Natural Field Experiment - Publications - Faculty & Research

2009
Article

Feeling the Heat: The Effects of Performance Pressure on Teams' Knowledge Use and Performance

By: Heidi K. Gardner

Why do some teams fail to use their members' knowledge effectively, even after having correctly identified each other's expertise? This paper identifies performance pressure as a critical barrier to effective knowledge utilization in teams. I theorize that performance... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Expectations; Groups and Teams

Citation

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Article

Household Bargaining and Excess Fertility: An Experimental Study in Zambia

By: Nava Ashraf, Erica Field and Jean Lee

We posit that household decision-making over fertility is characterized by moral hazard due to the fact that most contraception can only be perfectly observed by the woman. Using an experiment in Zambia that varied whether women were given access to contraceptives... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Health; Household; Gender; Zambia

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23 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Management’s Role in Reforming Health Care

Aligning the Nature and Management of Health Care (Harvard Business Press, 2009), explains how to create more knowledgeable, flexible, and responsive delivery organizations. “Some of the most important innovations are not technologic—they... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Research Summary

Overview

The Information Age has introduced well-received opportunities to track performance. Fitbits and Fuelbands allow individuals to track their own performance; companies like Uber and leading hospitals help you choose a driver or a doctor based on how others rated... View Details

Keywords: Management Accounting; Disclosure; Performance Measurement; Incentives; Control; Education; Education Industry; Health Industry; Transportation Industry; Energy Industry; Auto Industry; United States; Japan; India

29 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

percent of future profits to Beckham. “I’ve asked [Beckham], ‘If we are going to see you on the field at Inter Miami, are you going to wear a Brooks Brothers suit or an Ermenegildo Zegna suit?’ Brooks Brothers is our brand, so I hope... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

03 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 3, 2006

Dansko's growth, "home schooling"—taking young energetic employees with little business experience and mentoring them—seemed ill-suited for the next phase of growth. Equally as precarious was the fact that with few exceptions,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Research Community - Doctoral

may lead. Students study business in motion, with all the variables operating at once and, like the companies they study, are not limited by traditional academic boundaries. Students acquire knowledge and research skills leading to mastery of a View Details

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—China

region or with a partner in the region Nonprofit organizations Government agencies, especially those working closely with the private sector The program content is global in nature and applicable to the Chinese business environment. The... View Details

Research Summary

Self-environment relationship and its effect on decisions under risk and uncertainty

My research seek to better understand the main cognitive and social abilities that guide our judgments, and the ways they interact with aspects of the situation to shape humans' decisions. It is currently comprised of three related... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

The Imposter Among Us

phenomenon in a 1978 scientific journal article, in which they described the specific and unfounded fear of being discovered as a fraud. Their research focused on professional women who were successful by every external standard in their View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

Research Summary

Overview of Research

My research examines approaches to improving the performance of our health care delivery system with a primary focus on health information technology. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of my program, my dissertation draws upon theories and insights from... View Details

11 Dec 2018
Blog Post

Recap of the 4th Annual Women in Investing Summit

the Summit experience on the @hbsadmissions Instagram, here’s the background on how I began investing, my experience at HBS, and career advice from the Summit. What made you choose a career in investing?... View Details

20 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

both worlds. Q: What are you working on currently? A: I am furthering my understanding of markets and communities for innovation by conducting field experiments in software development. My colleagues and I... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

Web

Global

on Alumni View more facts MBA Experience HBS Immersive Field Courses (IFCs) HBS FIELD Global Capstone More on MBA Experience Executive Education... View Details

Career Coach

Deborah Resnick

Deborah (HBS '06) has deep expertise in consulting (breaking into consulting, navigating a career in consulting, and breaking out!), complemented by a diverse set of operational and managerial experience across Fortune 500 companies and a... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products; Retail

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

imagery, AI, and systems design to enable more targeted insurance underwriting and disaster preparedness. She also explains how Bellwether is creating geospatial AI infrastructure and tools to support natural disaster response by the... View Details

Web

Accounting & Management - Faculty & Research

structured? How to clearly define roles and responsibilities? Which processes help the board function most effectively? What norms foster the right dynamics and culture? We draw on research, boardroom case studies, and our experience at... View Details

Web

Marketing - Faculty & Research

an AI Failure Harm Your Brand." Harvard Business Review 103, no. 4 (July–August 2025): 126–133. Full-Funnel Advertising on TikTok: An Experiment (Solution) By: Jeremy Yang and Ayelet Israeli June 2025 | Exercise | Faculty Research... View Details

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.” Collins asked him about the personal characteristics of prisoners who did... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

Publications