Publications

2012
Chapter

When Identities, Interests, and Information Collide: How Subgroups Create Hidden Profiles in Teams

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Lisa Kwan and Lisa B. Kwan

Purpose—We review how team members' identities and interests affect team functioning, paying special attention to subgroup dynamics triggered by fault lines and coalitions. This review sets the stage for describing novel pathways through which identities and... View Details

Keywords: Information; Conflict of Interests; Interests; Groups and Teams; Identity; Performance

02 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

The Rich Get Richer: Enabling Conditions for Knowledge Use in Organizational Work Teams

Keywords: by Melissa A. Valentine, Bradley R. Staats & Amy C. Edmondson

09 Apr 2024
Book

Why Work Rituals Bring Teams Together and Create More Meaning

them to change our emotional states in many different ways.” With a 2023 Gallup survey showing that US employees are less satisfied with their jobs and less likely to feel that someone at work cares about them than four years ago, Norton says workplace rituals can be... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Rapport: The Hidden Advantage That Women Managers Bring to Teams

and wail from the back seat: “Where are the fries?” Disappointment ensues. The reason for the oversight—and the frustrating customer experience—may have nothing to do with the fast-food worker’s skill level. In fact, new research shows that poor View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Food & Beverage

01 Jun 2016
What Do You Think?

When Business Performance Falters, is Culture Change the Fix?

difficult to achieve. So there you have at least three kinds of responses to the question. Is this an important discussion to be having? When business performance falters, where does the “fix” begin? What do you think? References: Michael... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

November 2013 (Revised January 2014)
Supplement

Man Jit Singh at Sony Entertainment Television (B)

By: Linda A. Hill, Dana M. Teppert and Allison J. Wigen

Supplement to (A) case: Explores the role of CEO Man Jit Singh and his senior management committee in leading Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd. (formerly SET Pvt. Ltd.), a leading television broadcaster in India. Describes Singh's decision to evaluate employees based on... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisals; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Leadership Style; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Management Teams; Change Management; Decision Making; Emerging Markets; Media and Broadcasting Industry; India

27 Jul 2021
Interview

Amy Edmondson on How to Create a Psychologically-Safe Workplace and What to Do If You Don't Work in One

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Harvard Business School Professor and renowned business expert, Amy Edmondson, talks about the growing link between psychological safety at work and the results that high-performing teams accomplish. She details what psychological safety is, how to create a... View Details

Keywords: Psychological Safety; Teaming; Groups and Teams; Trust; Performance

December 2020 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Responsive Working at PepsiCo UK (A): Designing a Turnaround

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Nancy Boghossian Staples

Facing a significant decline in revenues in 2016, David Gwilliam, Head of Transformation at PepsiCo UK introduced a new way of working (“Responsive Working”), which encompasses a set of work practices and some new team structures. The work practices comprise a set of 9... View Details

Keywords: SLAM Teams; Turnaround; Groups and Teams; Employees; Training; Decision Making; Planning; Performance Improvement; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom; Europe

Educators

October 2014
Supplement

Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Casino (B): Improving Performance with New Core Values

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Chekitan S. Dev and Gabriele Piccoli

The leadership team of Atlantis Paradise Island, under new ownership, decided that better alignment of the core values with the vision and mission statement would create a more compelling and consistent organizational narrative that would redouble employee commitment... View Details

Keywords: Organization Behavior; Service Management; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Industry

November 15, 2019
Editorial

Getting Your Team to Do More Than Meet Deadlines

By: Laura M. Giurge, Charlotte Blank, Laurel Newman and A.V. Whillans

When it comes to our to-do lists, many of us prioritize checking off tasks that are easiest to complete or are due first, regardless of importance—a phenomenon that scholars describe as the “mere urgency” effect. This tendency becomes stronger the busier we are. But... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Time Management; Performance Improvement

November 2013 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Man Jit Singh at Sony Entertainment Television (A)

By: Linda A. Hill, Dana M. Teppert and Allison J. Wigen

Explores the role of CEO Man Jit Singh and his senior management committee in leading Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd. (formerly SET Pvt. Ltd.), a leading television broadcaster in India. Describes Singh's decision to evaluate employees based on values as well as... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisals; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Leadership Style; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Management Teams; Change Management; Decision Making; Emerging Markets; Media and Broadcasting Industry; India

Educators

January 2001
Article

Estimating the Performance Effects of Business Groups in Emerging Markets

By: Tarun Khanna and J. Rivkin

Keywords: Performance; Groups and Teams; Emerging Markets

July – August 2011
Article

Deliberate Learning to Improve Performance in Dynamic Service Settings: Evidence from Hospital Intensive Care Units

By: I. M. Nembhard and A. L. Tucker

Dynamic service settings-characterized by workers who interact with customers to deliver services in a rapidly changing, uncertain, and complex environment (e.g., hospitals)-play an important role in the economy. Organizational learning studies in these settings have... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Focus and Relationships; Learning; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Performance Improvement; Quality; Groups and Teams; Cooperation; Health Industry

December 2009
Article

Hiding the Evidence of Valid Theories: How Coupled Search Processes Obscure Performance Differences Among Organizations

By: Nicolaj Siggelkow and Jan Rivkin

Theorists argue that an organization's high-level choices, such as its organizational design or the attributes of its top management team, should influence its performance, yet empirical researchers have struggled to detect such influence. The impact of high-level... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Teams; Organizational Design; Performance Effectiveness; Power and Influence; Balance and Stability

April 2012
Article

Beyond Individual Creativity: The Superadditive Benefits of Multicultural Experience for Collective Creativity in Culturally Diverse Teams

By: Carmit Tadmor, Patricia Satterstrom, Sujin Jang and Jeffrey Polzer

Although recent research has consistently demonstrated the benefits of multicultural experience for individual-level creativity, its potential advantages for collective creativity in culturally diverse teams have yet to be explored. We predicted that multicultural... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Groups and Teams

June 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Teaching Note

Blake Sports Apparel and Switch Activewear: Bringing the Executive Team Together

By: Boris Groysberg, Tricia Gregg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Teaching Note for HBS No. 417-048. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Performance Effectiveness; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Communication; Cooperation; Decision Making; Leadership

Article

When Is Traditionalism an Asset and When Is It a Liability for Team Innovation? A Two-Study Empirical Examination

By: Laura Huang, Cristina B. Gibson, Bradley L. Kirkman and Debra L. Shapiro

Team innovation requires idea generating and idea implementing. In two studies, we examine how these team activities are affected by the extent to which members value traditionalism – that is, placing importance on preserving old ways of doing things over breaking... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Innovation and Invention; Diversity; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness

Article

Strong Leadership and Teamwork Drive Culture and Performance Change: Ohio State University Medical Center 2000–2006

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Fred Sanfilippo, Neeli Bendapudi and Anthony Rucci

Several characteristics of academic health centers have the potential to create high levels of internal conflict and misalignment that can pose significant leadership challenges.

In September 2000, the positions of Ohio State University (OSU) senior vice... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Organizational Structure; Performance Improvement; Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Service Delivery; Satisfaction; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Ohio