- 27 Jul 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Mixing Sports and Money: Adidas and the Commercialization of the Olympics
Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of Adidas, cultivated relationships with athletes and national associations—with the aim of expanding his family’s sports apparel business. In doing so, he created the first sports sponsorships for the Olympics, and ultimately became a key force behind the commercialization of sports today. Professor Geoffrey Jones explores the pros and cons of the globalization and commercialization of sport in his case, spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s, “Horst Dassler, Adidas, and the Commercialization of Sport.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Jul 2021
- Op-Ed
What Pirates Can Teach Us About Leadership
Despite his reputation for ruthlessness, Blackbeard ran a surprisingly progressive and equitable ship. Francesca Gino highlights three lessons for today's leaders from the golden age of piracy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Jul 2021
- Research & Ideas
What Does an ESG Score Really Say About a Company?
A key gauge in the $30 trillion sustainable investment market provides a murky picture of corporate social responsibility. Research by Anywhere Sikochi and George Serafeim probes the underlying factors. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Jul 2021
- Research & Ideas
Bankruptcy Spells Death for Too Many Businesses
Hasty liquidations cost creditors billions of dollars a year, research by Samuel Antill finds. What if more bankrupt companies were restructured—and revived—instead? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Jul 2021
- Op-Ed
For Entrepreneurs, the Benefits of Slowing Down
After several heady months for startups, Jeffrey Bussgang offers radical advice for founders this summer: just chill. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Jul 2021
- Managing the Future of Work
People analytics: Getting from data to meaningful impact
Can social science and big data help organizations have constructive conversations with their employees? People analytics is being put to the test as businesses grapple with the pandemic, remote work, return-to-the-office decisions, diversity and inclusion, and a raft of social and political pressures. Didier Elzinga, founder and CEO of HR analytics platform vendor Culture Amp, discusses employee engagement and wellbeing and the need for data-literate managers.
- 13 Jul 2021
- Research & Ideas
Outrage Spreads Faster on Twitter: Evidence from 44 News Outlets
When it comes to social sharing, doom-and-gloom tweets beat sunshine and rainbows, says research by Amit Goldenberg. Is it time to send in the positivity police? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Jul 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Strategies for Underdogs: How Alibaba’s Taobao Beat eBay in China
In 2007, Alibaba’s Taobao became China’s leading consumer e-commerce marketplace, displacing the once dominant eBay. How did underdog Taobao do it? And will it be able to find a way to monetize its marketplace and ensure future success? Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee discusses his case, “Alibaba’s Taobao,” and related strategy lessons from his new book, Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Jul 2021
- Book
Good News for Disgraced Companies: You Can Regain Trust
Companies skilled at building trust focus on four key elements, say Sandra Sucher and Shalene Gupta in their book, The Power of Trust. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2021
- What Do You Think?
Do Companies Really Need Chief Experience Officers to Know Their Customers?
Does it take a CXO or chief customer officer to bring executives closer to the customer experience? James Heskett ponders the value of this increasingly popular role. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Jul 2021
- Office Hours
Readers Ask: Which Companies Are Transforming Work?
Joseph Fuller answers readers' questions about automation, virtual internships, and the future of work on Working Knowledge’s “Office Hours” series. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Jun 2021
- Managing the Future of Work
Infrastructure: Upgrading the US labor statistics system
Former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erica Groshen on how better data gathering can improve careers and the economy and why it’s important to keep politics out of federal statistical research. Also: skills, worker voice, gig, inequality, the social safety net, and assessing the impact of Covid-19.
- 30 Jun 2021
- In Practice
The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021
Looking for your next beach read? HBS faculty members share their summer reading lists, pulling from the worlds of technology, history, and science fiction. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Jun 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Procter & Gamble’s Lean Innovation Transformation
When Kathy Fish became Procter & Gamble’s Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer in 2014, she was concerned that the world’s leading consumer packaged goods company had lost its capability to produce a steady stream of disruptive innovations. In addition, intensifying competition from direct-to-consumer companies convinced Fish that P&G needed to renew its value proposition to make all aspects of the consumer experience “irresistibly superior.” But making this change would require wholesale transformation from within. Can Fish bring lean innovation to scale at Procter & Gamble? Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Emily Truelove discusses the challenges of bringing this established company back to an innovative mindset in her case, “Kathy Fish at Procter & Gamble: Navigating Industry Disruption by Disrupting from Within.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Jun 2021
- Research & Ideas
Keep or Cut Workers? How Companies Reacted to the COVID-19 Crisis
Analysis by Ethan Rouen and colleagues reveals the true factors behind leaders' choices during the pandemic's painful early months, when survival was at stake for many businesses. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Jun 2021
- Research & Ideas
One More Way the Startup World Hampers Women Entrepreneurs
Early feedback is essential to launching new products, but women entrepreneurs are more likely to receive input from men. Research by Rembrand Koning, Ramana Nanda, and Ruiqing Cao. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Jun 2021
- Research & Ideas
The COVID-19 Mutiny: When Teams Leave and Take Their Clients
Remote work and pandemic turbulence have made it easier to poach star teams. Boris Groysberg and colleagues offer advice for companies trying to retain or recruit high performers, and for professionals considering a move. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Jun 2021
- Managing the Future of Work
Taking stock of Eastern Bank’s expansive community banking model
Eastern Bank is betting that bigger is better when it comes to serving small businesses and supporting local communities and philanthropic causes. Until recently the oldest and largest mutual bank in the US, Eastern has gone public and is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy. CEO and Chair, Bob Rivers, on maintaining the bank’s commitment to diversity—in business, communities, and internally—and how Covid has reconfigured work and magnified the challenges faced by small and minority-owned businesses.
- 16 Jun 2021
- HBS Case
Cruising in Crisis: How Carnival Is Riding Out the COVID-19 Storm
COVID-19 has devastated the cruise industry, but one company may emerge stronger: Carnival. A case study by Stuart Gilson reveals how the cruising juggernaut is navigating the pandemic. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
Veeva’s distributed approach to building institutional knowledge and shared culture
Life sciences cloud software company Veeva's origins as a highly decentralized organization and its early adoption of video conferencing paid off when Covid-19 forced the switch to remote work. The business was able to help speed up the vaccine pipeline. Co-founder and director, HBS alumnus Matt Wallach, talks about the firm’s post-Covid work-from-anywhere strategy, its embrace of the multi-stakeholder public benefit corporation model, and why it foregoes non-compete clauses as it aims to foster employees’ careers.