- 06 May 2019
- Research & Ideas
Consumers Blame Business for Global Health Problems. Can Business Become the Solution?
3Questions Millions of people have been harmed by cigarettes, defective merchandise, pollution, addiction and other business by-products. Pioneering companies are exploring healthier ways to operate, say Amy C. Edmondson and Dr. Howard K. Koh. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 27 Dec 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Team Learning Capabilities: A Meso Model of Sustained Innovation and Superior Firm Performance
In strategic management research, the dynamic capabilities framework enables a “helicopter view” of how firms achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This paper focuses on the critical role of work teams, arguing that managers must leverage the knowledge generated by teams to support innovation and strategic change. It matches types of team learning to innovation activities.
- 26 Nov 2018
- Book
Make Your Employees Feel Psychologically Safe
To do their best work, people need to feel secure and safe in their workplace. In a new book, Amy C. Edmondson details how companies can develop psychological safety. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 19 Jun 2018
- Research Event
Has Environmental Sustainability Lost its Relevance?
Companies have thought for decades about business-focused solutions to fix the deteriorating environment. But judging by continually rising waters and temperatures, we may need a rethink about what sustainability means, suggest participants at a recent conference at Harvard Business School. A report by co-organizer Geoffrey Jones. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 29 Jan 2018
- Book
How 'Teaming' Saved 33 Lives in the Chilean Mining Disaster
Teams composed of people from across expertise areas can create solutions beyond what any one agency can deliver, says Amy Edmondson. Just ask several dozen Chilean workers rescued from a mine collapse. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 03 Oct 2017
- Sharpening Your Skills
7 Effective Ways to Lead Teams
Managers of teams require communications skills, organizational capabilities, and a knack for judging how people might work together. Research from Harvard Business School investigates the challenges of team leadership. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Sep 2017
- First Look
First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 12, 2017
The need to consider self-managing organizations...The downside of positive information...The case of Signet Jewelers
- 29 Aug 2017
- First Look
First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 29
How social class shapes high-performing women ... The problem with knowledge repositories ... Starting a high-frequency-trading hedge fund.
- 04 May 2017
- Cold Call Podcast
Leading a Team to the Top of Mount Everest
In a podcast, Amy Edmondson describes how students learn about team communication and decision making by making a simulated climb up Mount Everest. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 26 Aug 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Unpacking Team Diversity: An Integrative Multi-Level Model of Cross-Boundary Teaming
In a growing number of cases, cross-boundary teams span organizational boundaries, not just functional ones. This paper explores how newly formed temporary groups may be able to develop rapidly into high-performance teams. The authors integrate research streams on team diversity and knowledge boundaries, and present a framework that considers the kinds of specific knowledge boundaries that must be spanned to achieve high-level, cross-boundary teaming.
- 09 May 2016
- Book
‘Big Teaming,’ Audacious Innovation, and the Uncompleted Dream of a Smart City
How do you organize a project that spans professions, industries, and even nations? A new book by Amy Edmondson and Susan Salter Reynolds describes the approach of 'big teaming' with a case study of a high-profile smart city. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 04 Feb 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
The Space Shuttle Columbia’s Final Mission
No organization wants to fail. But even for the best and the brightest, failure is inevitable, and occasionally that failure can be catastrophic. Professor Amy Edmondson describes her experience writing and teaching a case on the Columbia space shuttle’s final mission, including the organizational challenges within NASA that contributed to it, and the lessons that can be taken from the tragedy. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 27 May 2015
- Research & Ideas
Build 'Scaffolds' to Improve Performance of Temporary Teams
Many critical tasks are performed by teams created on the fly, but lack of stability can hinder their performance. Amy Edmondson and Melissa Valentine use the idea of scaffolds to produce greater collaboration and efficiency on temporary teams. Open for comment; 9 Comment(s) posted.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Business of Climate Change
What is the role of business and its leaders in creating positive climate change? In the middle of Climate Week, Six Harvard Business School faculty provide different perspectives. Closed for comment; 4 Comment(s) posted.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Op-Ed
Take a Trim Tab Approach to Climate Change
Often depicted as greedy and shortsighted, business leaders face a crucial opportunity on the issue of climate change to change that perception, says Amy Edmondson. Closed for comment; 1 Comment(s) posted.
- 29 May 2014
- Research & Ideas
Research Symposium 2014
Harvard Business School professors presented their research to colleagues, with topics including speaking up at work, a manager's responsibility to capitalism, and a strategy to fix the health care system. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Jan 2013
- What Do You Think?
Should We Rethink the Promise of Teams?
Summing Up: Teams that are properly structured and managed can support innovative thinking that depends on contributions from both extroverts and introverts, according to Professor Jim Heskett's readers. Closed for comment; 24 Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Dec 2012
- Research & Ideas
Teaming in the Twenty-First Century
Today's teams are not well designed for getting work done in the twenty-first century, argues Professor Amy C. Edmondson. One starting point: learn the skill of "teaming." Open for comment; 18 Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Aug 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
The Rich Get Richer: Enabling Conditions for Knowledge Use in Organizational Work Teams
Individuals on the periphery of organizational knowledge-sharing networks, due to inexperience, location, or lack of social capital, may struggle to access useful knowledge at work. An electronic knowledge repository (KR) offers a practical solution to the challenges of making knowledge available to people who might otherwise lack access to relevant expertise. Such a system may function as a knowledge-access equalizer. However, the presence of a knowledge repository will not solve the problem of access to knowledge for those at the periphery of the organization unless it is used. In this paper, the authors begin to theorize the social and structural conditions that support KR use by exploring whether individuals on the organizational periphery take advantage of KRs, or whether KRs function more to enrich individuals whose experience and position already provide them better access to other knowledge sources. Using extensive data on KR use at a global, outsourced provider of software services, the authors' results show that despite the seeming promise of a KR to integrate or equalize peripheral players, it instead enriches knowledge access for people who are already well positioned. Findings thus suggest that KR use is not simply an individual activity based on need, but is instead enabled by certain social conditions (such as familiarity and experience) and inhibited by others (such as status disparities and remote location). An organizational KR thus fails to serve as an equalizer absent intervention. Key concepts include: There is a cautionary note for managers: In this study, KRs supported team performance by enriching the knowledge access of central players in the organization. KRs were less effective at ensuring much-needed access for those on the periphery. If individuals cannot get the knowledge that they need, then both their performance and their careers may suffer. Although some individuals are deployed into positions seen as organizationally necessary - such as remote offices or onto teams where they all may not know each other - in these positions they are less likely to make use of available organizational resources. There is a pattern of greater use of a KR and success for teams working in more supportive conditions. Individual and team characteristics enable people to support each other, make use of available resources, and perform effectively. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
These Aren't Beach Books, but Managers Should Read Them Anyway
As you contemplate your summer reading, consider these recent books from Harvard Business School management scholars that can boost your career and improve on-the-ground management skills. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.