Publications

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2017
Working Paper

Learning by Doing: The Value of Experience and the Origins of Skill for Mutual Fund Managers

By: Elisabeth Kempf, Alberto Manconi and Oliver Spalt

Learning by doing matters for professional investors. We develop a new methodology to show that mutual fund managers outperform in industries where they have obtained experience on the job. The key to our identification strategy is that we look "inside" funds and... View Details

Keywords: Fund Managers; Experience and Expertise; Performance; Forecasting and Prediction

SSRN

June 1993 (Revised February 1994)
Case

Three New Opportunities and the Seven Skills of Management

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Keywords: Opportunities; Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Health Industry

May 2010
Article

Managing the New Primary Care: The New Skills That Will Be Needed

By: Richard Bohmer

Developing new models of primary care will demand a level of managerial expertise that few of today's primary care physicians possess. Yet medical schools continue to focus on the basic sciences, to the exclusion of such managerial topics as running effective teams.... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Health Care and Treatment; Management Skills; Managerial Roles; Service Delivery; Practice; Health Industry

December 2022
Article

Social Skills Improve Business Performance: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial with Entrepreneurs in Togo

By: Stefan Dimitriadis and Rembrand Koning

Recent field experiments demonstrate that advice, mentorship, and feedback from randomly assigned peers improve entrepreneurial performance. These results raise a natural question: what is preventing entrepreneurs and managers from forming these peer connections... View Details

Keywords: Social Skills; Business Performance; Entrepreneurs; Peer Relationships; Field Experiment; Entrepreneurship; Performance; Relationships; Interpersonal Communication; Togo

2021
Working Paper

The Demand for Executive Skills

By: Stephen Hansen, Tejas Ramdas, Raffaella Sadun and Joseph B. Fuller

We use a unique corpus of job descriptions for C-suite positions to document skills requirements in top managerial occupations across a large sample of firms. A novel algorithm maps the text of each executive search into six separate skill clusters reflecting... View Details

Keywords: Executives; Management Skills; Competency and Skills

2021
Working Paper

The Demand for Executive Skills

By: Stephen Hansen, Raffaella Sadun, Tejas Ramdas and Joseph B. Fuller

We use a unique corpus of job descriptions for C-suite positions to document skills requirements in top managerial occupations across a large sample of firms. A novel algorithm maps the text of each executive search into six separate skill clusters reflecting... View Details

Keywords: C-Suite; Jobs and Positions; Competency and Skills; Management Skills; Job Search; Job Design and Levels

2020
Article

Mutual Funds: Skill and Performance

By: Jonathan B. Berk, Jules van Binsbergen and Max Miller

The authors summarize the recent literature on mutual fund manager skill and performance. They discuss the latest contributions in the field and reinterpret them through the lens of the rational expectations framework (efficient market hypothesis). They further discuss... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Financial Management; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics

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14 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Lessons from COVID-19: The Business Skills Doctors Need

training in leadership and management skills, such as supply chain management, interpersonal communication, and strategic planning. Yet these skills are important for the well-being of doctors and their... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

06 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

able to subordinate a personal agenda to ensure the success of the business. Management of Operations. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to successfully View Details

Keywords: by HBS Working Knowledge

2014
Report

Managing the Talent Pipeline: A New Approach to Closing the Skills Gap

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Robert G. Sheets and Jason A. Tyszko

20 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Five Discovery Skills that Distinguish Great Innovators

In their new book, The Innovator's DNA, authors Jeff Dyer, Hal Gergersen, and Clayton M. Christensen build on the idea of disruptive innovation to explain how and why the Steve Jobses and Jeff Bezoses of the world are so successful. This excerpt from Chapter One... View Details

Keywords: by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gergersen & Clayton M. Christensen

Teaching Interest

The Entrepreneurial Manager

By: Martin A. Sinozich

This course addresses the issues faced by managers who wish to turn opportunity into viable organizations that create value, and empowers students to develop their own approaches, guidelines, and skills for being entrepreneurial managers.

