Publications

18 Dec 2017
Op-Ed

Why Employers Must Stop Requiring College Degrees For Middle-Skill Jobs

Credit: Pixsooz American companies have a problem. Over the past decade, they have begun to demand a bachelor’s degree in hiring workers for jobs that traditionally haven’t required one. This uptick in credentialing, or “degree inflation,” rested on the belief that... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller

08 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Knowing What Your Boss Earns Can Make You Work Harder

sure employees were being honest in their beliefs about others’ compensation, the researchers, working with the bank’s HR department, offered monetary rewards for employees who accurately guessed the average salaries of others. They found... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

31 Aug 2020
What Do You Think?

Why Don’t More Organizations Understand the Power of Diversity and Inclusion?

tell us. Inclusion is related to such things as “voice”—the belief by workers that they are heard—as well as recognition and equal opportunity in rewards and promotions. Harder to quantify than diversity, inclusion is more nuanced and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Article

The Big Five Personality Traits, Material Values, and Financial Well-being of Self-described Money Managers

By: Grant Edward Donnelly, Ravi Iyer and Ryan Howell

Previous research has linked personality traits, material values, and money management to savings, debt, and compulsive buying. To extend previous research, four online surveys examined the Big Five personality traits and material values of those who manage their money... View Details

Keywords: Values; Personality; Well-being; Personal Characteristics; Values and Beliefs; Personal Finance; Money

Find at Harvard

November 2016
Case

Jollibee Foods Corporation

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

When Tony Tan Caktiong stepped down as president and CEO of Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) in mid-2014, Ernesto Tanmantiong, his younger brother, succeeded him. In 2016, the brothers were working together to realize the company’s vision of making JFC a truly... View Details

Keywords: Values; Vision; Fast Food; Values and Beliefs; Goals and Objectives; Expansion; Philippines

June 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Larry Miller

By: Francesca Gino, Frances X. Frei, Hise Gibson and Alicia Dadlani

Under the leadership of Larry Miller, chairman and former president of Nike’s Air Jordan brand, annual revenues for the Jordan brand soared from $150 million to over $4 billion. But for over 40 years, Miller guarded a secret. When he was younger, he spent nearly a... View Details

Keywords: Race; Ethnicity; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Job Offer; Employment; Social Issues; Perspective; Personal Development and Career; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States; Pennsylvania; Philadelphia; Portland; Oregon

November 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Starbucks: Reaffirming Commitment to the Third Place Ideal

By: Francesca Gino, Katherine B. Coffman and Jeff Huizinga

On April 12, 2018, two African American entrepreneurs had scheduled a business meeting at a Starbucks in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. They sat without ordering, waiting for a local businessman to show up for the meeting. The store manager called 911... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Prejudice and Bias; Crisis Management; Employees; Training

October 2010 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Building a Developmental Culture: The Birth of Deloitte University

By: Boris Groysberg, Maureen Gibbons and Joshua Bronstein

It is October 2009 and Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte LLP, has just returned from the groundbreaking of Deloitte University. When completed, Deloitte University would be a world class learning and development center owned by, and for the exclusive use by the employees... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Teams; Competency and Skills; Training; Employees; Values and Beliefs; Education Industry; Consulting Industry; United States

October 2011 (Revised December 2022)
Background Note

Ethical Analysis: Moral Disengagement

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Celia Moore

Moral disengagement is a process that enables people to engage in negative behaviors, from small misdeeds to great atrocities, without believing that they are causing harm or doing wrong. When Conrad Black, the fallen Canadian mogul convicted of multiple counts of... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Social Psychology; Values and Beliefs

July 2021
Case

'Why I Blew the Whistle': Mauro Botta v. PwC

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and Sarah Mehta

Set in April 2021, this case tells the story of Mauro Botta, a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In 2016, Botta filed a whistleblower claim with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that PwC had failed to fulfill its obligations to remain... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Governance; Corporate Governance; Accounting Industry; United States; California; San Jose

2022
Working Paper

The Gender Gap in Confidence: Expected But Not Accounted For

By: Christine L. Exley and Kirby Nielsen

We investigate how the gender gap in confidence affects the views that evaluators (e.g., employers) hold about men and women. If evaluators fail to account for the confidence gap, it may cause overly pessimistic views about women. Alternatively, if evaluators expect... View Details

Keywords: Confidence; Experiments; Gender; Perception; Values and Beliefs; Performance Evaluation; Analysis

Read Now

15 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Women Leaders and Organizational Change

that is necessary to make the changes in organizations that we are advocating involves the capacity to reflect on and learn from our own life and experience; to solicit and integrate feedback from others; to remain continually open to reevaluating our View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

October 2022
Case

Weapons of Self Destruction: Zak Pym Williams and the Cultivation of Mental Wellness

By: Lauren Cohen, Ronnie Stangler and Grace Headinger

Zak Pym Williams, mental health advocate, grappled with the question of how to create a proactive mental health family environment for his children. Having witnessed how mental health challenges such as addiction and depression had impacted the past four generations of... View Details

Keywords: Family; U.S.; Mental Health; Family Business; Entertainment; Values and Beliefs; Ethics; Leading Change; Family and Family Relationships; Well-being; Social Issues; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; California

05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

Eiichi Shibusawa continues to gain influence in Japan—even though he died almost a century ago. Japan’s government announced earlier this year that the 19th century business leader would be the face on 10,000 yen ($90) bank notes—the highest value denomination in... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

15 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Americans Voted for an Income Tax

explained why he supported higher taxes on higher incomes: "As a country that values fairness, wealthier individuals have traditionally borne a greater share of this [tax] burden than the middle class or those less fortunate [This is] a basic reflection of our... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew C. Weinzierl

06 Dec 2017
What Do You Think?

Is It Time To Break Up Amazon, Apple, Facebook, or Google?

on a belief voiced by some that they are evil, destroy jobs, avoid taxes, lie to regulators, or provide a weapon for Russia. Rather, he is concerned about the way they have benefitted from (and perhaps caused) market failure. He asks,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology; Web Services

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

rely on the reputation of the nonprofit and the belief they have that the organization is doing, and will continue to do, good work. Edelman PR tracks consumer trust in global brands and has found that many global NGOs such as Amnesty... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

March 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells and Carole A. Winkler

In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States in November 2016 had triggered a national storm of protests, and many attributed Trump’s victory to... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

April 2017 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must... View Details