Publications

Research Summary

Overview

I study how people collaborate with each other as they define, change, and solve problems while working on creativity and innovation projects in organizations.

Conference Proceedings:
Cromwell, J. & Gardner, H. 2017. High-stakes innovation: When... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Startups; Decision Choice And Uncertainty; Teams; Team Process

07 Jan 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Culture Changers: Managing High-Impact Entrepreneurs

innovations—don't necessarily work in creative industries. For example, when some of her MBA students look at the art market, they want to make it more "efficient" by using technology to get rid of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

Power Dynamics in Organizations

By: Linda A. Hill

Designed to introduce the concepts of power and power dynamics to students in the MBA second-year elective course Power and Influence. Defines "power" and "influence," and explores the role of power dynamics in managerial work and in the life of organizations. Combats... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Organizations; Conflict and Resolution

25 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 25

estimate, which tends to increase as agents get more data. Working PapersThe Dark Side of Creativity: Original Thinkers Can Be More Dishonest Authors:Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely Abstract Creativity is a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Teamwork and Innovative Behavior with Professor Jeff Polzer and Hila Lifshitz

In a field setting, we explore how teamwork could enhance team members' interpersonal relationships and work performance. We collect longitudinal survey data and measure creative performance of a US company's employees before, during, and after they... View Details

Research Summary

Contentment with Professor Roy Chua

Middle-Way is one of the core principles of Buddhism-it promotes a moderate lifestyle that is self-sufficient and void of excesses or extremes in any life domains. People with this type of lifestyle live a "content" life. However, could life... View Details

January 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Trouble at Tessei

By: Ethan Bernstein and Ryan W. Buell

In 2005, Teruo Yabe is asked to revive Tessei, the 669-person JR-East subsidiary responsible for cleaning its Shinkansen ("bullet") trains. Operational mistakes, customer complaints, safety issues, and employee turnover are at or near all-time highs, even as the... View Details

Keywords: Service Management; Employee Engagement; Employee Motivation; Leadership And Managing People; Quality Improvement; Efficiency; Japan; Operational Transparency; Employee Coordination; Transparency; Leadership; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Employees; Quality; Transportation Industry; Japan

September 2024
Background Note

Copyright and Fair Use

By: David B. Yoffie

The U.S. Copyright Office defines a copyright as “a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression.” Two core principles of copyright are originality and fixation. A work is... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Copyright; Lawsuits and Litigation; United States

12 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

John Irving’s Lessons for Business

because intrinsic motivation is so important for creativity, people's creativity can actually decline in situations when they're under a lot of extrinsic control. For example, tight deadlines do motivate people. They motivate people to... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark & Martha Lagace

January 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Satera Team at Imatron Systems, Inc. (A), The

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Elizabeth Schatzel

Escalating conflict has erupted within the Satera product development team, resulting from the conflicting cognitive styles of the two senior mechanical engineers. The conflict has taken a toll on both project progress and team morale, endangering one of the most... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Management; Business or Company Management; Groups and Teams; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

07 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 7

Creativity: The Superadditive Benefits of Multicultural Experience for Collective Creativity in Culturally Diverse Teams Authors:Carmit Tadmor, Patricia Satterstrom, Sujin Jang, and Jeffrey Polzer Publication:Journal of Cross-Cultural... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

The Art of Balancing Autonomy and Control: What Managers Can Learn from Hackathon Organizers about Spurring Innovation.

By: Hila Lifshitz - Assaf, Sarah Lebovitz and Lior Zalmanson

Today, managers recognize that innovation requires a high level of work autonomy for their employees. This encourages curiosity, enables independent thinking, and provides an environment in which employees can experiment and test new problem-solving approaches with... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Hackathon; Autonomy; Control; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management

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Research Summary

Current Projects

To further study team coaching and creativity, I have undertaken two field-based studies. In collaboration with Teresa Amabile, I am exploring helping and collaborative behaviors though the analysis of daily diary entries from creative work teams at a design firm.... View Details

March 2025
Case

Stagwell: AI and the Future of Marketing

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Radhika Kak

In early 2025, Mark Penn, Founder, CEO and Chairman of Stagwell, a global marketing company with a network of over 70+ agencies that served over 4000 blue-chip customers across 40 countries, was looking at ways that marketers should navigate the disruption emanating... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Retention; Innovation Strategy; Change Management; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Digital Transformation; Technology Adoption; Marketing Strategy; Service Delivery; Creativity; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry

Research Summary

Overview

By: Jeremy Yang

Professor Yang's recent work focuses on understanding and solving important managerial problems in the creator economy. His projects are organized around the 4Cs: creator, content, community, and commerce. On creator, he studies creator inequality and bias. On content,... View Details

28 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 28, 2008

Course MaterialsAdobe Systems: Working Towards a 'Suite' Release (A) Harvard Business School Case 409-014 The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

Experiment of On-the-job Learning of Knowledge Production by Local Workers Reporting to Return Migrants By: Choudhury, Prithwiraj Abstract—I study whether return migrants facilitate knowledge production by local employees working for them... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Kyocera Corp.

By: John P. Kotter

Examines the three factors critical to this company's remarkable success in the high tech field. The first factor is the founder, Dr. Inamori's powerful leadership. The second is the strong corporate culture or philosophy of the firm. The third element in Kyocera's... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Infrastructure; Leadership Style; Management Systems; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Practice; Profit; Planning; Technology Industry; Electronics Industry