by Robert Gibbons - Publications - Faculty & Research

21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

systemically risky institutions, it would jeopardize its political independence. And that would be a big mistake. Excerpt: the New Structure Of U.s. Financial Regulation by Robert Pozen, from Too Big To Save... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

07 Jul 2022
HBS Case

How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)

Ice cream making started as a quirky hobby for Brian Smith, whose zeitgeisty flavors and fresh ingredients would become his trademark. For example, his “God Save the Cream,” inspired by the 2018 Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

06 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

How Younger Immigrants Gain an Edge in American Business

between Vietnamese women and US servicemen, writing that they were largely “jobless, homeless, uneducated, unwanted, barely able to speak English” when they arrived to America. Spurred in part by outrage sparked View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

29 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

How Much More Would Holiday Shoppers Pay to Wear Something Rare?

Do you have that one friend who seems to snag the coolest, most fashionable shoes, jewelry, or clothes? Now new research shows that when luxury goods companies cater to these trendy consumers by controlling how rare certain items... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

28 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

Earth Day Reflections

Below are the views that faculty shared with the HBS community on Earth Day. 1. Robert G. Eccles Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and author of One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy (This article, titled,... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

It is hard to imagine a more difficult and tragic trial by fire for a new leader. On September 4, 2001, Robert Mueller started his new job as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A mere... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

21 Sep 2015
Book

What It Takes to Learn to Be a Leader

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

the organization to support One Report in terms of measurement methodologies, processes, policies, structure, compensation, internal reporting, and external reporting. Excerpt From One Report: Integrated Reporting For A Sustainable Strategy View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

07 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Effective Leaders Share the Spotlight with Their Teams

During a 2017 Amgen earnings call, CEO Robert Bradway began answering an analyst’s question, then turned to colleague Sean Harper and said, “Sean, I'll let you talk about the specifics.” Bradway’s simple act of calling on Harper to add... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

could have positive long-term implications to any organization’s success. “We were surprised by the magnitude of the effects,” Pany says, noting that future studies could examine just how such relationships form and evolve. “There’s just... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

05 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

How Hormones Foretell Whether People Will Cheat

in the August 2015 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the paper was co-authored by a team of behavioral economists and psychologists: Jooa Julia Lee, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University; Francesca Gino, a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

16 Feb 2023
HBS Case

ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?

The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Financial Services

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

30 Sep 2019
Book

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees

treated fairly within their larger organizations. “These surveys should be broken down by demographic categories, including race and gender, to identify certain populations that have a lower engagement or sense of commitment to the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

23 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

All Those Zoom Meetings May Boost Connection and Curb Loneliness

remote work. “There’s a huge value to real interactions even if they are occurring virtually,” says Goldenberg, who is a psychologist by training and an assistant professor at HBS. To test online experiences, the group took advantage of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

02 Mar 2007
What Do You Think?

What Is the Government’s Role in US Health Care?

that all of this amount could be recouped eventually through the elimination of healthcare expenses incurred by those unable to pay now. Now comes Robert Frank, a Cornell economist, who has proposed ways of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

04 Apr 2023
Book

Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues

While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Consumer Products; Fashion; Retail; Green Technology

11 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Adding Time to Activity-Based Costing

professor Robert S. Kaplan and Acorn Systems founder and chairman Steven R. Anderson (HBS MBA '95) introduce a system that calculates product, customer, and regional or branch P&Ls quickly and inexpensively. The work marries the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

10 Jul 2007
What Do You Think?

How Much of Leadership Is About Control, Delegation, or Theater?

excites, and pushes the team or, you could say, choreographs an output that (moves) the company towards the vision." The mix of control, delegation, and theater employed by successful leaders depends on the timing and circumstances... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

Publications