Publications

Educators

December 1999 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

Measuring Interim Period Performance

By: David F. Hawkins

Covers interim period accounting objectives, theories, and practices. Special financial analysis concerns related to this topic are discussed. A rewritten version of an earlier note. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Business Ventures; Policy; Management Practices and Processes; Measurement and Metrics; Performance Evaluation

Educators

2012
Working Paper

Pay Dispersion and Work Performance

By: Alessandro Bucciol and Marco Piovesan

The effect of intra-firm pay dispersion on work performance is controversial and the empirical evidence is mixed. High pay dispersion may act as an extra incentive for employees' effort or it may reduce motivation and team cohesiveness. These effects can also coexist... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Wages; Motivation and Incentives; Groups and Teams; Italy

14 Apr 2014
News

A Better Path to High Performance

December 2018
Teaching Note

Bata versus Relaxo—Analyzing Performance

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Iris Leung and Quinn Pitcher

Teaching Note for HBS No. 119-050. View Details

November 2013
Teaching Note

Momentive Performance Materials, Inc.

By: Victoria Ivashina and David Scharfstein

November 1981
Background Note

Helping Managers Improve Performance

By: Arthur N. Turner

Keywords: Management Skills

May 15 2018
Testimonial

Leveraging Culture for Performance

02 Oct 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Is Mandatory Nonfinancial Performance Measurement Beneficial?

Keywords: by Susanna Gallani, Takehisha Kajiwara & Ranjani Krishnan; Health

09 Apr 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

The Dark Side of Performance Bonuses

iPhoto Companies continually test ways to incent employees to perform more effectively, often turning to worker-motivation tools such as bonuses, “up or out” employee ranking tournaments, and employee of the month rewards. Behavioral... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2011
Other Unpublished Work

The Performance Effects of Regulatory Oversight

This paper explores the heterogeneity in firm performance that can arise from exogenously varying levels of oversight in regulated industries. We use data on the performance of U.S. commercial banks to show that banks located physically closer to their supervisors'... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Corporate Governance

08 Jul 2022
News

How to Conduct a Great Performance Review.

1999
Article

Developing the Star Performer

By: Linda A. Hill

Keywords: Growth and Development; Performance

December 2014
Article

Clusters, Convergence, and Economic Performance

By: Mercedes Delgado, Michael E. Porter and Scott Stern

This paper evaluates the role of regional cluster composition in regional industry performance. On the one hand, diminishing returns to specialization in a location can result in a convergence effect: the growth rate of an industry within a region may be declining in... View Details

Keywords: Clusters; Economics; Industry Clusters; Economy; Growth and Development; United States

2012
Working Paper

Clusters, Convergence, and Economic Performance

By: Mercedes Delgado, Michael E. Porter and Scott Stern

This paper evaluates the role of regional cluster composition in the economic performance of industries, clusters, and regions. On the one hand, diminishing returns to specialization in a location can result in a convergence effect: the growth rate of an industry... View Details

Keywords: Industry Clusters; Performance; Economics

20 May 2010
News

Why star performers struggle

May 2014
Case

Building a High Performance Culture at IDFC

By: V.G. Narayanan and Vidhya Muthuram

IDFC was set up in 1997 to direct private finance to infrastructure projects in India. Over the years, it expanded its capabilities to become a 'complete solutions provider' offering financing solutions including debt and equity, investment banking, brokerage and asset... View Details

Educators

27 May 2015
Research & Ideas

Build 'Scaffolds' to Improve Performance of Temporary Teams

interdependent tasks, and stable, appropriate composition, Edmondson says. "Here we say we've got only the minimal version of those four factors-just a whisper of those things-and yet we get an awful lot of benefit." Performance... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Health

April 2010
Article

Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

By: Paul A. Gompers, Josh Lerner, David Scharfstein and Anna Kovner

This paper presents evidence of performance persistence in entrepreneurship. We show that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are much more likely to succeed than first-time entrepreneurs and those who have previously failed. In particular, they exhibit... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Market Timing; Competency and Skills; Success; Business Startups

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Article

Don't Stop Believing: Rituals Improve Performance by Decreasing Anxiety

By: Alison Wood Brooks, Julianna Schroeder, Jane Risen, Francesca Gino, Adam D. Galinsky, Michael I. Norton and Maurice Schweitzer

From public speaking to first dates, people frequently experience performance anxiety. And when experienced immediately before or during performance, anxiety harms performance. Across a series of experiments, we explore the efficacy of a common strategy that people... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Performance; Emotions