Publications

Find at Harvard

27 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These Management Practices, Like Certain Technologies, Boost Company Performance

perceived as a threat to their power. “If you have a company that is strong, you have people utilizing data across all levels of the organization, rather than having one person who makes all the decisions based on gut feeling.” The first... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

19 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior

governments to make their citizens do the right thing. In cases like enforcing pollution regulations, for example, fines are likely more effective, in part because the decisions that go into building a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Research Summary

Come Together: Firm Boundaries and Delegation

By: Laura Alfaro

We develop an incomplete-contracts model to jointly study firm boundaries and the allocation of decision rights within them. Integration has an option value: it gives firm owners authority to delegate or centralize decision rights, depending on who can best solve... View Details

February 9, 2022
Article

What's the Optimal Workplace for Your Organization?

By: Maria P. Roche and Andy Wu

More than two years in the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are struggling with how to reimagine their workspaces for their strategic needs. Too often, leaders push the decision down the road when, in fact, taking decisive action now can pay off later. But how do you... View Details

Keywords: Workplace; Organization; Hybrid Organizations; Office Space; Growth; Remote Work; Strategy; Organizations; Growth and Development; Working Conditions

Find at Harvard

Read Now

09 Feb 2022
News

What’s the Optimal Workplace for Your Organization?

September 2017
Case

From 80 Thoreau to Mooncusser Fish House & Moon Bar (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Sandra Bahous

After extensive planning, Ian Calhoun, (MBA 2010) who was also a chef trained in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu, and two co-founders launched 80 Thoreau, a “progressive fine dining” restaurant in Concord, Massachusetts, that became a local favorite as well as a special... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston; Cambridge

12 May 2021
News

When Should CEOs Speak Out on Public Issues?

2008
Working Paper

Opening Platforms: How, When and Why?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne

Platform-mediated networks encompass several distinct types of participants, including end users, complementors, platform providers who facilitate users' access to complements, and sponsors who develop platform technologies. Each of these roles can be opened-that... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Governance Controls; Market Participation; Digital Platforms

Read Now

16 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

As AI Upends Recruiting, Job Seekers Need a Waze App for Careers

decisions about how to cultivate skills relevant to the labor market when presented with information about job availability, compensation, and the prospects for upward advancement. Employers should encourage governments to create such... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

Research Summary

Land in China's Political Economy

By: Meg Rithmire

Land Bargains and Chinese Capitalism: The Politics of Property Rights under Reform

Published October 2015

China since the 1980s has been the scene of unprecedented efforts at urban construction and growth, even in the absence of privatization... View Details

02 May 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

How To Ask Better Questions

Asking the right questions is the key to unlocking talent, opportunity, money, even second dates. Research shows asking follow-up questions improves your life and increases emotional intelligence. A Good Place to Start Asking Questions... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

August 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

India 2020 – Governance and Growth

By: Richard H. K. Vietor

In January 2012, the government of India faced significant challenges to achieving three key objectives of high growth, inclusive development, and improved governance. The economy was experiencing a growth slowdown, persistently high inflation, and infrastructure and... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges; Economic Growth; India

To get people to be more creative and productive, managers increase transparency with open workspaces and access to real-time data. But my research shows that less-transparent work environments can actually yield more-transparent employees who solve problems more... View Details

18 Apr 2022
HBS Case

Dick’s Sporting Goods Followed Its Conscience on Guns—and It Paid Off

murder of 17 students and teachers in Parkland. And with those words, Stack, a gun owner and gun rights supporter, set in motion a series of corporate actions that may serve as a model for other CEOs trying to balance their personal... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

April 2009
Case

Merck: Managing Vioxx (A)

By: Robert L. Simons, Kathryn Rosenberg and Natalie Kindred

This two-class case series allows students to stand in the shoes of CEO Ray Gilmartin during the unfolding stages of a reputational crisis. Merck's mission statement claims to "put patients first," but the company is widely criticized for putting profit before patient... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Crisis Management; Reputation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Customers; Business or Company Management; Cost vs Benefits; Corporate Accountability; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand

By: Jill Avery and Joseph B. Fuller

Away, a direct-to-consumer, digital native e-commerce seller of travel luggage, is debating how to invest its latest round of venture funding. How quickly could and should Away scale and what were the most promising growth trajectories to maximize its potential? Three... View Details