Publications

25 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

In America, Immigrants Really Do Get the Job Done

either way, labor market competition among firms would close these gaps over time for mobile workers. Immigrants account for large percentage of patents Outside immigrant business owners, Kerr’s previous... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Technology; Service

22 May 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

A Luxury Industry Veteran Teaches the Importance of Aesthetics to Budding Business Leaders

Pauline Brown joined the HBS faculty following a tenure as Chairman of North America at the French luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. (Photo credit: Albert Cheung) To future CEOs who want to succeed in the business of making and View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Beauty & Cosmetics; Apparel & Accessories; Auto; Tourism

01 Sep 2023
News

History Matters

The stunning collapse of three high-profile banks in recent months—Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank—churned up a host of headlines and fears: Are these signs of major instability? The first dominos to fall? In the second edition of their... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

March 1999
Case

Hans Fritz at Novartis Thailand (A): The First Month

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Dr. Hans Fritz is 37 years old when he arrives in Bangkok on March 1, 1998 to assume his position as general manager of Novartis Thailand. Novartis is the world's largest pharmaceutical company. He had lobbied to transition from a staff position to this line management... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Transition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Working Conditions; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Crisis Management; Decision Making; Pharmaceutical Industry; Thailand

22 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 22, 2018

exit, output, and R&D. Taxing the continued operation of incumbents can lead to sizable gains (of the order of 1.4% improvement in welfare) by encouraging exit of less productive firms and freeing up skilled labor to be used for... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Web

Negotiating - Alumni

site also offers substantive advice on compensation and negotiation, current news affecting the labor market as well as a job and resume database. Homefair A comprehensive guide to relocation resources,... View Details

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

27 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 27, 2007

simultaneously with many employees, each of whom finds himself matched with a firm only after a process of search. When employment increases as a result of reductions in market power, the marginal product of View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

control specialists. A lot of people think of this as disruption, like the taxi industry is being disrupted by Uber. It’s not disruption. Rather, it’s a completely different kind of firm. This hasn’t happened in more than 100 years. Firms have been designed with... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

14 Aug 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 14, 2018

highlight an important channel for alleviating financing constraints in small firms but also emphasize the general-equilibrium effects of large-scale interventions, which can lead to lower aggregate outcomes depending on labor View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

29 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

A Manager’s Moral Obligation to Preserve Capitalism

Capitalism's moral logic was perhaps most famously articulated by free market champion Milton Friedman when he said that "the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits." That sentiment puts faith in the View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

2015
Working Paper

A Theory of Intergenerational Mobility

By: Gary Becker, Scott Duke Kominers, Kevin Murphy and Jorg L. Spenkuch

We develop a model of intergenerational resource transmission that emphasizes the link between cross-sectional inequality and intergenerational mobility. By drawing on first principles of human capital theory, we derive several novel results. In particular, we show... View Details

Keywords: Intergenerational Mobility; Inequality; Complementarities; Human Capital; Equality and Inequality; Income; Family and Family Relationships

SSRN

18 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 18, 2007

Evidence from the Financial Analysis Market Authors:Boris Groysberg, Ashish Nanda, and M. Julia Prats Abstract Our paper contributes to the studies on the relationship between workers' human capital and their decision to become... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Pay Workers More So They Steal Less

workers' different socioeconomic environments, the amount of monitoring that managers performed, and employee characteristics such as how many people typically worked in the stores. Is There A Payoff? As expected, Sandino and Chen confirmed that overpaying workers... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Retail

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ashley V. Whillans

Engaged with field work in East Africa, South Asia, and in several large hybrid organizations in the United States, Professor Whillans places a focus on exploring questions with strong theoretical motivation in the social psychological literature and relevant... View Details

October 2018
Article

A Theory of Intergenerational Mobility

By: Gary Becker, Scott Duke Kominers, Kevin Murphy and Jorg L. Spenkuch

We develop a model of intergenerational resource transmission that emphasizes the link between cross-sectional inequality and intergenerational mobility. By drawing on first principles of human capital theory, we derive several novel results. In particular, we show... View Details

Keywords: Intergenerational Mobility; Inequality; Complementarities; Equality and Inequality; Human Capital; Income; Family and Family Relationships

Find at Harvard

February 2015 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Delhaize Group: Developing Leaders

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Delhaize Group, the Belgian-based global food retailer, was focused on competing in the food retailing industry by developing leading positions in key markets via localized retailing strategies. Delhaize was committed to offering its customers superior value while... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Organizational Alignment; Talent Management; Leadership Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Belgium