- 04 Mar 2020
- Research & Ideas
How Schmoozing with the Boss Helps Men Get Promoted
Male employees who bond with their male managers move up the ranks of their companies faster, reinforcing the gender pay gap, according to research by Zoe B. Cullen. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 03 Mar 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Nominal and Opportunity Effects of Managerial Discretion
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.
- 03 Mar 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Do Universities Need 2U To Create Digital Education?
Karim Lakhani and Marco Iansiti discuss how universities are looking for technology partners to deliver digital education, as well as their new book, “Competing in the Age of AI.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Mar 2020
- What Do You Think?
Are Candor, Humility, and Trust Making a Comeback?
SUMMING UP: Have core leadership values been declining in recent years? If so, how do we get them back? James Heskett's readers provide answers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 27 Feb 2020
- Sharpening Your Skills
How Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care
Why do Harvard Business School scholars spend so much time and money analyzing health care delivery? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 25 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores
Independent booksellers in the United States have proven resilient in the face of multiple technological and business model shifts in the bookselling industry. By tapping into a larger social movement that promotes the value of shopping local and a desire to cultivate community, successful booksellers are differentiating themselves from online and big box competitors.
- 25 Feb 2020
- Research & Ideas
For Migrant Workers, Homesickness Can Reduce Productivity
Workers in the global economy increasingly perform their jobs far away from home. It turns out, says Prithwiraj Choudhury, that homesickness is a significant barrier to their productivity. Here's what employers can do. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 24 Feb 2020
- Research & Ideas
The Hidden Vulnerabilities of Open Source Software
The increasing use of open source software in most commercial apps has revolutionized software development—but also created hidden vulnerabilities, say Frank Nagle and Jenny Hoffman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 24 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Recovering Investor Expectations from Demand for Index Funds
Understanding investor beliefs and their dynamics is important in many settings. This paper proposes a framework that uses observed ETF trades to reveal the full distribution of investor expected returns. The authors apply the framework to the S&P 500 and other asset classes over the period 2008-2018. This approach to measuring expectations and risk preferences can be applied quite broadly and provides a potentially useful signal of investor beliefs.
- 20 Feb 2020
- Op-Ed
Love in the Office Is Wonderful. Except for CEOs.
Finding love among your office colleagues can be a wonderful thing, and not inevitably career ending. Unless, of course, you are the CEO. Advice to the corporate lovelorn from Regina Herzlinger. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 18 Feb 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Global Ocean Trust: Protecting the Blue Planet in New Ways
Following a successful career in finance, Torsten Thiele has devoted himself to the challenging cause of ocean conservation and stewardship. Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Thiele discuss strategy for solving one of the world's biggest problems. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 18 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts
Although there is growing interest in environmental, social, and governance measurement, the impact of company operations is emphasized over product use. A framework like this one that captures a product’s reach, accessibility, quality, optionality, environmental use emissions, and end of life recyclability allows for a systematic methodology that can be applied to companies across many industries.
- 17 Feb 2020
- Sharpening Your Skills
How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve
Identifying a customer's pain points is the first step for entrepreneurs in developing a new product. Julia Austin offers tips for choosing the right "job to be done." Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Impact of Technology and Trade on Migration: Evidence from the US
Labor mobility can re-equilibrate local labor markets after an economic shock. Both robot adoption and Chinese import competition between 1990 and 2015 caused large declines in manufacturing employment across US local labor markets (commuting zones, CZs). However, only robots were associated with a decline in CZ population, which resulted from reduced in-migration rather than by increased out-migration.
- 13 Feb 2020
- Book
Open Your Organization to Honest Conversations
When company leaders can't hear the voices of their workers, serious strategic mistakes are likely. Michael Beer discusses ways organizations can build powerful communication channels. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 11 Feb 2020
- Sharpening Your Skills
10 Rules Entrepreneurs Need to Know Before Adopting AI
Business leaders are just beginning to adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning into their operations. Rocio Wu offers insights into how entrepreneurs can start riding the wave. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Feb 2020
- In Practice
6 Ways That Emerging Technology Is Disrupting Business Strategy
How are AI, data analytics, and the Internet of Things changing the way business leaders think about strategy? Harvard Business School faculty members discuss how emerging technology has changed the rules of competition. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Fostering Perceptions of Authenticity via Sensitive Self-Disclosure
By making sensitive self-disclosures, leaders can enhance how authentic their followers perceive them to be, leading to positive interpersonal outcomes and potentially organizational ones as well. Aside from the obvious costs of disclosing weaknesses, leaders may also reap surprising benefits from doing so.
- 07 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Old Boys' Club: Schmoozing and the Gender Gap
Over a four-year period, male employees assigned a male manager were promoted at a faster rate than their female counterparts, with no observable difference in performance. Women, in turn, were promoted at the same rate whether assigned to a male manager or female manager. Male employees benefited from the higher rates of social interactions with their male managers.
Consumer Protection in an Online World: An Analysis of Occupational Licensing
This paper uses new data collected by a digital platform to study the role of occupational licensing laws on individual choices and market outcomes. Results suggest that more stringent licensing laws restrict competition but do not lead to improvements in customer satisfaction.