Publications

Read Now

25 Apr 2018
Research & Ideas

We May Have Taken Too Much Credit for Easing Workplace Segregation

management ranks. Koning and Ferguson took a broader approach. They reviewed data collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission between 1971 and 2014, determining the racial makeup of every large private-sector workplace in the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 Apr 2015
Op-Ed

Reforming Greece: Myths and Truths

goods rather than agriculture or services. Industrial exports increased as a percentage of total exports from circa 25 percent to 40 percent between 2007 and 2013. It is no coincidence that the largest increase in labor productivity over... View Details

Keywords: by George Serafeim

20 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 20

challenge for the existing theories on upstream capital flows and global imbalances. August 2013 Journal of the European Economic Association The New Empirical Economics of Management By: Bloom, Nicholas, Renata Lemos, Raffaella Sadun,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2012 (Revised May 2013)
Case

Automating the Paris Subway (A)

By: Michel Anteby, Elena Corsi and Emilie Billaud

In 2001, the head of the Paris Subway reflected on how to transform Line 1 into a driverless line without triggering a social conflict. After the shock of the 2000 Notre Dame de Lorette subway accident, in which a train derailed and caused 25 injuries in a Paris subway... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Technological Innovation; Rail Transportation; Labor Unions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; Paris

2020
Book

Le Manifeste travail: Démocratiser, démarchandiser, dépolluer [The Working Manifesto: Democratize, Decommodify, Decarbonize]

By: Isabelle Ferreras, Julie Battilana and Dominique Méda

Authored at the height of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, this book is the result of an international collaboration between twelve female academics who apply their expertise to offer a blueprint for a more resilient, dignified, and sustainable society. The extension of... View Details

Keywords: Society; Economics; Labor; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Ethics

Find at Harvard

October 1985
Article

Further Thoughts on the Power of Alternatives: An Example from Labor-Management Negotiations in Major League Baseball

By: A. E. Roth

Keywords: Cognition and Thinking; Labor and Management Relations; Negotiation; Entertainment; Sports Industry

09 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 9

manage the Canal better than its powerful patron to the north, the story of the Canal since its handover has been that the Panamanians have ultimately proved better at running it. Under the distant governance of a large country not... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2025 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Designing the Future of Work: Atlassian's Distributed Work Practices

By: Ashley Whillans and Gabriel Rondón Ichikawa

In early 2020, the software company Atlassian made a bold commitment: employees could work from anywhere—forever. While many tech peers reversed course on remote work, Atlassian worked to optimize their fully distributed model across 13 countries. This case follows... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Working Conditions; Management Practices and Processes; Product Development; Organizational Culture; Business Strategy; Employees; Technology Industry

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Entrepreneurship in Europe

in the world is crazy." It's evident in labor markets, where the case of India and the software industry is just one example of how incredibly active things are right now. "Of course, the idea market is what scares us all,"... View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss

2020
Working Paper

Improving Regulatory Effectiveness Through Better Targeting: Evidence from OSHA

By: Matthew S. Johnson, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel

We study how a regulator can best target inspections. Our case study is a US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) program that randomly allocated some inspections. On average, each inspection averted 2.4 serious injuries (9%) over the next five years.... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Working Conditions; Safety; Quality; Production; Analysis; Resource Allocation; Manufacturing Industry; United States

SSRN

Read Now

2005
Chapter

Explaining Psychological Safety in Innovation Teams

By: A. Edmondson and Josephine Pichanick Mogelof

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Safety; Innovation and Management; Working Conditions; Social Psychology

March 2010 (Revised September 2010)
Case

TeamLease: Putting India to Work (Il) Legally

By: Tarun Khanna and Anjali Raina

This case focuses on the growth dilemmas facing Manish Sabharwal, co-founder, TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd. TeamLease is a human resource outsourcing and temp staffing company located in India, which has grown rapidly from 2002 to 2009. Set in the context of the highly... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Employment; Human Capital; Lawfulness; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Power and Influence; Employment Industry; India

April 2004 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (B)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Dina R. Pradel

New technology underlies a protracted dispute between West Coast longshoremen and their employers. Severe economic consequences lead to government intervention in the dispute. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Negotiation Process; Business and Government Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Shipping Industry; Western United States

15 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 15

13% of employment over two years. In short, private equity buyouts catalyze the creative destruction process in the labor market, with only a modest net impact on employment. The creative destruction response mainly involves a more rapid... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 10

to 67.5% of standard. Customers who observed employees engaged in labor perceived greater effort, appreciated that effort, and valued the service more. Employees who observed customers felt more appreciated and, in turn, were more... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2014
Supplement

Chung and Dasgupta: Information for Jordan Ramirez

By: Ian Larkin and Karen Huang

The "Promotion Process at Chung and Dasgupta, LLP" set of cases explores the roles of general and firm-specific human capital in employee performance measurement, feedback, and promotion/compensation decisions. In the cases, a leading law firm must decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisal; Performance Measurement; Employee Feedback; Motivation; Promotions; Human Capital; Performance Evaluation; Management Systems; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Legal Services Industry; United States; Massachusetts

02 Apr 2019
Research Event

Women Pay a Higher Career Price in Today's Always-On Work Culture

educated and valuable talent in a competitive labor market. The loss of women managers—and potential future leaders—has been particularly vexing for executives. Many of them cling to the belief that women’s struggle to balance their home... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consulting; Service

May 2025
Case

Fidji Simo: Growing the Pie at Instacart

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Barnett

In January 2025, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo considers strategies for continuing to grow Instacart from a grocery delivery platform to a holistic grocery technology company, including in-store grocery technology and expanding partnerships across the grocery sector. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Customers; Food; Health; Working Conditions; Leading Change; Operations; Going Public; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Canada

April 2004 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Dina R. Pradel

New technology underlies a protracted dispute between West Coast longshoremen and their employers. Severe economic consequences lead to government intervention in the dispute. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Negotiation Process; Business and Government Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Shipping Industry; Western United States