Management →
- 16 Nov 2016
- Research & Ideas
Turning One Thousand Customers into One Million
In the second part of a series on growing startups, Thales S. Teixeira explains how Uber, Etsy, and Airbnb climbed from one thousand customers to one million. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Nov 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Managing Reputation: Evidence from Biographies of Corporate Directors
A biography is part of a proxy statement summarizing a director’s past experience. For this study the authors analyzed almost 160,000 biographies of 12,895 directors to see how directors appear to make strategic disclosure choices about their past and current experience in biographies. Directors are less likely to disclose past and current directorships at firms that experienced adverse events such as accounting restatements, securities litigation, or bankruptcy. Directors who withhold information about adverse-event directorships experience a more favorable stock price reactions at appointment and lose fewer current directorships in the two years after the filing relative to the directors who disclose. However, there is no evidence that non-disclosure leads to different shareholder voting outcomes.
- 11 Oct 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance
An organization’s purpose is not a formal announcement, but depends on the employees believing in and acting to promote that purpose. This study provides evidence about whether employee beliefs in a strong corporate purpose are associated with superior or inferior financial performance. It shows that organizations where middle managers and salaried professionals feel a strong sense of purpose and have clarity about their job responsibilities and tasks experience superior future financial performance. There was no association for senior executives, sales, or hourly workers.
- 22 Sep 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
Innovation Under Constraint: Constructing a Turnaround at Lego
In this podcast, Jan Rivkin takes us behind Lego's iconic building "bricks" and into the minds of its leaders as they tackle digital disruption, staying true to the brand, and engineering an impressive turnaround. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Sep 2016
- Book
Resolve Your Toughest Work Problems with 5 Questions
In Managing in the Gray, Joseph Badaracco offers managers a five-question framework for facing murky situations and solving tough problems. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 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.
- 22 Aug 2016
- Research & Ideas
Master the One-on-One Meeting
The one-on-one meeting between supervisor and staff is an invaluable tool for managing, but requires much attention to detail. Julia B. Austin explains best practices for getting the most out of the 1:1. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Aug 2016
- Research & Ideas
Prospective Students Steer Clear of Schools Rocked by Scandal
Who says there is no such thing as bad publicity? When a college experiences a scandal, applications drop. Michael Luca explains what colleges and other businesses should learn when bad news dips the demand curve. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Aug 2016
- Lessons from the Classroom
Panic Management: Keep Your Eyes on the Road
Many of us respond with a knee-jerk reaction when adversity hits, but a more considered approach is better for a successful resolution. Joshua Margolis discusses the resilience regimen. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Aug 2016
- What Do You Think?
How Can We Hold the “Leadership Industry” Accountable?
SUMMING UP This month’s reader comments provide little hope that the leadership-development industry can achieve its goals, says James Heskett. So why does the leadership industry continue to thrive? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Jul 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Towards a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategic Choice, Learning, and Competition
This paper explore how firms’ choices about capability investments shape competitive outcomes. In essence, while general-purpose management capabilities rooted in such activities as quality management systems and corporate governance may contribute to performance differences across firms, firms also need to develop market-specific capabilities to compete. It is also crucial to manage two types of uncertainty: supply side uncertainty to create new capabilities and demand side uncertainty about the value of those capabilities.
- 27 Jun 2016
- Research & Ideas
These Management Practices, Like Certain Technologies, Boost Company Performance
Management practice acts exactly as a new technology might in giving companies competitive advantage—and there is a right way and a wrong way to do things, says a new study by Raffaella Sadun and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Jun 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Management as a Technology?
Economists, business people and many policymakers have long believed that management practices are an important element in productivity. This study provides firm-level measures of management in an internationally comparable way, drawing on original data on over 11,000 firms across 34 countries. Differences in management practices account for about 30 percent of cross-country productivity differences.
- 20 May 2016
- Op-Ed
World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics
When it comes to emergency preparedness for pandemics, the World Health Organization is falling short, argues John A. Quelch. A better solution: The World Bank. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Apr 2016
- What Do You Think?
As Tim Cook, How Would You Tackle Apple's Next Challenge?
SUMMING UP With Apple's technology now apparently less secure, CEO Tim Cook suddenly has some critical decisions to make. James Heskett guides us through the options and asks for suggestions. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Mar 2016
- Research & Ideas
What's a Boss Worth?
Quite a lot, it turns out. Good bosses can have a multiplier effect that ups everyone’s game, according to new research by Christopher Stanton. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Mar 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Risk Management―The Revealing Hand
This article explores the role, organization, and limitations of risk identification and risk management, especially in situations that are not amenable to quantitative risk modeling. It argues that firms can avoid the artificial choice between quantitative and qualitative risk management, allowing both to play important roles in surfacing and assessing risks. Managers can then make decisions and allocate resources to mitigate the risks in a cost-efficient and moral manner.
- 18 Feb 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Urbanization with Chinese Characteristics? China’s Gamble for Modernization
If the Chinese Communist Party has its way in the coming decades, it will urbanize hundreds of millions of people, transform agriculture, and sustain economic growth--all without political instability. This paper details the risks and opportunities of China’s new-style urbanization reforms, arguing that proposals for urbanization and economic transformation are not a radical departure from the institutions that have structured Chinese society for the last 30 years.
- 12 Feb 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Enhancing the Practical Relevance of Research
Research is relevant when it has the potential to improve the decision making of managers or policymakers. Elaborating on his remarks at the 2015 Production and Operations Management Society conference, Toffel explains why research relevance matters and how scholars can increase the relevance of their research. Journals, professional societies, and doctoral programs can also foster research that is more useful and influential in society at large.
Fiscal Risk and the Portfolio of Government Programs
In modern economies, a large fraction of economy-wide risk is borne indirectly by taxpayers via the government. Governments have liabilities associated with retirement benefits, social insurance programs, and financial system backstops. Given the magnitude of these exposures, the set of risks the government chooses to bear and the way it manages those risks is of great importance. This study develops a new model for government cost-benefit analysis, and shows that distortionary taxation impacts the optimal scale and pricing of government programs. It also highlights the interaction between social and fiscal risk management motives, which frequently come into conflict.