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    Compensation and BenefitsRemove Compensation and Benefits →

    New research on compensation and benefits from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the efficacy of incentive plans, employee stock ownership plans, and executive compensation.
    Page 1 of 48 Results →
    • 01 Nov 2022
    • Research & Ideas

    A Penny for Your Thoughts? For Big-Picture Ideas, the Right Pay Structure Matters

    by Scott Van Voorhis

    Employment contracts that try to squeeze more productivity out of workers can thwart innovative thinking, says research from Susanna Gallani. She offers advice to help companies align incentives with expectations.

    • 03 Oct 2022
    • Research & Ideas

    Why a Failed Startup Might Be Good for Your Career After All

    by Sean Silverthorne

    Go ahead and launch that venture. Even if it fails, the experience you gain will likely earn you a job that's more senior than those of your peers, says research by Paul Gompers.

    • 29 Jul 2022
    • Research & Ideas

    Will Demand for Women Executives Finally Shrink the Gender Pay Gap?

    by Kristen Senz

    Women in senior management have more negotiation power than they think in today's labor market, says research by Paul Healy and Boris Groysberg. Is it time for more women to seek better opportunities and bigger pay?

    • 02 Aug 2021
    • Research & Ideas

    What If Closing the Wage Gap Means Everyone Earns Less?

    by Avery Forman

    Companies are under pressure to share more data about employee salaries, but research by Zoe Cullen reveals how pay transparency doesn't always help workers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 28 Apr 2021
    • Research & Ideas

    Remote Workers Spend More on Housing. Do They Deserve Higher Pay?

    by Kristen Senz

    A kitchen table is not a home office. Companies competing for talent after the pandemic may need to consider remote workers' added housing costs, says Christopher Stanton. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 30 Nov 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Short-Termism, Shareholder Payouts, and Investment in the EU

    by Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang

    Shareholder-driven “short-termism,” as evidenced by increasing payouts to shareholders, is said to impede long-term investment in EU public firms. But a deep dive into the data reveals a different story.

    • 30 Aug 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Consumers Punish Firms that Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19

    by Bhavya Mohan, Serena Hagerty, and Michael Norton

    In the wake of COVID-19, firms announced both employee furloughs and (typically small) CEO wage cuts. This research shows that firms’ treatment of employees matters far more to consumers than executive pay cuts.

    • 27 Jul 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Evolution of CEO Compensation in Venture Capital-Backed Startups

    by Michael Ewens, Ramana Nanda, and Christopher Stanton

    Resolving uncertainty related to market demand—so called “product-market” fit—marks a key inflection point in the compensation contract for CEOs of venture-capital backed firms.

    • 20 Jul 2020
    • Op-Ed

    It's Time for a Bipartisan Health Plan for Employers and Employees

    by Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard J. Boxer

    Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard J. Boxer prescribe a seemingly impossible cure for battling health care options: a plan that embraces both Republican and Democratic ideas. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 03 Mar 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Nominal and Opportunity Effects of Managerial Discretion

    by Wei Cai, Susanna Gallani, and Jee Eun Shin

    This study of field data from a Chinese manufacturing company explores the consequences of subjective performance evaluations leading to bonuses and penalties. Results may help practitioners improve the effectiveness of incentive systems.

    • 25 Sep 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Corporate Purpose and Firm Ownership

    by Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

    This study shows that corporate purpose varies greatly according to the nature of firm ownership, and these differences can be least partly explained by the choices and compensation of the CEOs. The greater the pay gap between CEOs and employees, the lower the sense of corporate purpose within the organization.

    • 30 Jun 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Comprehensive Effects of Sales Force Management: A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Selection, Compensation, and Training

    by Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim, and Byoung G. Park

    When sales forces are well managed, firms can induce greater performance from them. For this study, the authors collaborated with a major multinational firm to develop and estimate a dynamic structural model of sales employee responses to various management instruments like compensation, training, and recruiting/termination policies.

    • 21 May 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    rTSR: When Do Relative Performance Metrics Capture Relative Performance?

    by Paul Ma, Jee-Eun Shin, and Charles C. Y. Wang

    Managers are increasingly evaluated based on relative performance metrics, particularly relative total shareholder returns (rTSR). This paper finds that the majority of firms that tie CEO performance-based contracts to rTSR do a remarkable job of filtering out the systematic risk in TSR. However, a significant portion of firms make relatively poor choices in the design and selection of rTSR, a result of weak governance and an overreliance on compensation consultants.

    • 28 Jan 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    Forget Cash. Here Are Better Ways to Motivate Employees

    by Dina Gerdeman

    In today's tight job market, employers must focus on how to attract and keep top talent. Giving away stacks of money may not always be the best incentive, warns Ashley Whillans. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 17 Jan 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    Why Business Should Support Employees Who Are Caregivers

    by Danielle Kost

    Shifting demographics are causing an increasing number of people to act as caregivers for family and friends—but employers seem hardly to notice the trend. Joseph Fuller discusses why companies should support them. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 05 Dec 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Salary Taboo: Privacy Norms and the Diffusion of Information

    by Zoë B. Cullen and Ricardo Perez-Truglia

    Barriers to the diffusion of salary information have implications for a wide range of labor market phenomena. This study of employees of a real organization shows that individuals significantly misinterpret their peers’ salaries, partly due to pervasive preferences for concealing own salary, and a potentially strategic decision of high earners to withhold their personal information.

    • 08 Oct 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Knowing What Your Boss Earns Can Make You Work Harder

    by Rachel Layne

    Learning what your co-worker earns can make you less productive, but knowing your manager's paycheck can motivate you to work harder. Research by Zoë Cullen. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 29 Aug 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    How Much Does Your Boss Make? The Effects of Salary Comparisons

    by Zoë B. Cullen and Ricardo Perez-Truglia

    This study of more than 2,000 employees at a multibillion dollar firm explores how perceptions about peers’ and managers’ salaries affect employee behaviors and preferences for equity. Employees exhibit a high tolerance for inequality when job titles differ, which may explain why incentives are granted through promotions, and gender pay differences are most pronounced across positions.

    • 16 Jul 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Kids of Working Moms Grow into Happy Adults

    by Dina Gerdeman

    In earlier research, Kathleen McGinn and colleagues discovered that adult kids of working moms are high achievers at work. Now it turns out they are happy, too. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 29 Apr 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Analyzing the Aftermath of a Compensation Reduction

    by Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert, and Christopher Stanton

    This study of the effects of compensation cuts in a large sales organization provides a unique lens for analyzing the link between compensation schemes, worker performance, and turnover.

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