Knowledge Economy - Publications - Faculty & Research

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

developing economies and globalization at large. “The cluster concept is often used to consider local factors,” Giacomin says, “but there’s a growing awareness that many clusters are also driven by external forces, such as foreign direct... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

26 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers

When HBS professor Steven Spear recently released an abstract on problem solving at Toyota, HBS Working Knowledge staffer Sarah Jane Johnston e-mailed off some questions. Spear not only answered the questions, but also asked some of his... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Manufacturing; Transportation; Auto

24 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Boards and Corporate Governance: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

framework can serve as the cornerstone of both effective management and sound governance. Key Learnings · A sophisticated governance system is necessary in a complex capitalistic economy to ensure that capital funds the best ideas. The... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert S. Kaplan & Krishna G. Palepu

28 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Could Create a 'Bankruptcy Pandemic'

filed since the coronavirus started rocking the US economy in mid-March, including Neiman Marcus, J. Crew, Dean & DeLuca, CMX Cinemas, and Gold’s Gym. The latest: JCPenney on May 15 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after 118... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

30 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

The New Rules for Remote Work: Pandemic Edition

breaks throughout the day. “Managers should yield to the expertise and knowledge of their subordinates and let them decide the best times and ways for them to work right now,” Neeley says. If the team is working on a project that is... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

29 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How to Succeed in Business (According to a 15th Century Trade Merchant)

as they are grown, they should be placed with a good and knowledgeable merchant so as to learn their trade, because although many want to become masters without a master, this is not possible.” The book concludes, appropriately enough,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

As economies reopen after forced shutdowns caused by COVID-19, managers around the world are faced with a dual challenge: keep the workforce safe while preserving business viability in an evolving and volatile market. How should... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

portal into the invention of CRISPR and some of the big personalities and battles that led to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year." The Code Breaker: I am a software/tech guy and have scant knowledge of the world of biology. Yet living... View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

04 Nov 2002
What Do You Think?

What’s Best for the Corporate Brain?

orderly introduction of new talent into an organization, perhaps by periodically identifying and letting the lowest performers go, was applauded. One of the comments reflects this view: "What is really important is that companies continue to invest in View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2006
Chapter

Between 'Knowledge' and 'the Economy': Notes on the Scientific Study of Designs

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Kim B. Clark

Keywords: Design; Knowledge; Economy

Citation

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12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution

years of extensive study, including a comprehensive database compiled under the aegis of the Harvard Center for Textile and Apparel Research (HCTAR). The keys to success in an age of product proliferation, the authors found, are no longer View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Manufacturing; Retail

30 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

India’s Ambitious National Identification Program

India's economy is enjoying robust growth with an expanding middle class. But the country, which has 22 official languages, also has its share of huge challenges: widespread poverty with 75 million homeless people, insufficient access to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

The Regional Slice of Your Global Strategy

strategies at different geographic levels. Assessing the level—global, continental, subcontinental, national, intranational, or local—at which scale is most tightly tied to profitability is often a helpful guide to determining what constitutes a region. Put... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

2023
Working Paper

Targeting, Personalization, and Engagement in an Agricultural Advisory Service

By: Susan Athey, Shawn Cole, Shanjukta Nath and Jessica Zhu

ICT is increasingly used to deliver customized information in developing countries. We examine whether individually targeting the timing of automated voice calls meaningfully increases engagement in an agricultural advisory service. We define, estimate, and... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Knowledge Dissemination; Customization and Personalization; Performance Effectiveness

Citation

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11 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Financial Services 24/7

outside the Bank One structure. From a consumer's point of view, there is no visible relationship between the two banks. While there is some pooling of technology and personnel, economies of scale are not shared between the two... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

15 Oct 2001
Op-Ed

Lessons from the Rubble

have been obvious even without the devastation we have just witnessed. First is that the new economy never was all that different from the old. In the ancient, heady days of the Internet boom, it became fashionable to declare that the... View Details

Keywords: by Debora L. Spar

01 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

How Politics Drives Business Decisions in a Polarized Nation

How Partisan Politics Play Out in American Boardrooms What the Rise of Far-Right Politics Says About the Economy in an Election Year Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

06 Jan 2011
What Do You Think?

How Should Management Deal With “Anonymous”?

large-size organization that has become wedded to the economies and convenience of the Internet? For example, assuming that email even exists five years from now, will we be able to use it for business purposes? Will large data files have... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

12 Jan 2004
What Do You Think?

How Should We Think About the Exportation of Jobs?

responses did not correlate well with country of origin. One interesting example concerned fears about the two-tiered economy created by job exportation. Before concluding, "These trends cannot be stopped by any government," A.... View Details