Research Overview

Globalization and innovation are two key forces that will shape individual and business success in the 21st century. To thrive, individuals and organizations must collaborate effectively across cultural lines to solve pressing business problems and develop new products... View Details

13 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

From Turf Wars to Learning Curves: How Hospitals Adopt New Technology

employed by the hospitals in which they work. The resulting social interactions between these individuals and groups within hospitals provide a fruitful setting for examining issues that are of relevance to organizations in a broader... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Health

November 2023
Case

Will Fintechs and Central Banks Play in Emtech's Sandbox?

By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr

In February 2023, Emtech’s founder Carmelle Cadet is facing a dilemma. Rapidly running out of cash, Cadet has a term sheet from a leading VC but has a choice of how to structure the investment. The decision will have significant implications for Cadet’s own stake, as... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Cash Flow; Currency; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Digital Platforms

October 2001
Background Note

A Note on Team Process

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

When tasks are highly complex, demand a diversity of skills, or require a commitment from the involved parties, teams are usually the most effective way to approach them. But a group of people working together does not automatically equally a team, and groups are often... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Decision Making; Management; Business Processes; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Efficiency; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution

05 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 5, 2009

literature on inter-firm relations. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-126.pdf Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network? Authors:Raghuram Iyengar, Sangman Han, and Sunil Gupta... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Top Executive Background and Corporate M&A: The Case of Former Investment Bankers

By: Francois Brochet and Kyle Welch

We study the M&A activity of firms with top executives whose employment history includes experience in a Wall Street firm, especially those with investment banking background ("IB executives"). In terms of strategy, controlling for firm-level effects, we document that... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Reputation; Investment Banking; Financial Reporting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Social and Collaborative Networks; Goodwill Accounting; Power and Influence; Banking Industry