Publications

March 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

The Xiamen PX Project: The Rule of Contract or Citizens in China Today

This case examines the effect of environmental activism on China's investment climate, focusing on the petrochemical sector. It shows how tensions between a country's national economic development goals and political constraints make for a more unpredictable investment... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Conflict and Resolution; China

August 2014 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Hospital for Special Surgery (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Stacy Schwartz

Hospital for Special Surgery, a focused factory for orthopedics and joint disease, is contemplating various growth options: further growth in the United Kingdom's National Health Services, management of hospitals in the United States, and/or hospital consulting.... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Expansion; Health Industry; United Kingdom; United States

11 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Working With Organizations That Recruit at HBS: An Interview with Casey O'Connor

recruiters. During that time, I developed a strong understanding of what our students are looking for, and I am excited to share my knowledge with recruiters. What about your new role are you most looking forward to? I work with... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Nonprofit / Government

Web

Program Requirements - Doctoral

Organizational Behavior Program Requirements Each candidate’s program of study will be developed in consultation with faculty advisors and the chair of the Policy and Admissions Committee. The normal program is outlined below. Advising... View Details

April 2014 (Revised July 2017)
Case

The Tate's Digital Transformation

By: Jill Avery

John Stack was the visionary Head of Digital Transformation at the Tate, a collection of four major art galleries in the UK, including Tate Modern, the most visited gallery devoted to modern and contemporary art in the world. Stack was the architect of the Tate's... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Marketing Communication; Non-profit Management; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Media; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Tourism Industry; United Kingdom

December 2018
Article

Cross-boundary Teaming for Innovation: Integrating Research on Teams and Knowledge in Organizations

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey

Cross-boundary teaming, within and across organizations, is an increasingly popular strategy for innovation. Knowledge diversity is seen to expand the range of views and ideas that teams can draw upon to innovate. Yet, case studies reveal that teaming across knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Teams; Innovation; Groups and Teams; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge; Performance Effectiveness

March 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Reading Energy

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Reading Energy builds facilities that produce energy from nontraditional fuels. A privately held, entrepreneurial organization, it has spent six years developing a plan to build a waste-to-energy plant in the town of Robbins, Illinois. The plant would burn municipal... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Wastes and Waste Processing; Business and Community Relations; Business Plan; Agreements and Arrangements; Contracts; Risk and Uncertainty; Government and Politics; Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Illinois

March 2018
Case

GiveDirectly

By: John Beshears, Joshua Schwartzstein, Tiffany Y. Chang and Brian J. Hall

How should nonprofits design compensation systems to attract and retain talent? GiveDirectly is a respected charitable organization with an unconventional approach. Instead of spending on traditional aid programs in areas such as health care and food access in... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofits; Charity; Effective Altruism; International Aid; Compensation; Goals; Bonuses; Incentives; GiveDirectly; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Recruitment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

February 2009 (Revised November 2016)
Exercise

Congo River Basin Project: Role for Dr. Beni

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Anne Starks Acosta, Deborah M. Kolb and Cailin B. Hammer

The director of a research coalition and the founder/coordinator of an NGO consortium meet to discuss the possibility of jointly drafting a proposal for an integrated research and development project in the Congo River basin. Approved projects will receive an annual... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation Process; Projects; Research and Development; Non-Governmental Organizations; Cooperation; Congo Basin

November 2023
Article

Psychological Factors Underlying Attitudes toward AI Tools

By: Julian De Freitas, Stuti Agarwal, B. Schmitt and N. Haslam

What are the psychological factors driving attitudes toward AI tools, and how can resistance to AI systems be overcome when they are beneficial? In this perspective, we first organize the main sources of resistance into five main categories: opacity, emotionlessness,... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Self; AI and Machine Learning; Attitudes; Technology Adoption

January 2018
Article

Big Data and Big Cities: The Promises and Limitations of Improved Measures of Urban Life

By: Edward L. Glaeser, Scott Duke Kominers, Michael Luca and Nikhil Naik

New, "big" data sources allow measurement of city characteristics and outcome variables at higher frequencies and finer geographic scales than ever before. However, big data will not solve large urban social science questions on its own. Big data has the most value for... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Urban Scope; City

Spring 2013
Article

The Growth of Finance

By: Robin Greenwood and David S. Scharfstein

The U.S. financial services industry grew from 4.9% of GDP in 1980 to 7.9% of GDP in 2007. A sizeable portion of the growth can be explained by rising asset management fees, which in turn were driven by increases in the valuation of tradable assets, particularly... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Asset Management; Research; Mortgages; Financial Services Industry

August 1997 (Revised September 2004)
Case

South Africa: Getting in GEAR

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

In 1997, Thabo Mbeki is contemplating South Africa's performance since the end of Apartheid in 1994. The economy has done fairly well, but the government's macroeconomic strategy calls for higher growth and employment creation. The case describes the country's history,... View Details

Keywords: History; Strategy; Development Economics; Social Issues; Macroeconomics; South Africa

02 Apr 2024
What Do You Think?

What's Enough to Make Us Happy?

(Image created with Midjourney, an artificial intelligence tool) Happiness, an elusive condition we all want to experience, is a popular topic. It’s a complex subject. It may or may not require everything from good health to sufficient wealth to good relationships in... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

14 Nov 2023
What Do You Think?

Do We Underestimate the Importance of Generosity in Leadership?

(AdobeStock/Kostiantyn) There are numerous studies of character traits in leaders. Human resource experts have advised us on what to look for in those who would be potential leaders. Management development focuses on behaviors that build... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

June 2025
Article

Riding the Passion Wave or Fighting to Stay Afloat? A Theory of Differentiated Passion Contagion

By: Emma Frank, Kai Krautter, Wen Wu and Jon M. Jachimowicz

Prior research suggests that employees benefit from highly passionate teammates because passion spreads easily from one employee to the next. We develop theory to propose that life in high-passion teams may not be as uniformly advantageous as previously assumed. We... View Details

Keywords: Passion; Emotional Contagion; Emotions; Groups and Teams; Employees; Power and Influence; Performance Improvement

December 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Cann: High Hopes for Cannabis Infused Beverages

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

Founded in 2018 by Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson, Cann sold “social tonics,” or cannabis-infused beverages. By 2022, the company had several notable celebrity investors and talent partners, had sold over 10 million beverages to consumers, was distributing in six... View Details