Faculty Q&A
There are 317 Q&As.
Faculty Q&As are in-depth one-on-one interviews with Harvard Business School faculty on a variety of subjects, where faculty share insights on their latest research and future plans.
Break Your Addiction to Service Heroes
| Q&A with: | Frances X. Frei |
|---|---|
| Published: | January 23, 2012 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
| Forum: | open for comment; 8 Comments posted |
In their new book, Uncommon Service, coauthors Frances Frei and Anne Morriss show it is possible for organizations to reduce costs while dramatically enhancing customer service. The key? Don't try to be good at everything. Interview and book excerpt from HBS Alumni Bulletin.
Published in 2011
The Profit Power of Corporate Culture
| Q&A with: | James Heskett |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 28, 2011 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
| Forum: | open for comment; 7 Comments posted |
In the new book The Culture Cycle, Professor Emeritus James L. Heskett demonstrates that developing the right corporate culture helps companies be more profitable and provides sustainable competitive advantage.
What's Government's Role in Regulating Home Purchase Financing?
| Q&A with: | David S. Scharfstein |
|---|---|
| Published: | February 24, 2011 |
| Feature: | Op-Ed |
The Obama administration recently proposed housing finance reforms to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and bring private capital back to the mortgage markets. HBS professor David Scharfstein and doctoral student Adi Sunderam put forth a proposal to replace Fannie and Freddie and ensure a more stable supply of housing finance.
Published in 2010
Panama Canal: Troubled History, Astounding Turnaround
| Q&A with: | Noel Maurer |
|---|---|
| Published: | December 20, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
| Forum: | open for comment; 5 Comments posted |
In their new book, The Big Ditch, Harvard Business School professor Noel Maurer and economic historian Carlos Yu discuss the complicated history of the Panama Canal and its remarkable turnaround after Panama took control in 1999. Q&A with Maurer, plus book excerpt.
Connecting Goals and Go-To-Market Initiatives
| Q&A with: | Frank V. Cespedes |
|---|---|
| Published: | November 15, 2010 |
| Feature: | Executive Education |
| Forum: | open for comment; 14 Comments posted |
In some respects, developing strategy is the easy part. Executing that strategy in alignment with strategic priorities is where real mastery of management takes place. Harvard Business School senior lecturer Frank V. Cespedes shows how it is done.
How Government can Discourage Private Sector Reliance on Short-Term Debt
| Q&A with: | Robin Greenwood |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 13, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Financial institutions have relied increasingly and excessively on short-term financing--putting the overall system at risk. Should government step in? Harvard researchers Robin Greenwood, Samuel Hanson, and Jeremy C. Stein propose a "comparative advantage approach" that allows government to actively influence the corporate sector's borrowing decisions.
Customer Experts Lose Influence When Teams are Pressured
| Q&A with: | Heidi K. Gardner |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 27, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Group dynamics can take a bad turn when a team feels heightened pressure from stakeholders. In this Q&A, HBS professor Heidi K. Gardner explains why performance pressure makes team members do what seems irrational: defer to high-status "generalist" experts while ignoring colleagues close to the client.
The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding
| Q&A with: | Anat Keinan |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 13, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
| Forum: | closed | 21 Comments posted |
Research by HBS professor Anat Keinan and colleagues explains how and why a "brand biography" about hard luck and fierce determination can boost the power of products in industries as diverse as food and beverages, technology, airlines, and automobiles.
Mindful Leadership: When East Meets West
| Q&A with: | William W. George |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 7, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
| Forum: | closed | 33 Comments posted |
Harvard Business School professor William George is fusing Western understanding about leadership with Eastern wisdom about the mind to develop leaders who are self-aware and self-compassionate. An interview about his recent Mindful Leadership conference taught with a Buddhist meditation master.
HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers
| Q&A with: | Thomas J. Steenburgh |
|---|---|
| Published: | August 16, 2010 |
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
The tools can help managers inform decisions on market analysis, breakeven analysis, customer lifetime value, profit and pricing, and analyzing the competitive environment. Interview with Tom Steenburgh.
How to Speed Up Energy Innovation
| Q&A with: | Rebecca Henderson |
|---|---|
| Published: | August 9, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
We know the grand challenge posed by shifting away from dirty energy sources. The good news, says Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson, is that we have seen such change before in fields including agriculture and biotech, giving us a clearer pathway to what it will take.
Modern Indian Art: The Birth of a Market
| Q&A with: | Mukti Khaire |
|---|---|
| Published: | August 2, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Before 1995, there was little market for 20th-century Indian fine art. That's when artists, auction houses, critics, and others defined a new product category—modern Indian fine art—resulting in worldwide demand and soaring prices. Professor Mukti Khaire explains the dynamics behind new market categories.
Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn
| Q&A with: | Frank Cespedes, Benson P. Shapiro, and Elliot Ross |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 26, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
If you and your customers understand the value represented in your pricing, you can—and should—charge more for delivering more. An interview on "performance pricing" with researchers Frank Cespedes, Benson P. Shapiro, and Elliot Ross.
Rocket Science Retailing: A Practical Guide
| Q&A with: | Ananth Raman |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 12, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
How can retailers make the most of cutting-edge developments and emerging technologies? Book excerpt plus Q&A with HBS professor Ananth Raman, coauthor with Wharton professor Marshall Fisher of The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance.
Renewable Energy: Winds at Our Back?
| Q&A with: | Richard H.K. Vietor |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 6, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
It certainly stirred up controversy in 2001 when an entrepreneur proposed erecting 130 wind turbines off the coast of Massachusetts' Cape Cod. After nine years of struggle over regulatory, environmental, safety, and social issues, the plan appears closer to becoming a reality. HBS professor Richard Vietor reflects on wind energy and innovations in the renewable energy industry.
Strategy and Execution for Emerging Markets
| Q&A with: | Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu |
|---|---|
| Published: | June 21, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
How can multinationals, entrepreneurs, and investors identify and respond to new challenges and opportunities around the world? In this Q&A, HBS professors and strategy experts Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu offer a practical framework for succeeding in emerging markets. Plus: Book excerpt with action items.
Stimulus Surprise: Companies Retrench When Government Spends
| Q&A with: | Joshua Coval |
|---|---|
| Published: | May 24, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
New research from Harvard Business School suggests that federal spending in states appears to cause local businesses to cut back rather than grow. A conversation with Joshua Coval.
What Brazil Teaches About Investor Protection
| Q&A with: | Aldo Musacchio |
|---|---|
| Published: | May 17, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
When Brazil entered the 20th century, its companies were a model of transparency and offered investor protections that government did not. Can our financial regulators learn a lesson from history? HBS professor Aldo Musacchio shares insights from his new book.
What Top Scholars Say about Leadership
| Q&A with: | Rakesh Khurana |
|---|---|
| Published: | May 10, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
As a subject of scholarly inquiry, leadership—and who leaders are, what makes them tick, how they affect others—has been neglected for decades. The Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, edited by Harvard Business School's Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, brings together some of the best minds on this important subject. Q&A with Khurana, plus book excerpt.
What Is the Future of MBA Education?
| Q&A with: | Srikant M. Datar and David A. Garvin |
|---|---|
| Published: | May 3, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Why get an MBA degree? Transformations in business and society make this question increasingly urgent for executives, business school deans, students, faculty, and the public. In a new book, Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads, Harvard Business School's Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin, and Patrick G. Cullen suggest opportunities for innovation. Q&A with Datar and Garvin plus book excerpt.
