Publications

April 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Case

From Globalization to Dual Digital Transformation: CEO Thierry Breton Leading Atos Into 'Digital Shockwaves' (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley, JT Keller and James Barnett

Thierry Breton, chairman and CEO of IT company Atos, faced a pivotal juncture. After spending eight intense years scaling the company globally to over 100,000 employees in 70 countries, he was ready to take the next crucial step. Breton was convinced that rapid digital... View Details

Keywords: Dual Digital Transformation; Transformation; Disruption; Employees; Competency and Skills; Training; Decision Making; Digital Transformation

01 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Dying to Lead: How Reaching the Top Can Kill You Sooner

during the course of their careers, from the value of their homes to the promotions they received. Nicholas also verified whether workers attended prestigious GE training retreats. "Higher-ranked employees... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

25 Feb 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Fostering Organizational Learning: The Impact of Work Design on Workarounds, Errors, and Speaking Up About Internal Supply Chain Problems

Keywords: by Anita L. Tucker

26 Mar 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How Do Great Leaders Overcome Adversity?

Keywords: Re: Anthony Mayo

10 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

Truth Be Told: Unpacking the Risks of Whistleblowing

report possible fraud? What kinds of internal control levers, employee training programs, or perhaps even internal (nonfinancial) rewards and recognitions lead to a greater number of internal whistleblower... View Details

Keywords: by April White

November 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Starbucks: Reaffirming Commitment to the Third Place Ideal

By: Francesca Gino, Katherine B. Coffman and Jeff Huizinga

On April 12, 2018, two African American entrepreneurs had scheduled a business meeting at a Starbucks in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. They sat without ordering, waiting for a local businessman to show up for the meeting. The store manager called 911... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Prejudice and Bias; Crisis Management; Employees; Training

13 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Managers, Here’s How to Bond with New Hires Remotely

remote—compared with 5 percent before the pandemic—many companies are already setting up frequent informal chats online to keep the communication lines with remote employees open. “I’ve already had conversations with several companies... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

21 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Sure Thing to Increase Productivity

Evidence on Complementarities Between Human Capital and Machine Learning. The paper, written with Evan Starr and Rajshree Agarwal of the University of Maryland, suggests that firms must think carefully about the skills they’ll need to hire for or View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Information

Article

Managing a Polarized Workforce: How to Foster Debate and Promote Trust

By: Julia A. Minson and Francesca Gino

One of the toughest challenges leaders face is managing diverse perspectives—and given heightened tensions over politics and movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, that’s more difficult today than ever before. At the same time, productive disagreement and... View Details

Keywords: Polarization; Employees; Perspective; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Culture; Trust

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May 2021
Teaching Note

From Globalization to Dual Digital Transformation: CEO Thierry Breton Leading Atos Into 'Digital Shockwaves'

By: Tsedal Neeley

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 419-027 and 419-046. Thierry Breton, chairman and CEO of IT company Atos, faces a pivotal juncture. After spending eight intense years scaling the company globally to over 100,000 employees in 70 countries, he sees digital shockwaves... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Transformation; Strategy; Disruption; Employees; Competency and Skills; Training; Organizational Culture; Digital Transformation; Information Technology Industry

06 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Motivate Your High Performers to Share Their Knowledge

salesperson handles those issues slightly differently. It’s hard to train for that because everyone has a different style and way of talking to customers.” Tackling reticence and resistance at a call center For the study, Stanton and his... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

December 2013
Article

How Google Sold Its Engineers on Management

By: David A. Garvin

High-performing knowledge workers often question whether managers actually contribute much, especially in a technical environment. Until recently, that was the case at Google, a company filled with self-starters who viewed management as more destructive than beneficial... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Managing Change; Organizational Change; Analytics; Management; Leadership; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management

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31 Aug 2021
Book

Feeling Powerless at Work? Time to Agitate, Innovate, and Orchestrate

School Professor Julie Battilana. The crux of the problem is that CEOs and other leaders often get such a power trip that they lack empathy and humility, which inhibits their ability to understand and respect what their employees value.... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

24 Jan 2011
HBS Case

Terror at the Taj

with Ruth Page and David Habeeb of the HBS Educational Technology Group, Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership documents the bravery and resourcefulness shown by rank-and-file employees during the siege. Video interviews... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Accommodations

28 Jan 2022
News

Helping Trapped Low-Wage Workers, Employers Struggling to Fill Spots

2024
Working Paper

The Wade Test: Generative AI and CEO Communication

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Bart S. Vanneste and Amirhossein Zohrehvand

Can generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) transform the role of the CEO? This study investigates whether Gen-AI can mimic a human CEO and whether employees display aversion to Gen-AI communication. We present a framework of Gen-AI aversion that distinguishes... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; AI and Machine Learning; Perception; Communication

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December 2023
Case

Davivienda Bank's Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2022, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda— a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and reskilling... View Details

July 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Raymond Jefferson: Trial by Fire

By: Anthony Mayo and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the spring of 2021, Raymond (Ray) Jefferson applied for a job in President Joseph Biden’s administration. Ten years earlier, false allegations were used to force him to resign from his prior U.S. government position as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Personal Development and Career; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation

June 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Suzhou Good-Ark Electronics: Creating and Implementing a Sage Culture

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Nien-he Hsieh, Susan J. Winterberg, Nancy Hua Dai and Shalene Gupta

Suzhou Good-Ark, a Chinese semiconductor implemented "Sage Culture" management based on traditional Chinese philosophy. Productivity doubled, turnover decreased, and employee satisfaction shot up. By 2015, more than 2,000 companies had toured Wu’s factories, and Wu had... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Philosophy; Leadership; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Performance; Semiconductor Industry; China; Singapore