Labor - Publications - Faculty & Research

July 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Trouble at Basecamp: Managing Politics, Polarization, and Conflict in the Workplace (A)

By: Nour Kteily, Deepak Malhotra and David Lane

As founders of the software company Basecamp, Jason Fried and David H. Hansson were used to being the subjects of social media attention. Both maintained active and dedicated Twitter followings for their unique perspectives on management and life. But on April 26,... View Details

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25 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

Like archaeologists digging on a remote hillside, business researchers have unearthed an important segment of the United States economy all but hidden from traditional innovation policy, yet accounting for tens of millions of jobs crucial to America’s ability to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing; Service

August 2023
Case

Beamery: Using Skills and AI to Modernize HR

By: Boris Groysberg, Alexis Lefort, Susan Pinckney and Carolina Bartunek

Unicorn human relationships startup Beamery evaluates it's growth versus depth strategy as its strategic partners and customers could become future competitors in a quickly changing AI based human resources and talent management industry View Details

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26 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

What’s the Value of a Win in College Athletics?

of the ongoing debate over whether college athletes should be paid, given the large amounts of money they bring in. Two pending court cases would give college athletes the right to be paid—a move staunchly opposed by the NCAA. Meanwhile, in August the National View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Sports; Education

Research Summary

Current working papers

Organizational restructuring: the influence of formal and informal structure on tie formation. This paper considers how changes in formal structure and a key element of informal structure – the embeddedness of employee... View Details

May 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Global Economy (A)

By: Alberto Cavallo and Christian Godwin

In April 2020, the world struggled to contain the exponential escalation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Dozens of countries had imposed restrictions on travel, work, and social gatherings. A large share of the global population was under lockdowns and... View Details

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14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

switched from in-person to online training. Case 4: Partner with other businesses to share labor ChiSuper is a supermarket chain with more than 1,000 stores across China. ChiSuper faced a severe labor... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

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01 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

Are Free Trade and Free Markets Quaint Ideas From the Past?

Now a new look at the issue makes the case for selective protective acts as a way of avoiding the disruptions to businesses and labor associated with a free trade policy that rewards and penalizes businesses with increasing speed. (These... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ashley V. Whillans

Engaged with field work in East Africa, South Asia, and in several large hybrid organizations in the United States, Professor Whillans places a focus on exploring questions with strong theoretical motivation in the social psychological literature and relevant... View Details

24 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Why Cutting Jobless Aid Isn't the Answer to Worker Shortages

About half of US states—mostly run by Republican governors—cut off extended unemployment benefits months before the federal government was planning to end them on Labor Day last year, convinced workers would flood back to employers who... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

12 Feb 2016
Op-Ed

The Real Jobs Tragedy in the US: We've Lost the Skills

States economy maintained a steady pace in job growth of about 2 percent a year. The US labor force participation rate reflected that, growing robustly for the four decades from 1947 to 1997. Around 2001, both those indicators of the... View Details

Keywords: by Joe Fuller and Matt Sigelman; Manufacturing; Electronics

29 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Work 3.0: Redefining Jobs and Companies in the Uber Age

relationship. With operations primarily online, their major expenses are technology and advertising. Labor costs are miniscule, because the workers who create revenue are independent contractors. In contrast, traditionally structured... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Transportation; Web Services

08 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

unavoidable, research by HBS assistant professor Zeynep Ton suggests that retailers should make labor decisions thoughtfully. "Many retailers see labor more as a cost driver than a sales driver." Her advice:... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

11 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Economic Jitters Push Pandemic Job Seekers to Big Companies, Not Startups

choices that you're making today are going to affect the choices that you're going to make tomorrow." The findings “contrast with the idea that higher quality and more experienced job candidates are better shielded from labor market risks... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

10 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Why a Federal Rule on CEO Pay Disclosure May Get You In Trouble With Customers

disclosure might affect consumer behavior. Previous research has shown that consumers consider 4.6:1 to be the ideal CEO-to-average-worker pay ratio. In reality, the average ratio among S&P 500 companies is roughly 373:1, according to 2014 information from the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

01 Dec 2020
What Do You Think?

How Can We Get Companies to Invest More in Low-Wage Workers?

the lower ranks. One of the causes may well be inequities in the ability of executives and frontline labor to negotiate compensation for their skills. In particular, the declining power of unions and the stickiness of minimum wage laws... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2011 (Revised May 2013)
Case

The Freelancers Union (A)

By: Michel Anteby and Erin McFee

Sara Horowitz faces a major strategic decision. Founder and CEO of the Freelancers Union, Horowitz has worked tirelessly to operationalize her new mutualist ideals, which comprise collective strength, independence, and shared protections. In 2008, she plans to move the... View Details

Keywords: Labor Unions

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06 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Money and Quotas Motivate the Sales Force Best

than 14 million people employed in personal selling in the United States alone represent about 10 percent of the entire country's labor force, according to the US Department of Labor. In addition, companies spend on average 10 percent of... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Retail