by Jeffrey Fear - Publications - Faculty & Research

22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

that, then that company has more capital and can do things that it couldn't otherwise do.” Doing well by doing good is an important trend in business generally and venture capital specifically, with the sphere of impact investing no... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

30 Sep 2019
Book

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees

typically adopt the strategy of remaining silent about race and inequality to avoid being labeled “agitators.” In a 2017 study by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and colleagues, 78 percent of black professionals said they have experienced... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

29 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Do Disasters Rally Support for Climate Action? It's Complicated.

Environmental disasters like wildfires can ignite awareness of climate change and boost eco-friendly politicians’ careers. But do voters perceive a tradeoff between environmental policies and local economic growth? In Brazil, home to a majority of the Amazon tropical... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

02 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

Why COVID-19 Probably Killed More People Than We Realize

As the number of casualties from COVID-19 ballooned at an alarming rate last year, some feared that government officials were failing to report several coronavirus-related losses and the actual death toll was much higher worldwide. While... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Schumpeterian Competition and Diseconomies of Scope: Illustrations from the Histories of Microsoft and IBM

Keywords: by Timothy Bresnahan, Shane Greenstein & Rebecca Henderson

13 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The Unlikely Upside of Mergers: More Diverse Management Teams

Employees often feel stressed when their firms are bought by other companies, fearing they could face layoffs, demotions, or lousy working conditions. While it’s true that organizations tend to restructure... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

13 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Do Private Equity Buyouts Get a Bad Rap?

firms often hunt for target companies they see as undervalued. By cutting costs or reorganizing, the acquirer can improve productivity and position the firm for profitable operations or a future sale. In some quarters, View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

13 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Company Reviews on Glassdoor: Petty Complaints or Signs of Potential Misconduct?

behavior bubbles below the radar An employee may not come forward right away to expose wrongdoing at a corporation for many reasons. In the absence of directly observing egregious behavior by a particular individual, an employee may not... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

30 May 2023
Research & Ideas

Can AI Predict Whether Shoppers Would Pick Crest or Colgate?

came from a sample of customers.” While the recent emergence of ChatGPT has reignited fears that machines may replace humans in the workplace, the results of this study don’t necessarily mean that AI is going to gut marketing departments,... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

04 Apr 2023
Book

Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues

While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Consumer Products; Fashion; Retail; Green Technology

25 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

A Macroeconomic View of the Current Economy

Corn Laws, the British decided to move toward free trade in wheat. It was a controversial move. Skeptics feared that other countries that supplied wheat to Britain could use it as a weapon, by threatening to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

28 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The FDA’s Speedy Drug Approvals Are Safe: A Win-Win for Patients and Pharma Innovation

submitted by drug developers, doctors, lawyers, and consumers. The analysis revealed no difference in the frequency of adverse events reported for BTD drugs versus similar drugs that lacked BTD status and took longer to gain approval. The... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Pharmaceutical

05 Feb 2024
What Do You Think?

How Do You Hire for Attitude?

cross-training—as opposed to the fiefdoms and management by fear typical of other fine dining establishments—on the job. Nearly all that I spoke with mentioned what they were learning—and in some cases,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

23 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

After High-Profile Failures, Can Investors Still Trust Credit Ratings?

important lesson: getting it wrong can seriously damage their reputations and hurt their businesses. As economic fears mount and raise default concerns, a fresh analysis of new-and-improved credit rating agencies sounds a hopeful note... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

26 Apr 2023
In Practice

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

The launch of ChatGPT seems to have reignited doomsday fears about artificial intelligence (AI) replacing workers en masse. Are these fears prescient or overblown? A recent survey shows 62 percent of... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

02 Jun 2010
What Do You Think?

How Do You Weigh Strategy, Execution, and Culture in an Organization’s Success?

hope the comments were as helpful and thought-provoking to you as they were to me. Those of you willing to venture to place weights on the determinants of success gave the nod to culture by a wide margin. As Mouaz AlZayyat put it,... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

02 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

What If Closing the Wage Gap Means Everyone Earns Less?

laws that seek to give workers more bargaining power by requiring companies to disclose employee salaries. However, opening up the books for all to see has put 2 to 3 percent less cash in workers’ pockets, at least in the US private... View Details