Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
Filter Results: (370) Arrow Down

OrganizationsRemove Organizations →

New research on organizational design from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including resolving workplace issues, HR, and culture.
Page 1 of 370 Results →

Lessons from IBM in Nazi Germany

Re: Geoffrey G. Jones

Geoffrey Jones discusses his case study, "Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany," exploring the options and responsibilities of multinationals with investments in politically reprehensible regimes. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations series

by Carliss Y. Baldwin

Building on Design Rules: The Power of Modularity, coauthored by HBS professor Carliss Y. Baldwin and Kim B. Clark (MIT Press, 2000).

Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?

by Valeria Giacomin, Geoffrey Jones, and Erica Salvaj

Drawing on 110 interviews with business leaders as part of the Creating Emerging Markets project at Harvard Business School, this paper represents the first systematic attempt to identify and compare investment in education across emerging economies, specifically in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf between the 1960s and the present day.

Torched Planet: The Business Case to Reinvent Almost Everything

by Rebecca Henderson

With climate change scorching the planet, business leaders have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the world—and make money in the process, says Rebecca Henderson. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Decarbonization Factors

by Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, David Turkington, and Hui (Stacie) Wang

This paper contributes to a growing knowledge base about how climate change impacts investor expectations, capital allocations and thereby pricing and returns. It provides actionable insights into how to decarbonize portfolios and evaluate the likely performance and carbon exposure differences across strategies.

Birds of a Feather ... Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy

by Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen

Does culture eat strategy for breakfast? By analyzing the role of a company's social norms—how they develop and why people reinforce them, despite their personal beliefs—this paper offers new insights about the power of culture.

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees

by Dina Gerdeman

To support black employees, business leaders must challenge biases and help employees be themselves, according to a new book co-edited by Anthony J. Mayo, Laura Morgan Roberts, and David A. Thomas Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Book Excerpt: Why a Volume on Race, Work, and Leadership

In this excerpt from Race, Work, & Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience, the authors discuss the deterioriating state of race relations in the US. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What Can the World’s Largest Refugee Camp Teach Us About the Meaning of Work?

by Danielle Kost

Almost 1 million Rohingya refugees are sinking deeper into despair while sitting idle in a camp they can’t easily leave. But the opportunity to work might provide a resource more scarce than cash: hope. Research by Reshmaan N. Hussam.

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.

How a New Leader Broke Through a Culture of Accuse, Blame, and Criticize

Re: Amy C. Edmondson

Children’s Hospital & Clinics COO Julie Morath sets out to change the culture by instituting a policy of blameless reporting, which encourages employees to report anything that goes wrong or seems substandard, without fear of reprisal. Professor Amy Edmondson discusses getting an organization into the “High Performance Zone.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

At Booking.com, Innovation Means Constant Failure

Re: Stefan H. Thomke

Booking.com and other innovative firms embrace a culture where testing, experimentation, and even failure are tried and true. Stefan Thomke explains the necessary ingredients for establishing a culture of innovation. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Has the Corporate Mission Just Been Disrupted?

by Sean Silverthorne

In a recent statement from the Business Roundtable, 200 powerful CEOs said corporations should widen their missions beyond just maximizing profits for shareholders. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World?

Re: Rebecca M. Henderson, George Serafeim

Can inclusivity, sustainability, and better governance boost economies? Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim discuss the impact investing efforts of GPIF, Japan’s government pension fund. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

‘Organizing’, ‘Innovating’, and ‘Managing’ in Complexity Space

by Michael C. Moldoveanu

This paper explores organizational complexity by proposing a two-dimensional framework to help us understand organizational coping mechanisms and failure modes. The framework makes it possible to ask new questions about organizational adaptations to complexity that investigate its underlying structure and dynamics.

How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely

by Kristen Senz

Letting independent workers choose their locations can boost companies, employees, and even the economy, according to research by Prithwiraj Choudhury and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Does Facebook's Business Model Threaten Our Elections?

by George Riedel

America's 2016 presidential election was the target of voter manipulation via social media, particularly on Facebook. George Riedel thinks history is about to repeat itself. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?

by Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle

Communities of users are shaping the industrial landscape and contributing to the innovations we use every day. The effects of user communities on firms, industries, and society will continue to grow. This article discusses the relationship between user communities and firms to shed light on avenues for future research in business strategy.

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

by Julia Hanna

A case study by William Kerr explores Walmart's plans for future workforce makeup and training, and its search for opportunities from digital infrastructure and automation. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Transparency into Internal and External Responsibility Initiatives Influences Consumer Choice

by Ryan W. Buell and Basak Kalkanci

Three studies examined how firms can use transparency into social and environmental responsibility initiatives to differentiate themselves in the consumer market. Results show that transparency into internal, responsible operations practices can increase sales at least as much as transparency into external, corporate social responsibility practices, if not more so.