Publications

May 2011
Background Note

Scale Effects, Network Effects, and Investment Strategy

By: Willy Shih

This technical note discusses scale economies, and direct and indirect network effects in the context of building better business models. Some of the great business disasters of the dot.com bubble were companies that scaled their infrastructure without working through... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Investment; Price; Crisis Management; Network Effects; Multi-Sided Platforms; Strategy

06 Feb 2011
News

Why Some Twitter Posts Catch On, and Some Don't

June 2007
Tutorial

Congruence Model Tutorial

By: Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings

Utilizes Beer & Tushman's SMA: Microelectronic Products Division (A) case to explore O'Reilly and Tushman's congruence model. Participants learn about the model through a series of video presentations and become familar with the problems facing SMA through an... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Mathematical Methods; Electronics Industry

December 1998 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Han Young Labor Dispute (A), The

Examines the evolution of a labor dispute at the Han Young maquiladora in Tijuana, Mexico. The dispute began over union representation at a 120-worker company, but soon escalated into a source of tension between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and a test for the... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; International Relations; Labor Unions; Trade; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Government Relations; Canada; United States; Mexico

Find at Harvard

September 2023
Article

The Dynamics of Team Learning: Harmony and Rhythm in Teamwork Arrangements for Innovation

By: Jean-François Harvey, Johnathan R. Cromwell, Kevin J. Johnson and Amy C. Edmondson

Innovation teams must navigate inherent tensions between different learning activities to produce high levels of performance. Yet, we know little about how teams combine these activities—notably reflexive, experimental, vicarious, and contextual learning—most... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Learning; Performance Effectiveness; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

Read Now

November 2022
Case

GE: A New Way Forward?

By: David J. Collis and Haisley Wert

One of the most iconic American companies, General Electric (GE) was founded in 1892 in New York state. Named among the original dozen companies on the Dow Jones index in 1896, it was the list’s most tenacious holdout, maintaining its “blue chip” stock status for over... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; GE; Conglomerate; Conglomerates; Corporate Strategy; Management; History; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Change Management; Transformation; Strategic Planning; Value Creation; New York (state, US)

2017
Case

Uncommon Schools (A): A Network of Networks

By: John J-H Kim and Sarah McAra

In 2013, Brett Peiser, CEO of the charter school management organization (CMO) Uncommon Schools, is reassessing the nonprofit’s strategy. For nearly 10 years, Uncommon had fulfilled its mission to bring high-quality education to students in low-income, urban areas... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Nonprofit Organizations; Teaching; Talent Management; Innovation; Organization Structure; Education; Early Childhood Education; Middle School Education; Organizational Structure; Performance Consistency; Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Education Industry

Read Now

August 2010
Article

Sell-Side School Ties

By: Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Andrea Frazzini

We study the impact of social networks on agents' ability to gather superior information about firms. Exploiting novel data on the educational backgrounds of sell-side equity analysts and senior officers of firms, we test the hypothesis that analysts' school ties to... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Knowledge Acquisition; Social and Collaborative Networks

July 2024
Article

Chatbots and Mental Health: Insights into the Safety of Generative AI

By: Julian De Freitas, Ahmet Kaan Uğuralp, Zeliha Uğuralp and Stefano Puntoni

Chatbots are now able to engage in sophisticated conversations with consumers. Due to the ‘black box’ nature of the algorithms, it is impossible to predict in advance how these conversations will unfold. Behavioral research provides little insight into potential safety... View Details

Keywords: Autonomy; Chatbots; New Technology; Brand Crises; Mental Health; Large Language Model; AI and Machine Learning; Behavior; Well-being; Technological Innovation; Ethics

2018
Working Paper

Do We See the Same Hierarchy? Status Disagreement in Multicultural Teams and Its Impact on Team Performance

By: Catarina Fernandes and Sujin Jang

This paper develops and tests a theory of status disagreement in multicultural teams. We posit that, in multicultural teams, the diversity of members’ cultural backgrounds will lead to implicit disagreements about who has how much status in the team. More specifically,... View Details

Keywords: Status; Social Hierarchies; Multicultural Teams; Team Performance; Team Diversity; Status and Position; Groups and Teams; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Performance

February 2016
Article

Labor Unemployment Insurance and Earnings Management

By: Yiwei Dou, Mozaffar N. Khan and Youli Zou

There is relatively little prior evidence on the potential impact of rank and file employees on financial reporting choices outside union negotiations. We contribute to the literature by providing new evidence that firms appear to manage long-run earnings upward in... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Employment; Insurance; Financial Reporting

SSRN

Find at Harvard

January 2002 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Space Data Corporation

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Jay Wynn

Space Data Corp. plans to partner with the U.S. National Weather Service to place transceivers on weather balloons and thereby create a national mobile communications network. The company is in the late development stages and is planning to launch a regional test that... View Details

Keywords: Wireless Technology; Business Startups; Business Processes; Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships; Opportunities; Telecommunications Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

16 May 2016
HBS Seminar

Jared Curhan, MIT Sloan School of Management

Research Summary

Statistical Methodology

William Simpson is developing methods of inference to use when assumptions of standard models are not met. He has created a hypothesis test to use for ipsative variables that adjusts for the non-zero correlations among variables expected under the null hypothesis. ... View Details

30 Nov 2019
News

Elon Musk and the Dying Art of the Big Bet

15 Jun 2016
News

Why Sourcing Local Food Is So Hard for Restaurants

Teaching Interest

Startup Operations

By: Julia B. Austin

Startup Operations is designed to provide hands-on guidance through the early stages of building your business. Students will test assumptions and hypotheses to evolve their product, build their strategic and operating roadmaps, create organizational plans and... View Details

June 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Ducati Corse

By: Francesca Gino and Andrew P. McAfee

Ducati Corse, the racing arm of Ducati Motorcycles, has entered the Moto GP circuit with a completely new bike. This bike was designed and tested using a great deal of information technology. After a very successful initial season, the Ducati Moto GP team sees... View Details

Keywords: Design; Business Strategy; Product Marketing; Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Change Management; Research and Development; Motorcycle Industry; Italy