Publications

January 2016
Case

SAP SE: Autism at Work

By: Gary P. Pisano and Robert D. Austin

This case describes SAP's "Autism at Work" program, which integrates people with autism into the company's workforce. The company has a stated objective of making 1% of its workforce people with autism by 2020. SAP's rationale for the program is based on the belief... View Details

Keywords: Software; Human Resource Management; Diversity Management; Germany; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Management; Applications and Software; Recruitment; Diversity; Information Technology Industry; Germany

Research Summary

Globalization of Human Capital

By: Nitin Nohria

One of the most significant dimensions of the current wave of globalization is the globalization of human capital. Whether it is low cost, skilled manufacturing workers in China, software and customer service professionals in India, or highly skilled employees in... View Details

2012
Working Paper

The Need for (long) Chains in Kidney Exchange

By: Itai Ashlagi, David Gamarnik, Michael A. Rees and Alvin E. Roth

It has been previously shown that for sufficiently large pools of patient-donor pairs, (almost) efficient kidney exchange can be achieved by using at most 3-way cycles, i.e., by using cycles among no more than 3 patient-donor pairs. However, as kidney exchange has... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Complexity; Performance Efficiency; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

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Research Summary

Investment Decisions and Decision Problems in Professional Investment Management

Jay O. Light is evaluating strategic business decisions in the money management industry as well as problems that arise in the management of very large pools of tax exempt money, particularly pension funds and endowments. From this research he is developing teaching... View Details

04 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Can a Continuously-Liquidating Tontine (or Mutual Inheritance Fund) Succeed where Immediate Annuities Have Floundered?

Keywords: by Julio J. Rotemberg; Financial Services

2024
Working Paper

Pitch Perfect: Investing in Transportable Presentation Skills to Support Poly-vocal Personae

By: James Riley and Susan S. Silbey

For organizations requiring independent and creative thinking skills for complex problem-solving, especially within a multi-disciplinary pool of collaborators, conventional socialization practices flattening individuality for the sake of uniformity is not necessarily... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Identity; Competency and Skills; Groups and Teams

07 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Location Strategies for Agglomeration Economies

Keywords: by Juan Alcácer & Wilbur Chung; Technology

2022
Working Paper

Exploring the Relationship between Team Diversity, Psychological Safety and Team Performance: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Drug Development

By: Henrik Bresman and Amy C. Edmondson

Breakthrough performance in teams requires pooling diverse perspectives and expertise. To realize the potential of diversity, communicating and translating across differences is essential. However, left to their own devices, diverse teams tend to underperform, in part... View Details

Keywords: Teams; Psychological Safety; Groups and Teams; Diversity; Interpersonal Communication; Performance

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October 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

AT&T Resource Link: Revisioning the Managerial Workforce

Resource Link is an in-house temporary firm, supplying managers and technical workers to the 26 business units of AT&T on a contract basis. The challenge facing Resource Link is how to grow, since an increasing number of managers are eager to use variable workers to... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Organizational Design; Personal Development and Career; Employment Industry; Telecommunications Industry

January 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is one of the largest and fastest-growing pools of investment capital in the world and follows an unusually active program of investment management. In the market turmoil of late 2008, Mark Wiseman, Senior Vice President of the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Capital; Financial Management; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Canada

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October 2018 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Masayoshi Son and the Vision Fund

By: Tom Nicholas, Ramana Nanda and Benjamin N. Roth

In October 2016, SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese conglomerate giant caused a significant shock to the worldwide market for venture capital and private equity by announcing the Vision Fund, the largest tech investment fund in the world at close to $100 billion. The... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Entrepreneurship; Competitive Strategy

December 2006 (Revised December 2007)
Case

The Vanderbilt University Endowment (2006)

By: Andre F. Perold and William T. Spitz

As with many modern-day large pools of capital, the Vanderbilt University endowment is significantly invested in alternative assets such as hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and natural resources. The endowment's investment committee chair is attempting to... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Asset Management; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Risk Management

31 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Diseconomies of Queue Pooling: An Empirical Investigation of Emergency Department Length of Stay

Keywords: by Hummy Song, Anita L. Tucker & Karen L. Murrell; Health

2020
Working Paper

Arbitration with Uninformed Consumers

By: Mark Egan, Gregor Matvos and Amit Seru

This paper studies the impact of the arbitrator selection process on consumer outcomes by examining roughly 9,000 consumer arbitration cases in the securities industry. Securities disputes present a good laboratory: arbitration is mandatory for all disputes,... View Details

Keywords: Arbitration; Financial Advisers; Financial Advisors; Brokers; Consumer Finance; Financial Misconduct; Fraud; Personal Finance; Conflict and Resolution; Information; Fairness

SSRN

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2015
Working Paper

Making a Difference: Leader Evaluation, Selection, and Impact

By: Gautam Mukunda

The relationship between leader selection and impact is important to both researchers and practitioners. This paper introduces Leader Filtration Theory (LFT)—a theory from political science—to managerial audiences, applies it to organizations, and uses it to improve... View Details

Keywords: Leaders; Leader Selection; Individual Impact; Leadership; Selection and Staffing

December 2014
Article

Location Strategies for Agglomeration Economies

By: Juan Alcácer and Wilbur Chung

Geographically concentrated industry activity creates pools of skilled labor and specialized suppliers, and increases opportunities for knowledge spillovers. The strategic value of these agglomeration economies may vary by firm, depending upon the relative value of... View Details

Keywords: Location Strategies; Location Choices; Agglomeration Economies; Strategy; Value Creation; Geographic Location; Industry Clusters; Microeconomics; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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28 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

While Waiting for Japan’s Recovery, Let’s Enhance Supplier Competitiveness at Home

search for high-potential small companies; provide training and mentoring to help those companies qualify as preferred suppliers or distributors; open access to domestic and international business opportunities; and help lower supplier costs through View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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