Publications

20 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Creating a Positive Professional Image

social identity-based impression management (SIM) to create a positive professional image. SIM refers to the process of strategically presenting yourself in a manner that communicates the meaning and significance you associate with your... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

23 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

All Those Zoom Meetings May Boost Connection and Curb Loneliness

Americans are lonelier than ever—a problem the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated. Could interactions on platforms like Zoom and Twitch come close to replicating the real-life contact people crave? New research suggests that’s more likely to happen if the virtual... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

07 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 7, 2006

most managers feel that they face two undesirable options: Express their true thoughts and alienate their peers or suppress them, avoiding genuine discussion. Most choose the latter. Yet, when interpersonal attributions are suppressed,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September–October 2013
Article

Discretion Within Constraint: Homophily and Structure in a Formal Organization

By: Adam M. Kleinbaum, Toby E. Stuart and Michael Tushman

Homophily in social relations results from both individual preferences and selective opportunities for interaction, but how these two mechanisms interact in large, contemporary organizations is not well understood. We argue that organizational structures and geography... View Details

Keywords: Familiarity; Interpersonal Communication; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Social and Collaborative Networks; Gender; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

2020
Working Paper

Social Interactions in Pandemics: Fear, Altruism, and Reciprocity

By: Laura Alfaro, Ester Faia, Nora Lamersdorf and Farzad Saidi

In SIR models, homogeneous or with a network structure, infection rates are assumed to be exogenous. However, individuals adjust their behavior. Using daily data for 89 cities worldwide, we document that mobility falls in response to fear, as approximated by Google... View Details

Keywords: Social Interactions; Pandemics; Mobility; Cities; SIR Networks; Social Preferences; Social Planner; Targeted Policies; Health Pandemics; Interpersonal Communication; Behavior; Policy

Read Now

05 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Managers Should Reveal Their Failures

not only believing the entrepreneur was deserving of success, but also feeling motivated to improve their own performance. How to share your faults The research puts more credence behind interpersonal emotion regulation—when one person... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

October 2009
Case

Medisys Corp.: The IntensCare Product Development Team

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

Key topics include designing teams, managing teams, managing conflict, group dynamics, project management, product development, interdepartmental relations, and organizational change. MediSys, a U.S.-based medical equipment maker, has been developing IntensCare, a new... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Leadership; Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Groups and Teams; Product Design; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Care and Treatment; Power and Influence; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

22 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 22, 2018

strong beliefs in the meaning of their work experience better performance. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54523 Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Inter-Generational... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

04 Feb 2014
What Do You Think?

Has Listening Become a Lost Art?

Summing Up When Is Listening Not a Good Strategy? Like a good case debate, the discussion of the question of whether listening is a lost art was not one-sided. What was clear was how important people felt listening is to effective leadership. As Shari Morwood put it,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

18 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

What Is an "Essential" Purchase for a Low-Income Family?

the satire publication The Onion headlined, "Woman A Leading Authority On What Shouldn't Be In Poor People's Grocery Carts." This study's results could have implications for everything from social and economic policymaking to charitable donations and everyday... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

18 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

Pulpit Bullies: Why Dominating Leaders Kill Teams

When Harvard Business School Associate Professor Francesca Gino invites high-powered business leaders to address her class, she often observes an interesting phenomenon. The guest speakers announce that they are just as interested in learning from the students as... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

29 Jan 2018
Book

How 'Teaming' Saved 33 Lives in the Chilean Mining Disaster

family members, emergency response teams, rescue workers, and reporters poured into the vicinity. Meanwhile, the Chilean mining community dispatched experts, drilling machines, and bulldozers. At the request of President Pinera, Codelco,... View Details

Keywords: by Amy C. Edmondson; Mining

May 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

The Jenner Situation

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Andy Whittemore and Eliot Sherman

Dr. Bill Lemont is the new chief medical officer of a large academic medical center. During his first week on the job he has become aware of the abusive behavior and temper outbursts of a prominent orthopedic surgeon. How Dr. Lemont handles the situation will be... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Employee Relationship Management; Managerial Roles; Behavior; Conflict Management; Health Industry

10 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

How to Live Happier in 2023: Diversify Your Social Circle

The classic advice to investors is to diversify—put wealth into a combination of assets. Perhaps some cash goes into mutual funds, some in blue chips, and a little in growth stocks, spreading out risk as well as opportunity. What if people thought about investments in... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 2017
Case

Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi

By: Ethan Bernstein and Stephanie Marton

Inspired by research linking happiness and productivity, Hitachi had invested in developing new “people analytics” technologies to help companies increase employee happiness. Hitachi had begun manufacturing high-tech badges that quantify a wearer’s activity patterns.... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Japan; Sociometers; Wearables; Interpersonal Communication; Human Resources; Happiness; Technology Industry; Japan

October 2003
Case

Henry Tam and the MGI Team

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Ingrid Vargas and Hillary Anger Elfenbein

Within a short time frame, seven diverse team members assemble to write a business plan for a new company and struggle to define their roles, make decisions together, and resolve conflict. Henry Tam, a second-year Harvard MBA student, who joins an aspiring start-up... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Business Plan; Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Jobs and Positions; Leadership Style; Human Resources; Management Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Diversity

September 2023
Technical Note

Note on Difficult Conversations in the Family Enterprise

By: Christina R. Wing

The best time to have a difficult conversation is, ideally, as soon as possible. Engaging in challenging conversations early can produce beneficial results for several reasons, such as resolving issues, improving communication, preserving relationships, and increasing... View Details

Keywords: Conversation; Family Business; Interpersonal Communication; Conflict and Resolution