Publications

September 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Case

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro, Hayley Pallan and Sarah Jeong

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Productivity; Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

What Would It Take to Unlock Microfinance's Full Potential?

In the 50 years since modern microfinance was introduced as a tool to fight poverty, institutions have distributed hundreds of millions of loans to people in developing countries. Such loans are repaid at rates often as high as 98 percent. Those View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Financial Services

September 2017
Teaching Note

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro and Hayley Pallan

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

28 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 28, 2008

and to calculate metrics to compare their levels of modularity. Our research takes advantage of a natural experiment in this industry, where products exist that fulfill the same function, but that have been developed using very different... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 5

important and previously unidentified metric for assessing the health of the human emotional ecosystem. Publisher's link: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/quoidbach%20et%20al_372259e1-d8a0-4488-b09a-b4978f06f406.pdf August... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Jan 2023
Book

Confront Workplace Inequity in 2023: Dig Deep, Build Bridges, Take Collective Action

culture. “This is about leadership development and crafting innovative cultures,” says Opie. “So many companies are locked. They have these arthritic approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and then they're shocked when they don't... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

June 2011
Article

The Paradox of Excellence

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Sara DeLong

Why is it that so many smart, ambitious professionals are less productive and satisfied than they could be? We argue that it's often because they're afraid to demonstrate any sign of weakness. They're reluctant to ask important questions or try new... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Innovation and Invention; Strength and Weakness; Performance Productivity; Risk and Uncertainty; Motivation and Incentives; Satisfaction

Find at Harvard

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

advice to restaurant owners, staff, investors, and patrons that we offer below. How did it deteriorate so quickly? Restaurants are universally labor intensive—by any productivity metric they rank among the least productive industries.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

21 Aug 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively

“Results show strong correlations between business performance metrics and analytics capabilities, and highlight a variety of tasks in which top performing companies use analytics ” Feng Zhu, who teaches Digital View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Measuring True Value at Ambuja Cement

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Suraj Srinivasan and Namrata Arora

The case discusses the measurement of social and environmental impact at Ambuja Cements, one of India’s leading cement companies. Ambuja is a leader in CSR activities and is attempting to quantify its impact, both positive and negative, using the “True Value” framework... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Value; Measurement and Metrics; Framework; Cost vs Benefits

20 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 20

They recommend a more coherent strategy that divides CSR efforts into three categories including those related to philanthropy, operational effectiveness, and shaping the firm's business model to better create shared value. Consideration is also given to developing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2015 (Revised May 2017)
Case

TSG Hoffenheim: Football in the Age of Analytics

By: Feng Zhu, Karim R. Lakhani, Sascha L. Schmidt and Kerry Herman

In 2015, Dietmar Hopp, owner of Germany's Bundesliga football team TSG Hoffenheim and co-founder of the global enterprise software company SAP, was considering how to ensure long-term sustainability and competitiveness for TSG Hoffenheim. While historically a small... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Measurement and Metrics; Sports; Sports Industry