Publications

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October 1996
Background Note

Building Effective One-on-One Work Relationships

By: Linda A. Hill

Addresses how to build effective one-on-one work relationships. Spells out the importance of analyzing your network and understanding on whom you are dependent. Also provides some criteria for assessing the quality of your relationships. Finally, it discusses how to... View Details

Keywords: Performance Effectiveness; Quality; Networks; Conflict and Resolution

2022
Working Paper

Politics at Work

By: Emanuele Colonnelli, Valdemar Pinho Neto and Edoardo Teso

We study how individual political views shape firm behavior and labor market outcomes. Using new micro-data on the political affiliation of business owners and private-sector workers in Brazil over the 2002–2019 period, we first document the presence of political... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; Employees; Prejudice and Bias; Brazil

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04 Apr 2023
What Do You Think?

How Does Remote Work Affect Innovation?

team weren’t even on the ads team It was the culture that attracted . These five engineers . To the company in the first place. How would this story play out if Google had relied heavily on remote work at the time? Would Jeff Dean and his... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 2022
Case

Unilever: Remote Work in Manufacturing

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury and Susie L. Ma

In December 2021, Unilever—one of the world’s largest producers of consumer goods—was in the midst of a pilot project to digitize its manufacturing facilities and enable remote work for factory employees. This was possible because of an earlier project to retrofit a... View Details

Keywords: Change; Globalization; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Human Resources; Jobs and Positions; Operations; Education; Training; Manufacturing Industry

April 1993
Background Note

Note on High-Commitment Work Systems

By: David A. Garvin and Norman Klein

Describes the history, theory, and practice of high-commitment work systems. The history reviews classical approaches (i.e. Frederick Taylor), the human relations movement, the human resources approach, quality of work life, and empowerment. The theory examines the... View Details

Keywords: Design; Human Resources; Innovation and Invention; Managerial Roles; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Strategy

November 2011
Article

Social Strategies That Work

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Although most companies have collected lots of friends and followers on social platforms such as Facebook, few have succeeded in generating profits there. That's because they merely port their digital strategies into social environments by broadcasting their commercial... View Details

Keywords: Social Platforms; Social Strategies; Social and Collaborative Networks; Customers; Relationships; Business Strategy; Profit

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May 2017
Teaching Note

Gender at Work

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Teaching Note for HBS No. 416-026. View Details

July 2003
Article

What Really Works

By: Nitin Nohria, William F. Joyce and Bruce Roberson

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10 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Women at Work

Lynda Clarizio Every woman who works and has a life confronts unique challenges, from finding reliable and caring childcare to making time to nurture the relationship with their spouse or partner to fighting their own guilt and... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild

May 2008
Article

Working in the Gray Zone

By: Michel Anteby

Supervisors often turn a blind eye when employees use company resources and time to work on personal projects. They realize that stamping out such behavior may do more harm than good. View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Effectiveness; Behavior

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Research Summary

Helping at Work

By: Teresa M. Amabile

This research focuses on collaboration and helping in creative project teams. Colin Fisher (UCL), Julianna Pillemer (NYU Stern School), and I developed a multi-year research program examining help received and given, including successful and unsuccessful helping... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Helping; Creativity; Creative Industries

February 1996 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Toshiba: Ome Works

By: H. Kent Bowen, Janice H. Hammond, Sylvie Ryckebusch and Hiroshi Uchikoga

In 1995, Toshiba was the market leader in portable computer sales worldwide. This case describes the assembly of portable notebook computers in Toshiba's Ome factory in Ome, Japan, providing insights into some of the reasons for Toshiba's success. In addition to... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Employees; Job Design and Levels; Production; Hardware; Japan

2012
Working Paper

Pay Dispersion and Work Performance

By: Alessandro Bucciol and Marco Piovesan

The effect of intra-firm pay dispersion on work performance is controversial and the empirical evidence is mixed. High pay dispersion may act as an extra incentive for employees' effort or it may reduce motivation and team cohesiveness. These effects can also coexist... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Wages; Motivation and Incentives; Groups and Teams; Italy

16 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Kids of Working Moms Grow into Happy Adults

In 2015, preliminary results of a groundbreaking study found that the daughters of employed mothers often perform better in their eventual careers than the daughters of stay-at-home moms. Now the full study has been released, and it brings even more good news for the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 May 2020
What Do You Think?

Does Remote Work Mix with Organizational Culture?

SUMMING UP Is Management the Missing Ingredient in Melding Organization Culture and Remote Work? Those who have experienced remote work are largely vocal supporters of the notion. Its success is dependent, on the one hand, on an effective... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Research Summary

Work in Progress

"Chapter 11 vs. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: Impact on Asset Productivity" (with Shai Bernstein)
"The Externalities of Bankruptcy" (with Shai Bernstein)
"Bridge Loans as M&A Insurance Contracts" (with Victoria Ivashina)

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October 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Exercise

Gender at Work

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Keywords: Gender Bias; Gender Stereotypes; Prejudice and Bias; Gender

January 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Brigad: The Future of Work

By: Nien-he Hsieh, Elena Corsi and Daniela Beyersdorfer

In 2019 Florent Malbranche, CEO and co-founder of the French tech startup Brigad, pondered the next growth steps. Founded in 2015, Brigad’s objective was two-fold: to help restaurants and bars find qualified staff for punctual shifts, and to make it easier for... View Details

Keywords: Platform Business; Gig Economy; Regulation; Entrepreneurship; Marketplace Matching; Growth and Development Strategy