Publications

09 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

The Manager in Red Sneakers

station—to answer survey questions about potential clients entering a luxury boutique, some dressed down in gym clothes and a Swatch watch and others wearing elegant dresses, fur coats, and Rolex watches. Shop assistants well aware that... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Micro Insurance Agency: Helping the Poor Manage Risk

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

The notable success of insurance products for low-income clients of its microfinance network leads Opportunity International to launch the first global specialized microinsurance company, the Micro Insurance Agency (MIA). Building on the experience in 10 countries... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost Management; Microfinance; Globalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Nonprofit Organizations; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America

01 Dec 1998
News

Managing the Business of Life

interview, we catch up with the group for another update. Not surprisingly, much has changed over the past decade in their households and in their careers. In the profiles that follow, our protagonists once again candidly discuss how they are View Details

03 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Managing Web Advertising Affiliates

better to manage these programs in-house or to use outside experts. . Power Of The Network Affiliate networks slash the cost of buying ads for sellers through the use of advertising marketplaces. In essence, sellers are able to place... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Advertising; Publishing

10 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

High Note: Managing the Medici String Quartet

Why would a business school professor want to write a case study about a string quartet? The answer was easy for Robert Austin, a scholar with research expertise in the management of innovation. While attending an academic workshop near... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Music

29 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement

saw potential in sports endorsements in the television age. McCormack informed Palmer that he was planning to start up a business revolving around personal business managers or "agents" handling professional golfers' affairs.... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Sports

03 Dec 2014
What Do You Think?

Can the Brilliant Jerk Be Managed Effectively?

problems for colleagues. They are demanding to the point of being abusive, they make promises to clients that their colleagues cannot meet, they take too much credit for success, and they generally are unable to adhere to commonly shared... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Partners - Managing the Future of Work

Partners Partners The Managing the Future of Work project thanks our partners, who play a key role in supporting our research helping business leaders, policy makers, and education and workforce institutions better navigate the unique... View Details

August 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Accenture Human Capital Strategy

By: Paula A. Price, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Accenture is a leading global consulting, technology, and outsourcing company. It has clients and its own operations throughout the world. This case describes the human resources and related activities necessary to deliver its services to clients. It allows students to... View Details

Keywords: Management Consulting; Technology Consulting; Outsourcing; Human Resources; Activity Based Costing and Management; Management Practices and Processes

13 Sep 2019
Blog Post

An Uncommon Summer: Project Management at an Education Non-Profit

stored, used, and collaborated on information in eight digital systems and their knowledge management practice was, in their words, “a nightmare.” The team’s leadership acknowledged these problems but didn’t have the capacity to work... View Details

October 2014 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Sanford C. Bernstein Goes to Asia

By: Linda A. Hill, Dana M. Teppert and Allison J. Wigen

Sanford C. Bernstein, a premier sell-side research firm, is expanding globally. Three years after launching Bernstein's Asian business, senior management has appointed Ghislain de Charentenay, a six-year sales veteran of the firm, as director of Asian research in Hong... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Talent Management; Leadership; Talent and Talent Management; Organizational Design; Emerging Markets; Globalization; Hong Kong

November 2014 (Revised February 2016)
Case

DoubleDutch

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Matthew G. Preble

Lawrence Coburn and Pankaj Prasad, co-founders of the event solution startup DoubleDutch, have to make a significant decision about their young company's sales function. DoubleDutch's key product was a mobile application (app) and event management platform that... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Marketing Management; Strategy Implementation; Business Marketing; Sales Force Management; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Technology Industry; United States; Europe; Asia

05 Mar 2001
What Do You Think?

Fine Coupling: Can Human Resource Management Learn from Supply Chain Management?

To some degree, this has exacerbated the challenge to those responsible for staffing these activities by creating more frequent peaks and valleys in demands for talent. Are there lessons for human resource management in what is being done... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Transformation at ING (A): Agile

By: William R. Kerr, Federica Gabrieli and Emer Moloney

In December 2017, Vincent van den Boogert, CEO of ING in the Netherlands, was reflecting upon the company’s “agile” transformation, a reorganization of work that had been critical to respond to and exceed rapidly changing customer expectations. Launched in 2015 at the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change; Organizational Management; Workforce; Agile; Change Management; Leadership; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Leading Change; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Banking Industry

March 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Transition at DataCo?

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Carin-Isabel Knoop

The founder of a data analytics company, Stefan Brecht, has several issues with his key business developer and head of marketing and sales, Tamara Smithson. Smithson, an early hire who had been instrumental in building the firm; operates as an individual contributor;... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Performance Management; Professional Services; Salesforce Management; Sales; Marketing; Performance; Consulting Industry; United States; France

January 2017
Teaching Note

Transition at DataCo?

By: Frank V. Cespedes

The founder of a data analytics company has several issues with his key business developer, an early hire who has been instrumental in building the firm. The DataCo case study illustrates a common situation in entrepreneurial ventures: an early sales hire does well but... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Performance Management; Professional Services; Salesforce Management; Sales; Marketing; Performance; Consulting Industry; United States; France

2023
Working Paper

When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement

By: Ryan W. Buell, Wei Cai and Tatiana Sandino

Gamified training is a novel management control system in which companies use gamification techniques to engage and motivate employees to learn. This study empirically examines the performance consequences of gamified training using data from a natural field... View Details

Keywords: Gamified Training; Management Control Systems; Employee Engagement; Employees; Learning; Training; Motivation and Incentives; Performance