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(813)
- News (82)
- Research (653)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (248)
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- December 2015
- Background Note
Incentive Systems
By: Brian J. Hall
This note serves as a supplement to any course on incentive design within organizations. The note focuses on the principal difficulties in designing incentive systems, including the tradeoff between objective and subjective performance metrics, how to design incentive... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Evaluation; Strategy
Hall, Brian J. "Incentive Systems." Harvard Business School Background Note 916-029, December 2015.
- January 1990 (Revised November 1990)
- Background Note
Note on Compensation and Incentive Systems
Provides a brief analysis of issues in the design of an effective compensation system, with particular emphasis on incentives. Provides an analytic framework for thinking about compensation. Topics covered include the composition of the pay package, fringe benefits,... View Details
Gibbs, Michael J. "Note on Compensation and Incentive Systems." Harvard Business School Background Note 490-048, January 1990. (Revised November 1990.)
- Article
Forgoing Earned Incentives to Signal Pure Motives
By: Erika L. Kirgios, Edward H. Chang, Emma E. Levine, Katherine L. Milkman and Judd B. Kessler
Policy makers, employers, and insurers often provide financial incentives to encourage citizens, employees, and customers to take actions that are good for them or for society (e.g., energy conservation, healthy living, safe driving). Although financial incentives are... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Motivation Laundering; Self-signaling; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Perception
Kirgios, Erika L., Edward H. Chang, Emma E. Levine, Katherine L. Milkman, and Judd B. Kessler. "Forgoing Earned Incentives to Signal Pure Motives." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 29 (July 21, 2020): 16891–16897.
- Research Summary
Performance Management Systems in Healthcare
By: Susanna Gallani
Performance management in healthcare provider organizations presents particular challehges, motivate by historical industry practices, market structures and dynamics, and cultural peculiarities. Through her research studies and case studies, Prof. Gallani explores... View Details
- November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 12: Aligning Performance Goals and Incentives
By: Robert Simons
This module reading explains how managers use performance goals and incentives to ensure that employee actions align with the overall business strategy of the organization. The module begins by discussing how managers use goals to communicate business strategy, the... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Performance Goals; Performance Measures; Incentives; Benchmarks; Motivation; Compensation; Bonuses; Strategy
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 12: Aligning Performance Goals and Incentives." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-112, November 2016. (Revised December 2016.)
- 2024
- Working Paper
Corporate Culture Homogeneity and Top Executive Incentive Design: Evidence from CEO Compensation Contracts
By: Dennis Campbell, Ruidi Shang and Zhifang Zhang
We examine how corporate cultures characterized by high degrees of homogeneity in the underlying values and beliefs of organizational members are related to the design of CEO incentive compensation contracts. We argue that culture homogeneity within firms lowers... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Culture; Compensation Design; Accounting; Management Control; Incentive Systems; Organizational Culture; Job Design and Levels; Governance; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives
Campbell, Dennis, Ruidi Shang, and Zhifang Zhang. "Corporate Culture Homogeneity and Top Executive Incentive Design: Evidence from CEO Compensation Contracts." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-054, February 2024.
- Research Summary
Designing Incentives
By: V.G. Narayanan
Professor Narayanan is studying how to design effective incentive systems for executives and members of the Board of Directors. View Details
- November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 11: Using Diagnostic and Interactive Control Systems
By: Robert Simons
This module reading introduces diagnostic and interactive control systems. Diagnostic control systems are the management-by-exception systems that managers use to monitor the achievement of their business strategy. Interactive control systems are the systems that top... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Performance Measurement; Diagnostic Control Systems; Interactive Control Systems; Emergent Strategy; Goal Setting; Incentives; Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Management Systems; Performance Evaluation
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 11: Using Diagnostic and Interactive Control Systems." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-111, November 2016. (Revised December 2016.)
- January 2004 (Revised July 2006)
- Background Note
Incentives within Organizations
By: Brian J. Hall
Serves as a brief introduction to incentive design and implementation. The analysis first locates incentive strategy within the larger structure of organizations and markets and then helps to define the central components and difficulties of incentive design. Focuses... View Details
Hall, Brian J. "Incentives within Organizations." Harvard Business School Background Note 904-043, January 2004. (Revised July 2006.)
- January 1998
- Article
Tradeoffs within Costing Systems between Incentives and Measurement Objectives
By: M. Alles, S. Datar and M. Gupta
Alles, M., S. Datar, and M. Gupta. "Tradeoffs within Costing Systems between Incentives and Measurement Objectives." Managerial Finance 24, no. 1 (January 1998): 1–18.