The course teaches... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurial Financing; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Mindset; Entrepreneurial Journey

Teaching Interest

Managing Human Capital

By: Ethan S. Bernstein

The Managing Human Capital course has been specifically designed to teach practical skills for the future general manager (not just the human resource practitioner) who seeks to manage both other people and her or his own career with optimal... View Details

July 2020
Article

Healthy Business? Managerial Education and Management in Healthcare

By: Nicholas Bloom, Renata Lemos, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

We investigate the link between hospital performance and managerial education by collecting a large database of management practices and skills in hospitals across nine countries. We find that hospitals that are closer to universities offering both medical education... View Details

Keywords: Management; Hospitals; Mortality; Education; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Improvement; Business Education; Management Practices and Processes

2015
Chapter

Firms and the Economics of Skilled Immigration

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr, William R. Kerr and William F. Lincoln

Firms play a central role in the selection, sponsorship, and employment of skilled immigrants entering the United States for work through programs like the H-1B visa. This role has not been widely recognized in the literature, and the data to better understand it have... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Human Capital; Immigration; Innovation and Invention; United States

June 2019
Teaching Note

CEWD: Closing the Skills Gap

By: William R. Kerr and Ted Smalley Bowen

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-081. The teaching note presents background, case details, and teaching strategies, along with board plans and supporting graphics. View Details

Purchase

July 2020
Background Note

Leadership for Change: Seven Enduring Skills for Experienced and Aspiring Change Leaders

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Leaders use seven leadership skills in conceiving and managing change projects, whether innovations in established organizations, culture and process changes, or entrepreneurial ventures for industry or social change. The skills leaders need are different at various... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leading Change; Management Skills

Educators

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February 2020
Technical Note

Talent Management and the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Gorick Ng

The nature of work is changing—and it is changing rapidly. Few days go by without industry giants such as Amazon and AT&T announcing plans to invest billions of dollars towards retraining nearly half of their respective workforces for jobs of the future. What changes... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Human Capital Development; Human Resource Practices; Talent; Talent Acquisition; Talent Development; Talent Development And Retention; Talent Management; Talent Retention; Labor Flows; Labor Management; Labor Market; Strategy Development; Strategy Management; Strategy Execution; Strategy And Execution; Strategic Change; Transformations; Organization; Organization Alignment; Organization Design; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Management Challenges; Management Of Business And Political Risk; Change Leadership; Future Of Work; Future; Skills Gap; Skills Development; Skills; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Investment; Capital Allocation; Work; Work Culture; Work Force Management; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Work-family Boundary Management; Workers; Worker Productivity; Worker Performance; Work Engagement; Work Environment; Work Environments; Productivity; Organization Culture; Soft Skills; Technology Management; Technological Change; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Technology Diffusion; Disruptive Technology; Global Business; Global; Workplace; Workplace Context; Workplace Culture; Workplace Wellness; Collaboration; Competencies; Productivity Gains; Digital; Digital Transition; Competitive Dynamics; Competitiveness; Competitive Strategy; Data Analytics; Data; Data Management; Data Strategy; Data Protection; Aging Society; Diversity; Diversity Management; Millennials; Communication Complexity; Communication Technologies; International Business; Work Sharing; Global Competitiveness; Global Corporate Cultures; Intellectual Property; Intellectual Property Management; Intellectual Property Protection; Intellectual Capital And Property Issues; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Inequality; Recruiting; Hiring; Hiring Of Employees; Training; Job Cuts And Outsourcing; Job Performance; Job Search; Job Design; Job Satisfaction; Jobs; Employee Engagement; Employee Attitude; Employee Benefits; Employee Compensation; Employee Fairness; Employee Relationship Management; Employee Retention; Employee Selection; Employee Motivation; Employee Feedback; Employee Coordination; Employee Performance Management; Employee Socialization; Process Improvement; Application Performance Management; Stigma; Institutional Change; Candidates; Digital Enterprise; Cultural Adaptation; Cultural Change; Cultural Diversity; Cultural Context; Cultural Strategies; Cultural Psychology; Cultural Reform; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Performance Appraisal; Performance Feedback; Performance Measurement; Performance Metrics; Performance Measures; Performance Efficiency; Efficiency; Performance Analysis; Performance Appraisals; Performance Improvement; Automation; Artificial Intelligence; Technology Companies; Managerial Processes; Skilled Migration; Assessment; Human Resources; Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Retention; Demographics; Labor; Strategy; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Disruption; Economy; Competition; Globalization; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation