Publications

January 1989
Background Note

Managing Information Technology: Organization and Leadership

By: James I. Cash Jr. and Thomas H. Davenport

Describes the organizational components of the typical IT organization in a large corporation. Points out common problems and issues for each component of the organization. Also addresses the leadership issues for the IT function, and focuses specifically on the Chief... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Organizational Design; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry

July 2022
Article

A Strategic View of Team Learning in Organizations

By: Jean-François Harvey, Henrik Bresman, Amy C. Edmondson and Gary P. Pisano

Research in strategic management and organizational behavior has increasingly focused on understanding how organizations achieve and sustain performance in fast-changing environments. Strategy research suggests that senior managers, through their decisions, influence... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Management; Organization Behavior; Teams; Organizational Capabilities; Groups and Teams; Learning; Management; Decision Making; Performance; Organizational Design

January–February 2022
Article

Algorithm-Augmented Work and Domain Experience: The Countervailing Forces of Ability and Aversion

By: Ryan Allen and Prithwiraj Choudhury

How does a knowledge worker’s level of domain experience affect their algorithm-augmented work performance? We propose and test theoretical predictions that domain experience has countervailing effects on algorithm-augmented performance: on one hand, domain experience... View Details

Keywords: Automation; Domain Experience; Algorithmic Aversion; Experts; Algorithms; Machine Learning; Future Of Work; Employees; Experience and Expertise; Decision Making; Performance

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October 18, 2021
Article

How to Reframe What Work Means to You

By: Hubert Joly

Our society often conceives of work as something we must endure so we can afford to do something else. The former CEO of Best Buy explains why this view has led to a crisis of engagement among leaders and employees alike, and offers a different model that he introduced... View Details

Keywords: Work; Meaning In Life; Employment; Attitudes; Perspective; Mission and Purpose

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February 2023 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Amazon and the Future of Organized Labor

By: Reshmaan Hussam, Trevor Fetter and Grace Liu

From their peak in the 1950s, private-sector labor unions in the United States declined rapidly in membership and influence, decade after decade. But growing inequality—especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic—sparked new interest in labor and organizing.... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Labor Unions

November 2016
Article

Spatial Organization of Firms and Location Choices Through the Value Chain

By: Juan Alcacer and Mercedes Delgado

We explore the impact of geographically bounded, intra-firm linkages (internal agglomerations) and geographically bounded, inter-firm linkages (external agglomerations) on firms' location strategies. Using data from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database,... View Details

Keywords: Location Choices; Agglomeration Economies; Value Chain; Organization Theory; Geographic Location; Business Strategy

September 1987
Background Note

Organizing Effort: Aligning Organization and Other Elements of Strategy

By: James L. Heskett

Research Summary

Economics of Organization and Firm Performance

A great deal of theoretical and empirical research indicates that economic actors should organize activities so as to minimize the 'transaction costs' associated with managing these activities. But little is known about the consequences of violating this prescription.... View Details

2014
Article

The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission Drift and Accountability Challenges in Hybrid Organizations

By: Alnoor Ebrahim, Julie Battilana and Johanna Mair

We examine the challenges of governance facing organizations that pursue a social mission through the use of market mechanisms. These hybrid organizations, often referred to as social enterprises, combine aspects of both charity and business at their core. In this... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Hybrid Organizations; Nonprofit; Performance Measurement; Legal Form; Agency Theory; Stakeholder Management; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Accountability

2020
Working Paper

Algorithm-Augmented Work and Domain Experience: The Countervailing Forces of Ability and Aversion

By: Ryan Allen and Prithwiraj Choudhury

Past research offers mixed perspectives on whether domain experience helps or hurts algorithm-augmented work performance. To reconcile these perspectives, we theorize that domain experience affects algorithm-augmented performance via two distinct countervailing... View Details

Keywords: Automation; Domain Experience; Algorithmic Aversion; Experts; Algorithms; Machine Learning; Decision-making; Future Of Work; Employees; Experience and Expertise; Decision Making; Performance

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08 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Working With Organizations That Recruit at HBS: An Interview with Harley Munsell

How long have you been at HBS? I have been working at HBS for almost 4 years, but I’ve been a Recruiting Relations Manager for a year and a half. Before joining Career & Professional Development (CPD), I... View Details

Keywords: Consulting

Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work

Most managers today understand the value of building a learning organization. Their goal is to leverage knowledge and make it a key corporate asset, yet they remain uncertain about how best to get started. What they lack are guidelines and tools that transform abstract... View Details

November 19, 2019
Article

The Unexpected Benefits of Pursuing a Passion Outside of Work

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Joyce He and Julian Arango

We are often told to pursue work we’re passionate about. But, for many people, this simply isn’t feasible. Not every job affords the possibility of doing what you love. And people care deeply about many different things—not all of which will be how they want to earn a... View Details

Keywords: Passion; Work; Health; Welfare; Satisfaction

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Research Summary

Computer-assisted work and business scalability

My dissertation investigates how computer-assisted work (CAW) contributes to the ability of organizations to grow efficiently. Using survey data from over two hundred small wealth management firms, I analyze the relationships between CAW, growth aspirations, product... View Details

July 2012
Class Lecture

The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work

By: Teresa M. Amabile

What really makes people happy, motivated, productive, and creative at work? Professor Amabile's research, based on analyzing nearly 12,000 daily diaries of team members working on collaborative projects, reveals some surprising answers. Inner work life—a person's... View Details

Keywords: Employee Motivation; Fostering Performance; Improving Creativity; The Importance Of Progress; Employee Attitude; Enhancing Work Life; Improving Productivity; Inner Work Life; Motivation and Incentives; Working Conditions; Creativity; Performance Productivity; Attitudes; Employees

Research Summary

Venture Capital Organizations and Entrepreneurial Finance

By: Paul A. Gompers

Paul A. Gompers is examining corporate control and governance issues in venture capital organizations and entrepreneurial firms in an effort to understand how their relationships with their investors affect the venture capitalists' investment decisions. Using... View Details

Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire, Public Affairs, April 2020

It’s the most successful economic system to have ever existed, but capitalism is in danger of destroying itself—and our world. Reimagining Capitalism gets to the heart of what’s wrong with modern capitalism and lays out a pragmatic roadmap... View Details

August 1995 (Revised November 2000)
Background Note

Designing and Managing the Information Age Organization

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Managers and management theorists spent the majority of this century building and perfecting the hierarchy; however, if we believe the press, they now appear to be engaged in destroying it. While many proclaim the dawning of the "Information Age" organization and the... View Details

Keywords: Design; Management; Organizations; Information Technology