Learning By Doing - Publications - Faculty & Research

22 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

The Hedge Fund as Activist

performance, most investors have found it easier to vote "with their feet" by selling shares, rather than making formal complaints. Large shareholders, however, have stronger incentives to monitor management. The conventional... View Details

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood; Financial Services

18 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

How Brand China Can Succeed

autobiographies in 3 manuscripts: the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art." China has a long and proud history and a rich culture. In deeds, today's Chinese businesspeople and government officials can View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

07 Feb 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Creating the Founders’ Dilemmas Course

how viable the dream. “We tackle the problems that are faced by almost any founder no matter what industry they are in, no matter what country they are in, and no matter what time frame they are in-boom or bust.” "We tackle the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

13 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Science Business: What Happened to Biotech?

very "transactional" or "deal-making" terms. They do not think about the potential value of the relationship. So, they structure fairly narrow contracts, with lots of ways to bail out. They then mitigate the risks... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology

20 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

How Partisan Politics Play Out in American Boardrooms

American corporations have never been more partisan—starting at the top with executives who often bring on like-minded managers belonging to the same political party. Now, new research shows that when boardrooms are dominated by one... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

25 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Being a Team Player: Why College Athletes Succeed in Business

C-suite roles than their classmates, says Paul Gompers, the Eugene Holman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, who is one of the study’s co-authors. “It certainly makes sense that that kind of intense commitment means there are things that... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

21 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Gender and Competition: What Companies Need to Know

Pressure to not compete against men, rather than an innate preference for cooperation over competition, may keep women from earning what they're worth in the workplace, according to preliminary findings by three Harvard researchers. In... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

15 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How Does a Social Startup Decide to Commercialize? It May Depend on the Founder's Gender

Green’s own observations about its fellowship application base. “Echoing Green has learned over our 30-year history that female-identified applicants to our fellowship do propose fewer commercialized social... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

15 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These VC Partners May Make Your Firm Less Innovative

You don’t know what you don’t know—and almost by definition new entrepreneurial ventures need a helping hand from established partners if they hope to succeed. “Startups suffer from what researchers call ‘liability of newness,’” says... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

05 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance

improve their job performance. “Our work shows that if we'd take some time out for reflection, we might be better off.” In the working paper Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance, the authors... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

02 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

Why COVID-19 Probably Killed More People Than We Realize

leaders need to be brave and not afraid of criticism." The research team didn’t study data in 2021, so it’s unclear whether government officials are continuing to underreport COVID deaths. But Rouen hopes leaders have learned View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Commuter Hell? You Can Still Be Productive

traveling by car. The researchers gave some commuters a prompt that said: “Please use your commuting time to focus on your goals and make plans about what to do (during your workday).” Other commuters were... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

18 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Warning: Scary Warning Labels Work!

challenging spot, since their responsibility to their shareholders is to make money, and their go-to way of doing this has been by selling junk food,” she says. “But, you can see this trend where they’re... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Advertising; Public Relations

15 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

This Workplace Certification Made Already Safe Companies Even Safer

according to the working paper Do Management System Standards Indicate Superior Performance? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard. To earn the voluntary certification, workplaces need to demonstrate that... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

18 Dec 2013
HBS Case

Lessons from the Lance Armstrong Cheating Scandal

Rose sees more of a lesson in the decisions made by his followers—fellow riders, medical staff, and training staff—to go along with Armstrong's deceptions. "How do you start to go down that slippery... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports

27 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Customer Loyalty Programs That Work

Customer The most important component by far is customer engagement. "Retailers should ask themselves, 'how do I create a partnership with the consumer?' instead of pulling one over on them," says... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Retail

21 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Employee Negativity Is Like Wildfire. Manage It Before It Spreads.

Regulating our own emotions in stressful situations is difficult enough, but business leaders face the added challenge of attempting to regulate the collective emotions of the groups they lead to guide them toward success. Now, research View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

06 May 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Minutes After a Virtual Meeting That Can Build Up or Tear Down Teams

mask, and what do you unveil?” In studying backstage interactions among employees working for a global company in the United States and China, Perlow found that team members in the two locations often interpreted what happened on the... View Details