Research & Ideas
There are 696 articles for this feature.
Harvard Business School faculty discuss their research methods, results, and insights, covering the latest on business and management theory and practice.
The Times Captures History of American Business
| Q&A with: | Nancy F. Koehn |
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| Published: | November 16, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
"We are not the first to face what seem like overwhelming challenges," says HBS professor and business historian Nancy F. Koehn. A new volume edited and narrated by Koehn, The Story of American Business: From the Pages of The New York Times, presents more than a hundred timely articles from the 1850s to today. Q&A and book excerpt.
Come Fly with Me: A History of Airline Leadership
| Q&A with: | Anthony J. Mayo |
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| Published: | November 9, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
A new book looks at the history of the U.S. aviation industry through the eyes of its entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders—men like Pan Am's Juan Trippe and Southwest Airlines' Herb Kelleher—each emerging at different stages of the industry's evolution from start-up to rebirth. Who comes next? An interview with coauthor Anthony J. Mayo.
A Market for Human Cadavers in All but Name?
| Published: | November 5, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
A shortage of cadavers has hampered medical education and training, a market that entrepreneurs are stepping forward to address. HBS professor Michel Anteby argues that scholars must learn more about the market dynamics of this uncomfortable subject in order to inform political debate.
Shareholders Need a Say on Pay
| Published: | November 2, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
"Say on pay" legislation now under debate Washington D.C. can be a useful tool for shareholders to strengthen the link between CEO pay and performance when it comes to golden parachutes, says Harvard Business School professor Fabrizio Ferri. Here's a look at how the collective involvement of multiple stakeholders could shape the future of executive compensation.
Why Are Web Sites So Confusing?
| Published: | October 19, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Just as bread and milk are often found at far-away ends of the supermarket, Web sites that match consumers with certain products have an incentive to steer users to products that yield the highest margins. The result: a compromise between what users want and what produces the most revenues, say HBS professor Andrei Hagiu and Toulouse School of Economics researcher Bruno Jullien. A look inside the world of search.
7 Lessons for Navigating the Storm
| Q&A with: | William W. George |
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| Published: | October 13, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Leading in crisis requires a combination of skills and behaviors—personal and professional—that can be mastered, says HBS professor Bill George. A crisis, difficult as it is, also presents an opportunity to develop and grow. Q&A and excerpt from 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis.
The Vanguard Corporation
| Q&A with: | Rosabeth Moss Kanter |
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| Published: | October 5, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
In the book SuperCorp, Rosabeth Moss Kanter lays out a model for 21st-century companies that care as much about creating value for society as they do value for shareholders and employees. The best part: It pays to be good.
Improving Accountability at the World Bank
| Published: | September 28, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Its legitimacy and effectiveness on the line, the World Bank faces criticism from its constituents and the civil society organizations that serve them. What options and arguments for accountability make the most sense for global governance institutions like the World Bank? HBS professor Alnoor Ebrahim testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on paths to change.
Excessive Executive Pay: What's the Solution?
| Published: | September 21, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Now that the worst fears about economic meltdown are receding, what should be done about lingering issues such as over-the-top executive compensation? Does government have a role? Is it time we rethink corporate governance? HBS faculty weigh in. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin.
Understanding Users of Social Networks
| Published: | September 14, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Many business leaders are mystified about how to reach potential customers on social networks such as Facebook. Professor Mikolaj Jan Piskorski provides a fresh look into the interpersonal dynamics of these sites and offers guidance for approaching these tantalizing markets.
The Height Tax, and Other New Ways to Think about Taxation
| Q&A with: | Matthew Weinzierl |
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| Published: | September 8, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
The notion of levying higher taxes on tall people—an idea offered largely tongue in cheek—presents an ideal way to highlight the shortcomings of current tax policy and how to make it better. Harvard Business School professor Matthew C. Weinzierl looks at modern trends in taxation.
Why Competition May Not Improve Credit Rating Agencies
| Q&A with: | Bo Becker |
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| Published: | August 31, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Competition usually creates better products and services. But when competition increased among credit rating agencies, the result was less accurate ratings, according to a study by HBS professor Bo Becker and finance professor Todd Milbourn of Washington University in St Louis. In our Q&A, Becker discusses why users of ratings should exercise a little caution.
SuperCorp: Values as Guidance System
| Published: | August 24, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
In her new book SuperCorp, professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter details how vanguard companies such as IBM, Cemex, and Omron are rewriting the nature of the business enterprise and how firms will gain sustainable prosperity in the 21st century. Read our excerpt.
Quantifying the Economic Impact of the Internet
| Published: | August 17, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Businesses around the advertising-supported Internet have incredible multiplier effects throughout the economy and society. Professor John Quelch starts to put some numbers on the impact.
High Commitment, High Performance Management
| Q&A with: | Michael Beer |
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| Published: | August 10, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
High commitment, high performance organizations such as Southwest Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, McKinsey, and Toyota effectively manage three paradoxical goals, says HBS professor Michael Beer. His new book explains what all companies can learn. Q&A
Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn
| Q&A with: | V. Kasturi Rangan |
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| Published: | August 3, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Financial turmoil is not a reason to scale back on CSR programs—quite the opposite, says HBS professor V. Kasturi "Kash" Rangan. As a marketing scholar Rangan is optimistic about strategic CSR efforts that provide value in communities and society. Q&A
Social Network Marketing: What Works?
| Q&A with: | Sunil Gupta |
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| Published: | July 27, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Purchase decisions are influenced differently in social networks than in the brick-and-mortar world, says Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta. The key: Marketers should tap into the networking aspect of sites such as Facebook.
Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation
| Q&A with: | Karim R. Lakhani |
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| Published: | July 20, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
No one organization can monopolize knowledge in any given field. That's why modern companies must develop a new expertise: the ability to attract novel solutions to difficult or unanticipated problems from outside sources around the world. A conversation with Harvard Business School professor Karim R. Lakhani on the keys to managing distributed innovation.
Conducting Layoffs: 'Necessary Evils' at Work
| Q&A with: | Joshua D. Margolis and Andrew L. Molinsky |
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| Published: | July 6, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
"The core challenge for everyone who performs necessary evils comes from having to do two seemingly contradictory things at once: be compassionate and be direct," say Joshua D. Margolis of Harvard Business School and Andrew L. Molinsky of Brandeis University International Business School. Their research sheds light on best practices—typically overlooked—for the well-being of those who carry out these emotionally difficult tasks. Q&A
"Too Big To Fail": Reining In Large Financial Firms
| Published: | June 22, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Four little words have cost U.S. taxpayers dearly in government bailouts of once-mighty Wall Street firms. Congress can put an end to such costly rescues, says HBS professor David A. Moss, and the Federal Reserve could be a super regulator, adds senior lecturer Robert C. Pozen. But will Congress enact the regulatory cure that is required? From the HBS Alumni Bulletin.
