Publications

June 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Driving Scale with Otto

By: Rebecca Karp, David Allen and Annelena Lobb

This case asks how startup founders make scaling decisions in light of their priorities for their business and for themselves. Otto was a technology company that applied artificial intelligence technology to sales. It deployed natural language processing to find sales... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Natural Language Processing; B2B; B2B Innovation; Scaling; Scaling Tech Ventures; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Finance; Sales; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; United States; Cambridge; New York (city, NY); Spain

August 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform (Abridged)

By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi

Lexoo, a UK-based online marketplace for legal services, was facing the strategic choice of how to grow from early start-up to mature platform. Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo's CEO, and web developer Chris O'Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo to help Small and Medium-Sized... View Details

Keywords: Legal Services; Marketplaces; Pivot; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Small Business; Service Operations; Decision Making; Legal Services Industry

2015
Working Paper

Risk Preferences and Misconduct: Evidence from Politicians

By: Dylan Minor

When seeking new leaders, business and government organizations alike often need individuals that are less risk averse, or even risk-seeking, in order to improve performance. However, individuals amenable to increased risk-taking may be more likely to engage in... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Behavior; Ethics; Government and Politics; United States

SSRN

Read Now

January 1998 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Morgan Stanley and S.G. Warburg: Investment Bank of the Future (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Describes secretive negotiations that took place between the top executives of Morgan Stanley and S.G. Warburg in the fall of 1994, when the two firms were contemplating a merger that would create one of the world's most powerful investment banks. By December, in order... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Investment Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

05 Jun 2017
News

How to Manage a Needy Employee

24 Oct 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Startup or Established Company? Which Is Best for You?

What are the tradeoffs between going to a startup versus joining a mature company? Having done both, several times, I get this question all the time. There are many things to consider and lots of “it depends” when it comes to where you are in your career, where you... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

16 Feb 2024
News

Remembering Angela Chao (MBA 2001)

her professional and personal activities, to make a difference in the world and serving, through her leadership, as a model of integrity and excellence. She engaged everyone she met with energy, kindness, and warmth. Please join me in... View Details

2022
Book

Decision Leadership: Empowering Others to Make Better Choices

By: Don A. Moore and Max H. Bazerman

When we think of leaders, we often imagine lone, inspirational figures lauded for their behaviors, attributes, and personal decisions, and leadership books often reinforce that view. However, this approach ignores a leader’s mission to empower others. Applying decades... View Details

Keywords: Empowerment Leadership; Leadership; Employees; Decision Making; Management Style

1991
Article

Job Satisfaction, Service Capability and Customer Satisfaction: An Examination of Linkages and Management Implications

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Jeffrey Zornitsky

Survey data from 1,277 employees and 4,269 customers of a personal lines insurance organization were analyzed with the following results: (a) employee perceptions of service quality are positively related to both job satisfaction and self-perceived service capability;... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Satisfaction; Jobs and Positions; Customer Satisfaction

August 2001 (Revised August 2012)
Case

BestDoctors, Inc.

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Seth Bokser

Upon learning the news of a critical illness, patients and their families are shocked, saddened, fearful, and angry all at once. And just as soon as they catch their collective breath, they all ask the same question—a question that has the potential to infuse hope into... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Knowledge Sharing; Demand and Consumers; Health Industry

11 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

The Quiet Leader—and How to Be One

don't really know how you decide between "It's just too hard" or "I'm going too slow." A lot of the situations I've described in the book are politically tricky. If a person moves too aggressively or too openly it's... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

The Importance of Teaming

interdependence, establishing trust, and figuring out how to coordinate. But there usually isn't time to build a foundation of familiarity through the careful sharing of personal history and prior experience, or the development of shared... View Details

Keywords: Re: Amy C. Edmondson

01 Dec 2023
News

The Imposter Among Us

idea exploded in popular culture; somewhere along the way, it became known as the “imposter syndrome,” which incorrectly suggests it’s a personal pathology. Studies suggest that as many as 70 percent of us might experience this... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

Program

Driving Nonprofit Performance and Innovation—Virtual

key metrics for measurement Assess and communicate outcomes to partners and stakeholders Institute and sustain organizational performance measurement Expand your personal and professional networks Extend your network by connecting and... View Details

2019
White Paper

Impact-Weighted Financial Accounts: The Missing Piece for an Impact Economy

By: George Serafeim, T. Robert Zochowski and Jennifer Downing

Reimagining capitalism is an imperative. We need to create a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism that works for every person and the planet. Massive environmental damage, growing income and wealth disparity, stress, and depression within developed... View Details

Keywords: Impact-Weighted Accounts; IWAI; Background; Economic Systems; Economy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Statements

Read Now

03 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why a Failed Startup Might Be Good for Your Career After All

In August, mega venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz announced a $350 million investment in residential real estate company Flow—the single largest investment the VC titan had ever made. But a bigger surprise than the investment amount was the View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

17 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve

discovery work to validate the problem or their target customers. While gut feel or personal experience with a problem can be a strong signal there is a problem to solve, without proper product discovery work you won’t truly know if you... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

December 2019
Case

Gary Vaynerchuk: #GaryVee

By: Laura Huang and Sarah Mehta

Fresh out of a public social media debacle, Gary Vaynerchuk needs to reconsider the approach he takes in leading his digital media agency, VaynerMedia. Founded in 2009 by Gary and his brother AJ, VaynerMedia has grown into an unconventional creative marketing agency.... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Personal Characteristics; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing; Social Media