Research & Ideas
There are 706 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.
Manager Visibility No Guarantee of Fixing Problems
| Published: | February 22, 2010 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Managers who merely put in time "walking the floor" are not doing enough when it comes to problem solving; in fact, it can make employees feel worse about their situation, says HBS professor Anita Tucker.
The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service
| Q&A with: | Ranjay Gulati |
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| Published: | February 16, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Is your enterprise resilient or rigid? In this Q&A, HBS professor Ranjay Gulati, an expert on leadership, strategy, and organizational issues in firms, describes how companies can evolve through four levels to become more customer-centric. Plus: book excerpt from Reorganize for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business.
The 'Luxury Prime': How Luxury Changes People
| Q&A with: | Roy Y.J. Chua |
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| Published: | February 1, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
What effect does luxury have on human cognition and decision making? According to new research, there seems to be a link between luxury and self interest, an insight that may help curb corporate excesses. Roy Y.J. Chua of Harvard Business School discusses findings from his work conducted with Xi Zou of London Business School.
A Macroeconomic View of the Current Economy
| Q&A with: | David A. Moss |
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| Published: | January 25, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Concerned or confused by the economic environment? Take some lessons from history and concepts from macroeconomics to get a better understanding of how the economy works. A Q&A with HBS professor David A. Moss, author of A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics: What Managers, Executives, and Students Need to Know.
Mixing Open Source and Proprietary Software Strategies
| Q&A with: | Gaston Llanes |
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| Published: | January 11, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Open source and proprietary software development used to be competing strategies. Now software firms are experimenting with strategies that mix the two models. Researcher Gaston Llanes discusses recent research into these "mixed source" strategies.
Best of HBS Working Knowledge 2009
| Published: | January 4, 2010 |
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| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Social networks and their business implications were all the rage in 2009. Other most popular articles in HBS Working Knowledge included a look at leadership in good times and in tough times, managing teams, and the downside of goal-setting exercises. Greatest hits also included a "Sharpening Your Skills" collection on career and life balance as well as "10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture."
Published in 2009
Can Entrepreneurs Drive People Movers to Success?
| Q&A with: | Benjamin G. Edelman |
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| Published: | December 14, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Call them next-generation driverless taxis or people movers, the age of personal rapid transport is just around the bend. Could PRT change the face of public transportation in cities and smaller communities? HBS professor Benjamin G. Edelman weighs the benefits and opportunities for entrepreneurs and for society. "Right now, the field is wide open," he says.
Government's Positive Role in Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship
| Q&A with: | Josh Lerner |
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| Published: | December 7, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars bailing out troubled companies. Is it time for Uncle Sam to invest in new entrepreneurial firms as well? Professor Josh Lerner makes the case for limited government involvement in his book Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed—and What to Do about It.
Tracks of My Tears: Reconstructing Digital Music
| Q&A with: | Anita Elberse |
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| Published: | November 30, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Record labels have depended on album sales to boost profits. But in the digital music era, consumers prefer single songs over music "bundles." The result? Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse says it is time for the industry to rethink its products and prices.
Management's Role in Reforming Health Care
| Q&A with: | Richard M.J. Bohmer |
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| Published: | November 23, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Health care managers are the missing link in debate over reform. Their skills and ideas are needed to sustain and improve upon multiple advances in the delivery of health care for the benefit of patients. An interview with HBS professor Richard M.J. Bohmer, MD, and an excerpt from his book Designing Care: Aligning the Nature and Management of Health Care.
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.
