Publications

May 2018
Supplement

Transformation at ING (C): Culture

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

In 2016, ING Group began an overhaul of its company culture, culminating in a code of conduct dubbed "The Orange Code." View Details

Keywords: ING; Company Culture; Cultural Change; Change; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Netherlands

September 1984
Case

Henkel Corp.: International Sealants Brand SISTA (A)

By: Robert J. Dolan

Corporate headquarters wishes to expand sales of a sealant product currently sold only in the West German market. Regional affiliates, operating on a profit center basis, are not enthusiastic about taking on the new product. The case describes the company's... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Globalization; Expansion; Profit; Conflict Management; Consumer Products Industry; Construction Industry; Europe; West Germany

November 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

The Last DVD Format War?

By: Andrei Hagiu

Provides a brief overview of the standards battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, focusing on the events that precipitated the Blu-ray victory in early 2008. View Details

Keywords: Five Forces Framework; Standards; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Hardware; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Technology Industry

31 Oct 2009
News

Leadership Without a Secret Code

December 2010
Article

Happiness Adaptation to Income and to Status in an Individual Panel

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

We study adaptation to income and to status using individual panel data on the happiness of 7,812 people living in Germany from 1984 to 2000. Specifically, we estimate a "happiness equation" defined over several lags of income and status and compare the long-run... View Details

Keywords: Wages; Status and Position; Happiness; Income; Change; Germany

Read Now

Spring 2023
Article

Incentive Contract Design and Employee-Initiated Innovation: Evidence from the Field

By: Wei Cai, Susanna Gallani and Jee-Eun Shin

This study examines how the design of incentive contracts for tasks defined as workers’ official responsibilities (i.e., standard tasks) influences workers’ propensity to engage in employee-initiated innovation (EII). EII corresponds to innovation activities that are... View Details

Keywords: Employee-initiated Innovation; Contract Design; Rank-and-file; Extra-role Behaviors; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Innovation and Management

October 1977 (Revised April 1983)
Case

James Cranston

By: Michael Beer and James G. Clawson

Describes the attitudes, feelings, and perceptions of the manager who will conduct the performance appraisal interview. View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Performance Evaluation; Attitudes; Emotions; Perception

James Riley is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches LEAD in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Riley is an economic sociologist. He conducts ethnographic research to... View Details

October 2002 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Codex Alimentarius and Food Labeling

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Codex Alimentarius is a set of international food standards devised by the Codex Commission, a body within the United Nations jointly sponsored by the FAO and WHO. The purpose of the standards is to harmonize global trade in food products and agricultural commodities,... View Details

Keywords: Standards; Trade; Agreements and Arrangements; Food; Agribusiness; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Globalization; Health; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

February 1995
Case

James Cranfield

By: John J. Gabarro and Andrew P. Burtis

Describes the attitudes, feelings, and perceptions of the manager who will conduct the performance appraisal interview. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Attitudes; Perspective; Emotions

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 15 Jan 2015
Webinars: Trending@HBS

High Impact Women Entrepreneurs: Insights from Pioneers who are Changing the Game

During this webinar, Professor Lynda Applegate, faculty chair of the HBS Owner/President Management program, will discuss new research that is developing profiles and case studies on women entrepreneurs who founded new ventures that have become successful high-growth,... View Details

May 2018
Case

Environmental Platform LEEDership at USGBC

By: Michael W. Toffel, Timothy S. Simcoe and Aldo Sesia

By 2018, it was clear that U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) had significantly contributed to the growth of green building and over its 25-year history had become a powerful brand in the construction sector with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Business Model; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Construction Industry; Green Technology Industry

March 1981 (Revised July 1985)
Case

Dunfey Hotels Corp.

Describes the marketing planning process adopted by the corporate headquarters of a chain of 22 diverse hotels. Raises the question of whether it is possible to standardize the planning process so that individually tailored marketing strategies are developed for each... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Accommodations Industry

01 Nov 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Patent Disclosures and Standard-Setting

Keywords: by Josh Lerner, Haris Tabakovic, and Jean Tirole

June 2015
Article

Standard-Essential Patents

By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole

A major policy issue in standard setting is that patents that are ex-ante not that important may, by being included into the standard, become standard-essential patents (SEPs). In an attempt to curb the monopoly power that they create, most standard-setting... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Policy; Standards

August 2020
Article

Does Spending Money on Others Promote Happiness? A Registered Replication Report

By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Jason Proulx, Iris Lok and Michael I. Norton

Research indicates that spending money on others—prosocial spending—leads to greater happiness than spending money on oneself (e.g., Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008, 2014). These findings have received widespread attention because they offer insight into why people engage... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Generosity; Well-being; Replication; Happiness; Behavior; Spending