- Research Summary
Strength of Incentives
By: Jerry R. Green
When economists analyze the incentive properties of decision making systems they assume that all economic agents are capable of optimizing their decisions and that they respond without error to the incentives that the system creates. In this project, Jerry R. Green... View Details
- Research Summary
Incentives and Education
(with Bob Slonim and Eric Bettinger)
No Child Left Behind has created an incentive system for schools to increase test scores as well as attendance figures.... View Details
No Child Left Behind has created an incentive system for schools to increase test scores as well as attendance figures.... View Details
- March 2002
- Background Note
Incentive Strategy Within Organizations
By: Brian J. Hall
This case serves as a supplement to any course on incentive design and implementation. The analysis first locates incentive strategy within the larger structure of organizations and markets and then helps to define the central components and difficulties of incentive... View Details
Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Performance Evaluation; Strategy; Situation or Environment; Problems and Challenges
Hall, Brian J. "Incentive Strategy Within Organizations." Harvard Business School Background Note 902-131, March 2002.
- Article
Analyzing Scrip Systems
By: Kris Johnson, David Simchi-Levi and Peng Sun
Scrip systems provide a nonmonetary trade economy for exchange of resources. We model a scrip system as a stochastic game and study system design issues on selection rules to match potential trade partners over time. We show the optimality of one particular rule in... View Details
Keywords: "Repeated Games"; Stochastic Trust Game; Dynamic Program; P2P Lending; Scrip Systems; Artificial Currency; Non-monetary Trade Economies; Marketplace Matching; Currency; Operations; Game Theory
Johnson, Kris, David Simchi-Levi, and Peng Sun. "Analyzing Scrip Systems." Operations Research 62, no. 3 (May–June 2014): 524–534.
- March 2011 (Revised March 2012)
- Case
Arck Systems
By: Ian Larkin
The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details
Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Performance Effectiveness; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software; Information Technology Industry
Larkin, Ian. "Arck Systems." Harvard Business School Case 911-056, March 2011. (Revised March 2012.)
- Article
Are They Useful? The Effects of Performance Incentives on the Prioritization of Work Versus Personal Ties
By: Julia Hur, Alice Lee-Yoon and Ashley V. Whillans
Most working adults report spending very little time with friends and family. The current research explores the aspects of work that encourage employees to spend less time with personal ties. We show that incentive systems play a critical role in shaping how people... View Details
Keywords: Rewards; Performance Incentives; Social Relationships; Instrumentality; Time Allocation; Performance; Motivation and Incentives; Relationships; Time Management
Hur, Julia, Alice Lee-Yoon, and Ashley V. Whillans. "Are They Useful? The Effects of Performance Incentives on the Prioritization of Work Versus Personal Ties." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 165 (July 2021): 103–114. (Shared Authorship.)
- March 2012
- Article
The Incentive Bubble
By: Mihir Desai
The past three decades have seen American capitalism quietly transformed by a single, powerful idea—that financial markets are a suitable tool for measuring performance and structuring compensation. Stock instruments for managers, high-powered incentive contracts for... View Details
Keywords: Economic Systems; Financial Markets; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Governance; Equality and Inequality; Human Capital; United States
Desai, Mihir. "The Incentive Bubble." Harvard Business Review 90, no. 3 (March 2012).
- March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
- Supplement
Arck Systems (E)
By: Ian Larkin
The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details
Keywords: Transformation; Framework; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Design; Performance Evaluation; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software
Larkin, Ian. "Arck Systems (E)." Harvard Business School Supplement 911-060, March 2011. (Revised June 2011.)
- Article
Trust and Incentives in Agency
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Daniel F Spulber
Contracts between a principal and an agent are not formed in a vacuum. Although formal contracts between a principal and an agent contain explicit incentives for performance, the relationship between a principal and an agent also involves implicit incentives. Three... View Details
Keywords: Trust; Motivation and Incentives; Agency Theory; Contracts; Market Transactions; Performance; Relationships; Societal Protocols; Legal Liability; Cost
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Daniel F Spulber. "Trust and Incentives in Agency." Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 15, no. 1 (Fall 2005): 45–104.
- March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
- Supplement
Arck Systems (C)
By: Ian Larkin
The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details
Keywords: Change; Framework; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Management; Organizational Design; Outcome or Result; Performance Evaluation; Sales; Motivation and Incentives; System; Applications and Software
Larkin, Ian. "Arck Systems (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 911-058, March 2011. (Revised June 2011.)