Publications

Find at Harvard

May–June 2023
Article

Analytics for Marketers: When to Rely on Algorithms and When to Trust Your Gut

By: Fabrizio Fantini and Das Narayandas

Advanced analytics can help companies solve a host of management problems, including those related to marketing, sales, and supply-chain operations, which can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage. But as more data becomes available and advanced analytics are... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Decision Making

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26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

progress. In one survey in August 2023, for example, 73 percent of workers identify micromanagement as the biggest “workplace red flag,” saying it leads to negativity and anxiety in the workplace. “If you think about situational... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

22 Feb 2010
Op-Ed

Tragedy at Toyota: How Not to Lead in Crisis

Toyota's ever-widening problems are a tragic case study in how not to lead in crisis. Under the media spotlight, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, grandson of the founder, went into hiding and sent American CEO Jim Lentz to make apologies.... View Details

Keywords: by William George; Auto

December 2018
Supplement

The Global-Local Tension: Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao Leading with 'International Values and Local Roots' (B)

By: Tsedal Neeley

Vittorio Colao, CEO of telecommunication giant Vodafone, must respond to reports of disturbing accounting practices at two of Vodafone’s operating companies. In one case, €60 million have been misreported due to a series of failures to check manual accounting... View Details

Keywords: GLOBAL-LOCAL; Global Identity; Local Identity; Accounting Discrepency; Globalization; Leadership; Trust; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Organizations; Identity; Local Range; Global Range; Values and Beliefs; Accounting Audits

October 2017
Case

Still Leading (B10): Louis Gossett Jr.— A New Role Erasing Racism

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Louis (Lou) Gossett Jr.’s exemplary life included a groundbreaking career in entertainment and a bold and audacious goal to erase racism. From the Broadway stage to television and the movie screen, Gossett earned major accolades in his field, notably becoming the first... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Advanced Leadership Initiative; Advanced Leadership; Change; Transition; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Prejudice and Bias

Article

Creating High-Impact Coalitions: CEOs Can Lead the Charge on Society’s Biggest Problems

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Tuna Cem Hayirli

Traditionally, responses to crises and societal problems—the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, racial inequities—are considered the responsibility of the public sector and NGOs. But addressing the world’s most critical problems requires leadership, resources, and... View Details

Keywords: Coalition; Change; Problem Solving; Organization; Boundaries; Evolution; Mission; Moral Leadership; Balance; ＂Solutions Approach; Society; Problems and Challenges; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Leading Change; Trust

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December 2018
Case

The Global-Local Tension: Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao Leading with 'International Values and Local Roots' (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley

Vittorio Colao, CEO of telecommunication giant Vodafone, must respond to reports of disturbing accounting practices at two of Vodafone’s operating companies. In one case, €60 million have been misreported due to a series of failures to check manual accounting... View Details

Keywords: GLOBAL-LOCAL; Organization Culture; Global Identity; Local Identity; Accounting Discrepency; Globalization; Leadership; Trust; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Organizations; Identity; Local Range; Global Range; Values and Beliefs; Accounting Audits

February 2011
Article

It's the Recipient That Counts: Spending Money on Strong Social Ties Leads to Greater Happiness Than Spending on Weak Social Ties

By: Lara B. Aknin, Gillian M. Sandstrom, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton

Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happiness. But, do the happiness gains depend on who the money is spent on? Sociologists have distinguished between strong ties with close friends and family and weak... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Relationships; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

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March 2015
Teaching Note

McKinsey & Co.—Protecting its Reputation (A) and (B)

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

McKinsey & Co—Protecting its Reputation (A&B) is a field case written from the perspective of the Firm's Managing Director Dominic Barton. The two cases describe the actions McKinsey & Co took to protect the firm's reputation after the Rajat Gupta matter.
The... View Details

Keywords: Consulting Firms; Leadership & Corporate Accountability; Leadership And Change Management; Leadership And Managing People; Leading A Global Business; Corporate Culture; Professional Service Firms; Professional Service Firm; Leadership; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Consulting Industry; United States

September 2018
Supplement

From Beirut With Love (B): The Last Judgment

By: Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy

September 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

From Beirut With Love (A)

By: Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy

This case describes how Robert Fadel, CEO and chairman of ABC, one of Lebanon’s leading retail and real estate groups, professionalized the family business. Robert was the second son of the company’s founder, Maurice Fadel, who had run it single-handedly. Concerned... View Details

Sandra Sucher, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, is an internationally recognized trust researcher. The Power of Trust, her third book, is based on two decades of global research on how companies build stakeholder trust and how,... View Details

Keywords: apparel; banking; brokerage; clothing; fashion; financial services; furniture; hotels ＆ motels; retail financial services; retailing; service industry

01 Sep 2021
What Do You Think?

Can We Train for Trust?

(Image credit: iStockphoto/jubaphoto) How many times have we discussed the contributions of employee engagement and the loyalty it produces to an organization’s performance? Trust is, as it is for many things in society, the bedrock for... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

30 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Donors Are Turned Off by Overhead Costs. Here’s What Charities Can Do

recommendations from watchdogs like CharityWatch, which tend to give higher ratings to charities with low overhead costs. But that can lead to a harmful cycle in which charities keep their overhead costs unreasonably low in order to... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

March 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Systems Infrastructure at Google (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

This case describes how a senior vice president of engineering at Google, Bill Coughran, leads a high-performing engineering organization. The case focuses specifically on Coughran's encouraging two teams of engineers to develop competing solutions for application... View Details

Keywords: Independent Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Leadership Development; Product Design; Groups and Teams; Creativity; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry; United States

23 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Organization of Firms Across Countries

Keywords: by Nicholas Bloom, Rafaella Sadun & John Van Reenen

19 Sep 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Say Again? Uncommon Advice for Common Business Problems

Miles Davis Theorem: Radical Simplicity Allows Creative Minds to Shine How business can benefit by relying on radical simplicity to free and empower employees. When Not to Trust Your Gut Most of us trust our... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 14, 2023
Article

How New CEOs Establish Legitimacy

By: Nitin Nohria

CEOs are given the authority to lead by the rules of corporate governance. They gain additional influence and credibility by demonstrating competence. CEOs who achieve legitimacy have a higher level of trust and influence. This legitimacy will be gained by consistently... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Leadership Style; Power and Influence; Trust; Competency and Skills