Publications

April 2001
Article

Academic-Practitioner Collaboration in Management Research: A Case of Cross-Profession Collaboration

By: T. M. Amabile, C. Patterson, Jennifer Mueller, T. Wojcik, P. Odomirok, M. Marsh and S. Kramer

We present a case of academic-practitioner research collaboration to illuminate three potential determinants of the success of such cross-profession collaborations: collaborative team characteristics, collaboration environment characteristics, and collaboration... View Details

Keywords: Research; Cases; Analytics and Data Science; Theory

21 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Going Negative in Political Advertising

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge.This post is drawn from an article that... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

October 10, 2023
Article

10 Reasons Why Inclusion Is a Competitive Advantage

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

In their new book, Move Fast and Fix Things, Frances Frei and Anne Morriss outline five strategies to help leaders tackle their hardest problems and quickly make change. Their third strategy is creating an inclusive environment that allows all employees to... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement

09 Sep 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching Climate Change to Skeptics

taking a hint from the reinsurance industry, which runs on risk assessment and which faces financial hits in the wake of any climate-related event. Frank Nutter, president of the Reinsurance Association of America, in his testimony before the Senate Committee on View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

April 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Background Note

Winning the Influence Game: Corporate Diplomacy and Business Strategy

Provides a framework for influencing key outside players--businesses, governments, and NGOs--in support of business strategy. This could mean negotiating contracts with major customers and suppliers, concluding acquisitions and alliances, and securing financing from... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Business Strategy; Power and Influence

March 1998
Teaching Note

Personality Types: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (TN)

By: David A. Thomas and Emily Heaphy

Describes a class design for teaching students about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The Ideal Organization exercise is the centerpiece of the class. It demonstrates that people with different cognitive types have distinct preferences for the type of... View Details

Keywords: Job Search; Working Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Situation or Environment; Perception; Integration

2013
Article

The Strategic Fitness Process: A Collaborative Action Research Method for Developing Organizational Prototypes and Dynamic Capabilities

By: Michael Beer

Organizations underperform and sometimes fail because their leaders are unable to learn the unvarnished truth from relevant stakeholders about how the design and behavior of the organization is misaligned with its goals and strategy. The Strategic Fitness Process (SFP)... View Details

Keywords: Organization Alignment; Dynamic Capabilities; Organization Design; Organizational Prototyping; Organizational Silence; Organizational Learning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Organizational Design

Read Now

March 2012
Article

Racial Diversity, Racial Asymmetries, and Team Learning Environment: Effects on Performance

By: Robin J. Ely, Irene Padavic and David A. Thomas

This paper argues that learning in cross-race interactions is critical for work teams to realize performance benefits from racial diversity but that diversity is a liability when society's negative stereotypes about racial minorities' competence inhibit such... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Performance; Learning; Diversity

September 1999
Case

Trisha Wilson of Wilson & Associates

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Sarah S. Khetani

Texan entrepreneur Trisha Wilson has founded an interior design firm and watched it grow into one of the most successful firms in the hospitality design services industry. After 20 years of building a company that is truly a reflection of her own personality, Wilson... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Employees; Innovation and Management; Management; Business or Company Management; Management Succession; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Service Industry; Texas

October 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Doing Business in Vietnam

By: Alan MacCormack, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Dawn H. Lau

This case gives an overview of the current business environment in Vietnam as of 2012. The first part of the case introduces the main economic, political and cultural aspects of the country of which anyone who has business interest in the country ought to be aware.... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; Viet Nam

February 3, 2020
Article

Should Your Family Business Have a "No In-Laws" Policy?

By: Christina R. Wing and Rohit K. Gera

Should in-laws, even if they’re highly qualified, work in the family business? While there’s no “one-size-fits-all” guideline, if you are considering involving in-laws in the family business, it’s important to think through some general policies in advance. Document a... View Details

Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Family Business; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure

April 2008 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Commonwealth Care Alliance: Elderly and Disabled Care

By: Michael E. Porter and Jennifer F Baron

Individuals enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, known as dual eligibles, are among the highest-cost beneficiaries in the US. Commonwealth Care Alliance, a small nonprofit insurer and care delivery system in Massachusetts, operated under a public demonstration... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Public Sector; Alliances; Policy; Age; Service Delivery; Value; Health Care and Treatment; Welfare; Insurance Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

2014
Book

The Power of Noticing: What the Best Leaders See

By: Max Bazerman

This book will examine the common failure to notice critical information due to bounded awareness. The book will document a decade of research showing that even successful people fail to notice the absence of critical and readily available information in their... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Judgments; Negotiation; Negotiation Process; Relationships

June 1981 (Revised May 1988)
Case

L.L. Bean, Inc.: Corporate Strategy

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

L.L. Bean, Inc., a Maine-based manufacturer and mail-order retailer of sporting goods and apparel, has grown from $3 million in sales (1967) to over $120 million (1980). Current projections predict an annual compounded growth of 25% through 1985. Management must decide... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Growth and Development; Growth Management; Production; Quality; Sales; Situation or Environment; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry