Publications

16 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research, May 16

Flows By: Horton, John, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton Abstract—Digital labor markets are rapidly expanding and connecting companies and contractors on a global basis. We review the environment in... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-art-of-strategic-renewal/ August 2013 Journal of Development Economics Political Reservations and Women's Entrepreneurship in India By: Ghani, Ejaz, William R. Kerr,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

23 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 23

several concrete managerial prescriptions for the selection problem based on this trade-off. Finally, we demonstrate the value of our framework in a case study that considers air traffic management. Ethnic Innovation and U.S. Multinational Firm Activity Authors:C.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 9

by reconstructing what some of those anticipations were. Power, Competitiveness, and Advice Taking: Why the Powerful Don't Listen Authors:L.P. Tost, F. Gino, and R. Larrick Publication:,Organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Google: To TVC or Not to TVC?

By: William R. Kerr and Carl Kreitzberg

In late 2018, evidence emerged that many of Google’s temporary help agency workers, vendors, and independent contractors (“TVCs”) were unhappy with the company. TVCs, who reportedly made up 49.95% of Google’s 170,000-person global workforce, had raised concerns of... View Details

July 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow

By: William R. Kerr, Joseph B. Fuller and Carl Kreitzberg

By the late 2000s, rapid changes in the telecommunications industry forced AT&T’s management team to take on a task that CEO Randall Stephenson called the “biggest logistical challenge” they had ever seen: retraining 100,000 workers by 2020. In 2012, internal company... View Details

12 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 12

PublicationsBlending Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research Authors:Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul Publication:In Encyclopedia of Strategic Management, edited by D. Teece and M. Augier. London: Palgrave,... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

24 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 24

cross-national data for 32 countries, and controlling for per capita GDP, income inequality, and other factors. Countries that had higher rates of tipping behavior tended to have higher rates of corruption. We suggest that this surprising association may be accounted... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 18

find that involuntary closures are most frequent in U.S. counties with high rates of households headed by single mothers, low levels of college education, high rates of property crime, a strong presence of multi-market vs. local banks,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Oct 2015
First Look

October 13, 2015

positive feedback loop through which value is created for both parties. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=47436 The Logic of Agglomeration By: Duranton, Gilles, and William View Details

February 2020
Technical Note

Talent Management and the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Gorick Ng

The nature of work is changing—and it is changing rapidly. Few days go by without industry giants such as Amazon and AT&T announcing plans to invest billions of dollars towards retraining nearly half of their respective workforces for jobs of the future. What changes... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Human Capital Development; Human Resource Practices; Talent; Talent Acquisition; Talent Development; Talent Development And Retention; Talent Management; Talent Retention; Labor Flows; Labor Management; Labor Market; Strategy Development; Strategy Management; Strategy Execution; Strategy And Execution; Strategic Change; Transformations; Organization; Organization Alignment; Organization Design; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Management Challenges; Management Of Business And Political Risk; Change Leadership; Future Of Work; Future; Skills Gap; Skills Development; Skills; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Investment; Capital Allocation; Work; Work Culture; Work Force Management; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Work-family Boundary Management; Workers; Worker Productivity; Worker Performance; Work Engagement; Work Environment; Work Environments; Productivity; Organization Culture; Soft Skills; Technology Management; Technological Change; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Technology Diffusion; Disruptive Technology; Global Business; Global; Workplace; Workplace Context; Workplace Culture; Workplace Wellness; Collaboration; Competencies; Productivity Gains; Digital; Digital Transition; Competitive Dynamics; Competitiveness; Competitive Strategy; Data Analytics; Data; Data Management; Data Strategy; Data Protection; Aging Society; Diversity; Diversity Management; Millennials; Communication Complexity; Communication Technologies; International Business; Work Sharing; Global Competitiveness; Global Corporate Cultures; Intellectual Property; Intellectual Property Management; Intellectual Property Protection; Intellectual Capital And Property Issues; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Inequality; Recruiting; Hiring; Hiring Of Employees; Training; Job Cuts And Outsourcing; Job Performance; Job Search; Job Design; Job Satisfaction; Jobs; Employee Engagement; Employee Attitude; Employee Benefits; Employee Compensation; Employee Fairness; Employee Relationship Management; Employee Retention; Employee Selection; Employee Motivation; Employee Feedback; Employee Coordination; Employee Performance Management; Employee Socialization; Process Improvement; Application Performance Management; Stigma; Institutional Change; Candidates; Digital Enterprise; Cultural Adaptation; Cultural Change; Cultural Diversity; Cultural Context; Cultural Strategies; Cultural Psychology; Cultural Reform; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Performance Appraisal; Performance Feedback; Performance Measurement; Performance Metrics; Performance Measures; Performance Efficiency; Efficiency; Performance Analysis; Performance Appraisals; Performance Improvement; Automation; Artificial Intelligence; Technology Companies; Managerial Processes; Skilled Migration; Assessment; Human Resources; Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Retention; Demographics; Labor; Strategy; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Disruption; Economy; Competition; Globalization; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation

July 2018
Article

Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs: A Review of Recent Literature

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr, William R. Kerr and Tina Xu

We review the extensive literature since 2000 on the personality traits of entrepreneurs. We first consider baseline personality traits like the Big-5 model, self-efficacy and innovativeness, locus of control, and the need for achievement. We then consider risk... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Venturing; Personality Traits; Characteristics; Big-5; Risk Attitudes; Goals; Skills; Entrepreneurship; Personal Characteristics; Goals and Objectives; Competency and Skills; Success; Demographics; Research

Read Now

29 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 29

organizations. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2426674 Firms and the Economics of Skilled Immigration By: Pekkala Kerr, Sari, William R. Kerr, and William F.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 7

incumbent attracting and retaining more profitable customers over time. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=39914 Clusters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation By: Chatterji, Aaron, Edward Glaeser, and William View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 2020
Case

Agile Consumer Product Innovation with Alibaba's Tmall Innovation Center

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and James Palano

Consumer products companies were beset by changes on all sides during the 2010s. Customers were increasingly turning to ecommerce platforms rather than shopping in-store. Meanwhile, nimble, digitally-savvy competitors were gaining market share by capitalizing on the... View Details

Keywords: Future Of Work; Retail; Ecommerce; Alibaba; Consumer Products; Innovation; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Consumer Behavior; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; China

2022
Article

The Great Resignation Didn't Start with the Pandemic

By: Joseph B. Fuller and William R. Kerr

COVID-19 spurred on the Great Resignation of 2021, during which record numbers of employees voluntarily quit their jobs. But what we are living through is not just short-term turbulence provoked by the pandemic. Instead, it’s the continuation of a trend of rising quit... View Details

Keywords: Quit Rate; Labor Market; Great Resignation; Jobs and Positions; Employees; Resignation and Termination; Health Pandemics