Publications

March 2017 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Catalant: The Future of Work?

By: Thomas Eisenmann, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Christine Snively

Catalant, founded in 2013 as an online marketplace where MBAs could bid on consulting projects posted by small- to medium-sized businesses, had expanded by 2016 to provide Fortune 1000 companies with access to over 35,000 independent experts. The founders envisioned... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Recruitment; Labor; Market Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Employment Industry; Employment Industry; United States

February 2011
Case

oDesk: Changing How the World Works

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Jennifer M. Tydlaska

It is 2010, and Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, is contemplating the next steps for his organization. Founded in 2004 in California, oDesk operates an online marketplace which matches Employers with Contractors. oDesk provides fact-based information on Contractors, including... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consulting Industry

29 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurship and Urban Growth: An Empirical Assessment with Historical Mines

Keywords: by Edward L. Glaeser, Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr; Manufacturing

04 Jun 2018
Blog Post

How to Create a Presence Without Being Present

The professional job search is a deeply personal journey. For MBA job-seekers, direct engagement with potential employers is essential: they want you to know who they are, and they want to know who you are. Live, face-to-face encounters... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

18 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How Eliminating Non-Competes Could Reshape Tech

non-compete agreements affect employers and professionals in technology? Andy Wu: A ban on non-compete agreements would be great for professionals in the technology industry, ranging from software developers to account managers.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

March 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Fabindia Overseas Pvt. Ltd.

By: Mukti Khaire and Prabakar (PK) Kothandaraman

Fabindia is a for-profit Indian retail company with the stated mission of providing employment to weavers and traditional handicraft artisans in rural India. Established in 1960 as an exporter of home furnishings, Fabindia has grown as a consumer-facing retailer of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply Chain; Mission and Purpose; Expansion; Retail Industry; India

05 Jan 2017
Blog Post

Simple Ways to Take Gender Bias Out of Your Jobs

HBS Career & Professional Development (CPD) is sharing Working Knowledge articles to further educate our recruiting partners about best practices in human resources. In the Quest for Gender Equality, Job Ads Are Low-hanging Fruit; an Interview by Carmen Nobel... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

July 1, 2022
Editorial

New Transparency Rule Helps Rein in Health Care Costs

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Cynthia A. Fisher

Over the last year, consumer prices have grown 60% faster than wages. Employers can help their employees contend with this high inflation by addressing a long-running source: health care costs. View Details

Keywords: Healthcare Costs; Consumer Prices; Inflation and Deflation; Wages; Health Industry

February 1999
Case

Lifeline Systems, Inc. (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis

In 1997, Lifeline Systems continues to grow its service business to $32 million, 56% of the company's total revenues. More local hospital Lifeline programs turn over their monitoring service to Lifeline Central, expanding the company's subscriber base by 30%. The... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology; Expansion; Cost Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Change; Customer Relationship Management; Service Operations; Age; Investment; Health Industry; Health Industry; Cambridge; Boston

February 2008
Exercise

Gerson Lehrman Group

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr. and David Lane

Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) brought together decision makers in search of hard-to-find answers with specialized experts in nearly every imaginable field. Over time, GLG developed software to help minimize potential conflicts of interest among and between experts and... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Focus and Relationships; Governance Compliance; Conflict of Interests; Competitive Advantage; Software; Consulting Industry

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2020
Working Paper

Aggregate and Firm-Level Stock Returns During Pandemics, in Real Time

By: Laura Alfaro, Anusha Chari, Andrew Greenland and Peter K. Schott

We show that unexpected changes in the trajectory of COVID-19 infections predict U.S. stock returns, in real time. Parameter estimates indicate that an unanticipated doubling (halving) of projected infections forecasts next-day decreases (increases) in aggregate U.S.... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Stock Returns; Health Pandemics; Stocks; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction

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2008
Working Paper

Financial Development, Bank Ownership, and Growth. Or, Does Quantity Imply Quality?

By: Shawn A. Cole

In 1980, India nationalized its large private banks. This induced different bank ownership patterns across different towns, allowing credible identification of the effects of bank ownership on financial development, lending rates, and the quality of intermediation, as... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Credit; Banks and Banking; Interest Rates; State Ownership; Private Ownership; Banking Industry; India

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2020
Working Paper

Automation and the Plight of Young Workers: Evidence from the Automation of Telephone Operation in the Early 20th Century

By: Daniel P. Gross and James J. Feigenbaum

Telephone operation was one of the most common jobs for young American women in the early 1900s. Between 1920 and 1940, AT&T adopted dial service in over half of U.S. telephone exchanges, automating away a legion of operators. We show that upon a city's adoption of... View Details

Keywords: Employment; Labor; Gender; Technology Adoption; History; Telecommunications Industry; United States

November–December 2024
Article

Why Employees Quit

By: Ethan Bernstein, Michael B. Horn and Bob Moesta

The so-called war for talent is still raging. But in that fight, employers continue to rely on the same hiring and retention strategies they’ve been using for decades. Why? Because they’ve been so focused on challenges such as poaching by industry rivals, competing in... View Details

Keywords: Retention; Recruitment; Talent and Talent Management; Employee Relationship Management; Motivation and Incentives

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April 2014
Article

Awards Unbundled: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment

By: Nava Ashraf, Oriana Bandiera and Scott S. Lee

Organizations often use non-monetary awards to incentivize performance. Awards may affect behavior through several mechanisms: by conferring employer recognition, by enhancing social visibility, and by facilitating social comparison. In a nationwide health worker... View Details

Keywords: Social Comparison; Awards; Optimal Expectactions; Zambia; Status and Position; Performance Expectations; Motivation and Incentives; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Zambia

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11 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

How AI Could Ease the Refugee Crisis and Bring New Talent to Businesses

transformed several industries over the past two years—may offer solutions for overwhelmed resettlement programs run by both nongovernmental organizations and governments, according to a study by Harvard Business School Assistant... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

auto market in the 1950s. The industry leader, unbothered by competition and looming threats, began to coast on its former glory, however, and bypass such areas as consumer preferences and industry... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

Research Summary

Re-Producing Exclusivity: A History of the Transatlantic Fashion Industry, 1929-1960

The history of fashion has been increasingly explored over the last decade, but two important and intertwined features of the topic are still underdeveloped: business and its international aspect. These dimensions are crucial. Fashion is first and foremost an industry... View Details

October 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Infosys (A): Strategic Human Resource Management

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Jaya Tandon and Ganesh Rengaswamy

Hema Ravichandar, head of human resources, was given a new and aggressive milestone to reach: ensure Infosys is on the Top 10 lists of both Best Performing Companies and Best Employers by 2007. No large organization had ever been able to achieve this distinction... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Transition; Cost; Human Resources; Employee Relationship Management; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology Industry