Publications

Find at Harvard

2024
Working Paper

Corporate Culture Homogeneity and Top Executive Incentive Design: Evidence from CEO Compensation Contracts

By: Dennis Campbell, Ruidi Shang and Zhifang Zhang

We examine how corporate cultures characterized by high degrees of homogeneity in the underlying values and beliefs of organizational members are related to the design of CEO incentive compensation contracts. We argue that culture homogeneity within firms lowers... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Culture; Compensation Design; Accounting; Management Control; Incentive Systems; Organizational Culture; Job Design and Levels; Governance; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives

Read Now

October 2010
Article

Culture Clash: The Costs and Benefits of Homogeneity

By: Eric Van den Steen

This paper develops an economic theory of the costs and benefits of corporate culture-in the sense of shared beliefs and values in order to study the effects of "culture clash" in mergers and acquisitions. I first use a simple analytical framework to show that shared... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Organizational Culture; Economics; Information Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Values and Beliefs; Mergers and Acquisitions; Framework; Satisfaction; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Communication

Find at Harvard

January 2017 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Susan Cassidy at Bertram Gilman International

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Michael Norris

In 2016, Susan Cassidy, VP of sales and marketing for the packaged foods division at CPG firm Bertram Gilman International, has to make a promotion decision. Should she choose the person she has been grooming for the position or another candidate recommended by central... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Algorithms; Promotion Decision; Human Resources; Business Processes; Consumer Products Industry; United States

12 Sep 2013
News

Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption

02 Sep 2015
What Do You Think?

What's Wrong With Amazon’s Low-Retention HR Strategy?

This past month, a New York Times report on Amazon’s personnel strategies prompted several days of intense debate. A number of questions can be raised about the article itself, given the fact that much of it was based on interviews with those who had left an View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Web Services; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Consumer Products; Fashion

08 Sep 2020
News

Maintaining Organizational Soul While Onboarding In A Remote World

April 2014
Article

Who Lives in the C-Suite? Organizational Structure and the Division of Labor in Top Management

By: Maria Guadalupe, Hongyi Li and Julie Wulf

Top management structures in large U.S. firms have changed significantly since the mid-1980s. While the size of the executive team—the group of managers reporting directly to the CEO—doubled during this period, this growth was driven primarily by an increase in... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Functions; Centralization; M-form; Hierarchy; Top Management Team; C-Suite; Activities; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Diversification; Managerial Roles; Organizational Design; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Management Teams; United States

29 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely

time. The study’s findings can help firms understand the effects of various flex-work options, and support certain types of employees as they negotiate with employers. Choudhury says the results have important implications for workers,... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

November 2005 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Tad O'Malley: December 2004

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon and Sean Klimczak

Tad O'Malley, a second-year student at Harvard Business School, must choose among three offers from private equity firms. Each firm presents a unique combination of history, culture, and compensation. Traces Tad's strategy in obtaining these offers and lets students... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Job Offer; Negotiation Tactics; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career

21 Jul 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?

Keywords: by Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle

20 Dec 2016
First Look

December 20, 2016

years, this paper presents a significant revision of the model of creativity and innovation in organizations published in Research in Organizational Behavior in 1988. This update focuses primarily on the individual-level psychological... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

30 May 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Non-Standard Matches and Charitable Giving

Keywords: by Michael Sanders, Sarah Smith & Michael I. Norton

Web

Accounting & Management - Faculty & Research

address healthcare inequities in the U.S., disparities across race, gender, geography, and income remain stubbornly persistent. This article introduces the Strategic Fingerprint Framework for Health Equity, a practical, principle-based tool designed to help healthcare... View Details

Web

Research Areas - Doctoral

Program for Research in Markets & Organizations Research Areas 1ms HBS faculty conduct research on a wide variety of topics. In the application you must indicate your top three choices of research areas, in order of preference, from the... View Details

Article

Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors

By: Susan Helper and Rebecca Henderson

General Motors was once regarded as one of the best managed and most successful firms in the world, but between 1980 and 2009 its share of the U.S. market fell from 62.6% to 19.8%, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt. In this paper we argue that the conventional... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

29 Oct 2021
News

Eight Companies That Changed Their Names to Signal a Strategy Shift

March 2006
Module Note

Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World

By: Alan D. MacCormack

Describes the second module of the 30-session Harvard Business School elective course Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World. The course helps students understand the challenges that uncertainty implies for innovation and how to overcome these challenges. The course... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Problems and Challenges; Business Processes; Perspective; Opportunities; Risk and Uncertainty; Managerial Roles; Product Design; Business Startups; Organizational Design

November 2012
Case

Edison Schools, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Conflict of Interests; Initial Public Offering; For-Profit Firms; Public Sector; Market Entry and Exit; Education; Business Startups; Education Industry

October 1995 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Booz.Allen & Hamilton: Vision 2000

In 1993, Booz.Allen & Hamilton forsook its previous, highly local organizational structure. It was motivated by a desire to serve multinational clients more effectively and to provide greater value to clients with more localized business by collecting best practices... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Organizational Structure; Global Strategy; Service Industry