Publications

2018
Working Paper

Thanks for Nothing: Expressing Gratitude Invites Exploitation by Competitors

By: Jeremy Yip, Kelly Kiyeon Lee, Cindy Chan and Alison Wood Brooks

Previous research has revealed that expressing gratitude motivates prosocial behavior in cooperative relationships. However, expressing gratitude in competitive interactions may operate differently. Across five studies, we demonstrate that individuals interacting with... View Details

Keywords: Gratitude; Forgiveness; Negotiations; Emotion; Emotions; Behavior; Negotiation; Ethics

February 2017 (Revised May 2022)
Case

The De Beers Group: Exploring the Diamond Reselling Opportunity

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Daniel P. Gross and Lauren G. Pickle

In September 2014, Tom Montgomery (SVP of strategic initiatives at the De Beers Group) and his team launched a pilot program in the United States to explore the $1 billion diamond market for pre-owned (recycled) diamonds. According to Montgomery, the motivation for the... View Details

Educators

August 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 1: Managing Organizational Tensions

By: Robert Simons

This module reading lays the foundation for executing strategy using performance measurement and control systems. Properly applied, these systems can overcome the organizational blocks that impede the potential of all people who work in modern organizations. This... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Performance Measurement; Profit Planning; Organization Design; Profitable Growth; Management Attention; Organizational Conflict; Human Behavior; Strategy; Ethics; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Design; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance; Measurement and Metrics

2009
Working Paper

Operational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting

By: Julia Rose Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer and Michael W. Toffel

Operational failures occur in all industries with consequences that range from minor inconveniences to major catastrophes. Many organizations have implemented incident reporting systems to highlight actual and potential operational failures in order to encourage... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Legal Liability; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Failure; Health Industry

There has never been a greater need for long-term investments. And it is increasingly unlikely that the public sector will be willing or able to fill the gap. Those best positioned to address the long-run needs are likely to be the pools of capital in the hands of... View Details

05 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance

better than those in the control group. Those who had reflected on their problem solving reportedly felt more competent and effective than those in the control group. "When we stop, reflect, and think about learning, we feel a greater sense of self-efficacy," Gino... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Rosabeth M. Kanter

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing, and direct... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; advertising; airline; apparel; arts; automobiles; banking; beauty products; beverage; biotechnology; broadcasting; chemical; clothing; communications; computer; consulting; consumer products; e-commerce industry; education industry; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; fashion; fast food; federal government; financial services; food; food processing; grocery; health care; high technology; hotels ＆ motels; industrial goods; information; information technology industry; insurance industry; internet; legal services; management consulting; manufacturing; medical supplies; nonprofit industry; oil ＆ gas; petroleum; pharmaceuticals; professional services; publishing industry; real estate; recreation; restaurant; retail financial services; retailing; semiconductor; soft drink; software; sports; state government; telecommunications; textiles; tourism; toy; transportation; travel; utilities; wine

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

individual will perceive entrepreneurial opportunities as well as increase his or her motivation to pursue those opportunities. We find that an individual is more likely to become an entrepreneur if his or her co-workers have been... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2008
Other Unpublished Work

Accounting, Risk Management and the Aftermath of a Control Debacle

By: Anette Mikes

Despite the widespread adoption of risk management systems in the financial services industry, recent control debacles highlight the apparent lack of top managerial attention to risk controls. Yet in order to understand the workings and uses of risk controls (or any... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Governance Controls; Management Systems; Accounting; Conflict and Resolution; Trends; Financial Services Industry

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

31 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: Jan. 31

PublicationsHow Leaders Kill Meaning at Work Authors:Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer Publication:The McKinsey Quarterly, no. 1 (January 2012) Abstract Senior executives routinely undermine creativity, productivity, and commitment by damaging the inner work lives of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne & Carmen Nobel

24 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Individual Rationality and Participation in Large Scale, Multi-Hospital Kidney Exchanges

Keywords: by Itai Ashlagi & Alvin E. Roth; Health

16 Oct 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Opening Platforms: How, When and Why?

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker & Marshall Van Alstyne

13 Feb 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Unconventional Insights for Managing Stakeholder Trust

Keywords: by Michael Pirson & Deepak Malhotra

February 2019
Article

Bounded Ethicality and Ethical Fading in Negotiations: Understanding Unintended Unethical Behavior

By: McKenzie Rees, Ann E. Tenbrunsel and Max Bazerman

The business scandals in the past several decades led to the rising importance of ethics as a topic central to management scholarship. Behavioral scientists in particular were attracted to the topic in far greater numbers, and the study of ethical decision-making... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Behavior; Negotiation; Situation or Environment; Perception

Find at Harvard

December 2017
Article

Discordant vs. Harmonious Selves: The Effects of Identity Conflict and Enhancement on Sales Performance in Employee-Customer Interactions

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Nancy Rothbard and Steffanie Wilk

Across multiple studies, we examine how identity conflict and enhancement within people affect performance in tasks that involve interactions between people through two mechanisms: role-immersion, operationalized as intrinsic motivation, and role-taking,... View Details

Keywords: Identity; Interpersonal Communication; Sales; Performance

Find at Harvard

June 2009
Case

Plaza, the Logistics Park of Zaragoza

In the year 2000, the Government of the Autonomous Community of Aragón, Spain, made public a project for the development of a large-scale logistics park in the outskirts of the city of Zaragoza. With an area of nearly 13 square kilometers, PLAZA (an acronym for... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Geographic Location; Growth and Development Strategy; Infrastructure; Logistics; Supply Chain; Transportation; Distribution Industry; Zaragoza

Educators