Management
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- 11 Dec 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Corporate Finance and Beyond
Corporate finance researchers who analyze patent data are at risk of making highly predictable errors. The problem arises from dramatic changes in the direction and location of technological innovation (and patenting practice) over recent decades. This paper explains the pitfalls and suggests practical steps for avoiding them.
- 17 Nov 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Equity Concerns Are Narrowly Framed
This paper based on a large online study finds that individuals tend to differentiate in their concerns about fairness along specific dimensions, especially time and money, and are much more worried about fairness in one (time) than the other (money). These attitudes may help explain a seemingly wide variety of phenomena.
- 01 Nov 2017
- What Do You Think?
What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?
SUMMING UP James Heskett's readers identify key failures in Wells Fargo's culture and leadership. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 25 Oct 2017
- Research & Ideas
Will Machine Learning Make You a Better Manager?
Big data...artificial intelligence...Internet of Things. These technologies have taken their shares of the headlines the past few years, but now machine learning is the buzz. Mike Teodorescu explains how it is changing the lives of consumers and businesses. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 18 Oct 2017
- Research & Ideas
How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization
Historical research by Valeria Giacomin shows that industrial clusters, often cited in explaining local economic growth, have had a much wider impact, especially in developing countries. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Oct 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Healthy Business? Managerial Education and Management in Healthcare
A hospital's proximity to a university supplying both business and clinical education is associated with higher management practice scores and better clinical outcomes.
- 19 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
An Invitation to Market Design
Effective market design can improve liquidity, efficiency, and equity in markets. This paper illustrates best practices in market design through three examples: the design of medical residency matching programs, a scrip system to allocate food donations to food banks, and the recent “Incentive Auction” that reallocated wireless spectrum from television broadcasters to telecoms.
- 05 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Structural Transformation: A Competitiveness-based View
A critical challenge for many economies is how to accelerate structural change when market forces alone seem insufficient. This paper explores the relationship between two approaches. The Structural Transformation framework argues for identifying and supporting target sectors in line with ‘latent’ competitive advantages. The competitiveness framework emphasizes the need to systematically strengthen competitive advantages, with new sectors the outcome rather than the driver of competitiveness upgrading.
- 21 Aug 2017
- Lessons from the Classroom
Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively
Big data is a critical competitive advantage for companies that know how to use it. Harvard Business School faculty share insights that they teach to executives. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Aug 2017
- Cold Call Podcast
Pal's Sudden Service: Taking Fast Food to the Next Level
Pal's Sudden Service hamburger chain has a remarkable operating model and organizational culture unique in the fast food industry. Can Pal's maintain its high quality and happy employees if it expands? Gary Pisano discusses the company’s strategic challenge. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Machine Learning Methods for Strategy Research
Marketing, logistics, knowledge flow analysis, and other domains have become highly dependent on machine learning methods and tools. This article provides a survey of these methods and their management applications. Aimed at a broad readership, the article explains tools and concepts in a way that is accessible to non-specialists, including those without a programming background.
- 31 Jul 2017
- HBS Case
It’s Hard to Fix the Family Business Without Offending the Family
Navigating complex relationships and understanding unwritten processes are among the many challenges of transitioning a family-owned business to the next generation. Len Schlesinger, Michael Raiche, and Roger Zhu discuss the dilemmas of a small Vietnamese restaurant in the case study “Pho Hoa Dorchester.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Jul 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Task Selection and Workload: A Focus on Completing Easy Tasks Hurts Long-Term Performance
Employees facing increased workloads usually tackle easier tasks first. This study tests the performance implications of such prioritization. Findings show that it happens because people feel positive emotions after task completion, yet it could hurt long-term performance. Workloads could be structured to help employee development as well as organizational performance.
- 10 Jul 2017
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: It’s a Bad Idea to Ban Customers From Recording Videos
With videos of bad business practices routinely going viral, it might be tempting to prohibit customers from recording their surroundings. But banning cameras is the wrong way to go, says Benjamin Edelman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 22 Jun 2017
- Cold Call Podcast
ShotSpotter: A Gunfire Detection Business Looks for a New Market
ShotSpotter sells its gunfire detection services to cities, but is thinking of branching out to private institutions like shopping malls and schools. This podcast with Mitch Weiss discusses his case study around ShotSpotter's options. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 19 Jun 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Learning to Manage: A Field Experiment in the Indian Startup Ecosystem
This study of 100 high-growth startups in India finds that founder-executives can learn how to improve their management style from their peers at other firms. These interfirm network connections between founders may help explain why some companies are well managed and others less so. Despite the apparent value of this peer learning, founders don’t appear to naturally connect with peers who could help them improve their management style.
- 17 May 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Turbulence, Firm Decentralization and Growth in Bad Times
What makes some firms more resilient than others to large negative macro shocks? This paper finds that the internal organization of firms—specifically, the extent to which decision-making is decentralized from headquarters to plant managers—is an important mediating factor through which macroeconomic shocks affect firm performance and, ultimately, growth.
- 15 May 2017
- Sharpening Your Skills
The Promises and Limitations of Big Data
Recent stories chart the rise of big data, its impact on business, and how it affects our lives every day. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 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.
Personality Traits of Entrepreneurs: A Review of Recent Literature
This paper brings together recent findings in the academic literature on the prevalence of various personality traits among entrepreneurs and their impact on venture performance. It focuses on three themes: (1) personality traits of entrepreneurs and how they compare to other groups; (2) attitudes towards risk that entrepreneurs display; and (3) overall goals and aspirations that entrepreneurs bring to their pursuits.