Publications

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March 2010
Article

Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper develops a theory of the firm in which a firm's centralized asset ownership and low-powered incentives give the manager, as an equilibrium outcome, interpersonal authority over employees (in a world with open disagreement). The paper thus provides... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Assets; Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Governance Controls; Power and Influence; Projects; Perspective; Employees

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02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

December 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

BRF

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In 2015, BRF's new leadership team is transforming several aspects of the Brazilian protein giant, which had grown sluggish after the 2011 merger that created it. Underlying their reforms are the common goals of reducing bureaucracy, streamlining decision making, and,... View Details

2007
Working Paper

Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper develops a theory of the firm in which a firm's centralized asset ownership and low-powered incentives give a manager 'interpersonal authority' over employees (in a world with differing priors). The paper derives such interpersonal authority as... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Employee Relationship Management; Managerial Roles; Motivation and Incentives; Boundaries; Theory

SSRN

October 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Kinetic Concepts, Inc.

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Dwight B. Crane and Ashley Robertson

Raises issues about how the nature and function of a board changes as a company moves from ownership by its employees, including the founder, to ownership by a private equity firm, Fremont Partners, culminating in a highly successful IPO. Gives students the opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Governing and Advisory Boards; Initial Public Offering; Behavior; Organizations; Employee Ownership; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; United States

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10 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

Truth Be Told: Unpacking the Risks of Whistleblowing

things, they can resolve it internally more quickly and in a more efficient way than if it goes to regulators. Although we don’t study this, I think it could also empower employees to feel ownership of the... View Details

Keywords: by April White

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

[This is the sixth installment in a monthly series on management issues in the time of COVID-19.] We recently asked 600 CEOs: What is keeping you awake at night during this global pandemic? A major and multifaceted concern that emerged is how to keep View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

September 2001 (Revised October 2018)
Case

DIENA

By: Robert Simons and Indra Reinbergs

Requires students to draw a new organization structure diagram for a rapidly evolving business. A/S DIENA is a newspaper publisher founded during Latvia's 1990/91 struggle for independence from the USSR with a clear social mission to support democracy. With the help of... View Details

Keywords: Employee Ownership; Organizational Design; Marketing Strategy; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development; Economic Systems; Publishing Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Latvia

31 May 2004
Research & Ideas

How Team Leaders Show Support–or Not

What do leaders do to make employees in creative functions feel supported or not? That was one of the research questions posed by Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile and colleagues in what has turned into a penetrating study... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

14 Jun 2016
First Look

June 14, 2016

now exist to protect employees from blatant forms of discrimination in hiring and promotion, but workplace discrimination persists in latent forms. These “second-generation” forms of bias arise in workplace structures, practices, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2017 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Dinesh Moorjani and Hatch Labs

By: Christopher Stanton, Shikhar Ghosh, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

This case is about Tinder. It discusses different business models and ways of structuring the initial team. With a $6 million investment from IAC/Interactive in 2010, Dinesh Moorjani founded Hatch Labs to build mobile apps. His mission was to attract entrepreneurial... View Details

Keywords: Returns; Incubator; Mobile App; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Model; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Talent and Talent Management; Valuation; Equity; Finance; United States; North America

March 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Harmonic Hearing Co.

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Craig H. Stephenson

Harmonic is a small, privately held manufacturer of hearing aids. Harriet Burns and Marc Davis, two employees at Harmonic, have an opportunity to purchase the company from the founder. As well-informed insiders who understand the industry, Burns and Davis believe the... View Details

Keywords: Debts; Quantitative Analysis; Financing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Development Stage Enterprises; Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Small Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Cash Flow; Mathematical Methods; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Manufacturing Industry

November 2011 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Underwater Engineer at Intel Corporation

By: E. Scott Mayfield

Molly Miller, an Intel employee and shareholder, must decide whether to vote FOR or AGAINST Intel's proposed 2009 option exchange program. Given recent declines in Intel's stock price, more than 99% of Intel's outstanding employee stock options are "underwater," and... View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Semiconductor Industry

October 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

3PLex.com

By: Myra M. Hart and Judith Marie Dror

A start-up team is faced with the challenge of building a senior management team with relevant industry experience. The marriage of e-commerce and the transportation logistics industry creates unusual problems in blending "old economy" employees and employee practices... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Executive Compensation; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Organizational Culture; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technology Adoption; Transportation Industry

November 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Ottawa Devices, Inc. (B)

By: Henry B. Reiling and Harry Clegg Midgley IV

The Rollins family assembly was meeting to discuss and decide which one or combination from among an estate freeze, installment sale of stock, ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), leveraged capitalization, annual gifts of stock, one-time outright gift of stock, or... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Property; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Stocks; Business Exit or Shutdown; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Family Business; Human Needs; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

September 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

PDS: Ring-Fencing the Ranch

By: Dennis Campbell, Tarun Khanna and Kerry Herman

Pallak Seth, Group CEO of PDS Multinational Fashions, is contemplating options to bring better collaboration across his global apparel supply chain platform. PDS, a group of 50-plus subsidiary companies, each led by its own CEO and with different apparel industry... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Supply Chain Management; Performance; Partners and Partnerships; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Apparel and Accessories Industry

21 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The New Math of Customer Relationships

It's the E=MC2 of customer loyalty. Deeply satisfied employee = deeply satisfied customer = lifelong profit. Harvard Business School professor emeritus Jim Heskett and professor Earl Sasser have pursued this seemingly simple equation in... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2013
Supplement

Elasto Therm: The Next Step (Video Supplement)

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Video Supplement for Elasto Therm: The Next Step (HBS Case #813030). View Details

July 2002
Case

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Mentoring Program, The (A)

By: David A. Thomas and Gina Carioggia

Describes steps taken to implement and manage a successful employee mentoring program at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. A cultural change at the bank provided the context out of which the program grew. The case describes the development of the program,... View Details

Keywords: Design; Training; Human Resources; Employee Relationship Management; Public Ownership; Planning