Publications

Forthcoming
Article

Is Hybrid Work the Best of Both Worlds? Evidence from a Field Experiment

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Tarun Khanna, Christos A. Makridis and Kyle Schirmann

This paper reports causal evidence on how the extent of hybrid work—the number of days worked from home relative to days worked from office—affects employee attitudes and performance. Workers who spent around two days in the office each week on average self-reported... View Details

Keywords: Attitudes; Performance Consistency; Employees; Work-Life Balance

May 2011
Article

Challenge the Boss or Stand Down

By: W. Earl Sasser

This HBR Case Study includes both the case and the commentary. For teaching purposes, this reprint is also available in two other versions: case study-only, reprint R1105X, and commentary-only, R1105Z. Tom Green, an aggressive young sales executive at self-service... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Personal Development and Career; Jobs and Positions; Conferences; Service Industry

December 2011
Case

Peace, Non-Aligned: The Pragmatic Optimism of Lakhdar Brahimi

By: James K. Sebenius and Laurence A. Green

Describes the background and career of Lakhdar Brahimi in numerous roles ranging from Algeria's ambassador to Indonesia and the Arab League, to serving as that country's foreign minister, and to his many years at the United Nations, with special emphasis on his actions... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Conflict Management; Personal Development and Career; Government and Politics; Algeria

February 19, 2025
Article

To Break the Cycle of Low-Wage Work, Redesign the Workforce System

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Kerry McKittrick

Keywords: Public Sector; Personal Development and Career; Employees; Government Legislation

January 2007
Case

Robert E. Rubin (A)

By: Nitin Nohria, Robert Steven Kaplan and Nicole Davison

Bob Rubin was a businessman given the task of setting up and running the National Economic Council for the Clinton Administration. Unfamiliar with management in a political climate, Rubin worked hard to design, staff, and position the Council to make better economic... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Government and Politics; Managerial Roles; Macroeconomics; Organizational Design; Economy

March 2000
Background Note

Fall Before Rising, A: The Story of Jai Jaikumar (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Richard Compton Squire, Sarah Patricia Vickers-Willis and Harry James Wilson

What is the relationship between good fortune, professional success, and a moral obligation to other people? Jai Jaikumar, who as a youth was saved by a shepherd woman after a tragic mountaineering accident in the Himalayas, and who later rose to the top of his... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; History; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Familiarity; Perception; Welfare

May 1990 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Cooper Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Traces the 12-year career of a pharmaceutical salesperson, Bob Marsh, from recruitment to termination. Mr. Marsh has had an uneven career with Cooper Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPI) and, after a probationary period, is asked to resign. Following his termination, a number... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Resignation and Termination; Personal Development and Career; Problems and Challenges; Core Relationships

10 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

Working for a Shamed Company Can Hurt Your Future Compensation

iPhoto In the blink of an instant, a corporate brand can turn from sterling to tarnished. Just ask Volkswagen or Wells Fargo—two prestigious names that have become associated with scandal in recent years, and now become synonymous with shady corporate practices. What... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

January 2025
Article

Automatic Enrollment with a 12% Default Contribution Rate

By: John Beshears, Ruofei Guo, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and James J. Choi

We study a retirement savings plan with a default contribution rate of 12% of income, which is much higher than previously studied defaults. Twenty-five percent of employees had not opted out of this default 12 months after hire; a literature review finds that the... View Details

Keywords: Retirement Savings; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; Automatic Enrollment; Retirement; Saving; Income; Decision Choices and Conditions

September 4, 2018
Article

Management as a Calling

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Business’s capacity to transform society is only as great as the schools that train its future leaders. This demands that business schools reform their vision to promote values of business serving society in order for students to see business as a true calling rather... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Personal Development and Career; Values and Beliefs; Mission and Purpose

May 27, 2022
Article

How 'Digital Nomad' Visas Can Boost Local Economies

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury

More and more companies are offering their employees the option to “work from anywhere,” whether in their home office, in another state, or even halfway around the globe. A growing group of remote professionals are taking the “anywhere” in work-from-anywhere to new... View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; COVID-19 Pandemic; Collaboration; Work-Life Balance; Human Resources; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

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2024
Working Paper

What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences

By: Mark Egan, Alexander MacKay and Hanbin Yang

We present an empirical model of portfolio choice that allows for the nonparametric estimation of investors' (subjective) expectations and risk preferences. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 401(k) plans from 2009 through 2019, we explore heterogeneity in asset... View Details

Keywords: Stock Market Expectations; Demand Estimation; Retirement Planning; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); Finance; Investment Portfolio; Investment; Retirement; Behavioral Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States

SSRN

Summer 2019
Article

The Plight of the Graying Tech Worker

By: William R. Kerr

If you’re in tech and over 40, your experience is probably underappreciated. A global talent pool complicates matters. View Details

Keywords: Employees; Age; Personal Development and Career; Immigration; Policy; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

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September 2017
Case

Christine Lagarde

By: Julie Battilana, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Vanessa Ampelas and Noemie Assenat

The case covers the youth and career trajectory of Christine Lagarde across her time at Baker & McKenzie, as a minister in the government of France and as the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The case highlights the challenges and opportunities she faced... View Details

Keywords: Change; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence; Leadership; Gender; Leading Change

August 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Career at a Crossroad: Akhil Patel

By: Noam Wasserman, Lisa Brem and Yael Braid

Akhil Patel is passionate about his business idea: an innovative green technology fuel cell. He wants to dive in and commit to his startup, but his fiancée is much more risk averse, his parents don't approve of the startup, and Akhil has an enticing alternative offer... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Risk and Uncertainty; Opportunities; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Green Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

Summer 2025
Article

Time Well Spent: A New Way to Value Time Could Change Your Life

By: Leslie Perlow and Salvatore J Affinito

When individuals engage in fulfilling activities outside of work, they perform better on the job, but simply encouraging work-life balance doesn’t help with hour-by-hour time management. A new tool for measuring the subjective value of time for individuals as it varies... View Details

Keywords: Well-being; Work-Life Balance; Time Management

February 2025
Supplement

Kwame Spearman at Tattered Cover

By: Ryan Raffaelli

Keywords: Retail; Leadership; Leading Change; Competitive Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Publishing Industry; Retail Industry; United States

2023
Working Paper

Trading Off Business and Family Investments: Evidence from U.S. Entrepreneurial Households

By: Olivia S Kim

Keywords: Downsizing; Small Business; Work-Life Balance; Household

September 2019
Case

Alicia Keys

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

This case explores the life and career of Alicia Keys, the 15-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter and producer. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Keys’s 18-year musical career and additional passions, including acting, entrepreneurship, social justice activism,... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Fine Arts Industry; Music Industry; United States