- 20 Nov 2019
- Research & Ideas
It's No Joke: AI Beats Humans at Making You Laugh
New research shows people don’t trust recommendations from algorithms—and that’s a problem for companies that increasingly rely on AI-based technology to persuade consumers. Michael H. Yeomans explains how businesses can overcome that bias. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Nov 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
Lessons from IBM in Nazi Germany
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; 0 Comments.
- 19 Nov 2019
- Op-Ed
Gender Bias Complaints against Apple Card Signal a Dark Side to Fintech
The possibility that Apple Card applicants were subject to gender bias opens a new frontier for the financial services sector in which regulators are largely absent, argues Karen Mills. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Nov 2019
- Climate Rising
Making the Food of the Future
Agriculture contributes a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas, and 60% comes from manure and methane emissions from animals like cattle. How is the beef industry changing to address this challenge? Could plant-based or clean meat truly change our diets enough to make an impact? Nicole Johnson-Hoffman from the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Bruce Friedrich from the Good Food Institute, and Professor Max Bazerman discuss how to produce high quality protein to feed the world in the face of climate change.
- 14 Nov 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations series
Building on Design Rules: The Power of Modularity, coauthored by HBS professor Carliss Y. Baldwin and Kim B. Clark (MIT Press, 2000).
- 14 Nov 2019
- Book
Lifting the Lid on Turkey's Hidden Business History
The business history of modern Turkey has been largely hidden from view, but a new book edited by Geoffrey Jones and Asli M. Colpan pulls back the covers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Nov 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion
Many organizations and job applications require individuals to assess their own ability and performance. When women communicate to potential employers, however, they systematically give less favorable assessments of their own past performance and potential future ability than equally performing men. The study rules out potential explanations for the gap and discusses implications.
- 13 Nov 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Shareholder Activism and Firms’ Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks
Shareholder resolutions typically fail, and often by a wide margin. So why do active investors bother? It turns out that resolutions nonetheless can influence corporate transparency. Specifically, after being targeted with shareholder resolutions on environmental topics, this research shows that companies are more likely to publicly disclose their climate change risks—and that such disclosure increases these companies’ valuation.
- 13 Nov 2019
- Research & Ideas
Don't Turn Your Marketing Function Over to AI Just Yet
Lacking human insight, artificial intelligence will be limited when it comes to helping marketers open the black box of market prediction, says Tomomichi Amano. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Nov 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Tariff Passthrough at the Border and at the Store: Evidence from US Trade Policy
Collecting and analyzing microdata on prices and the reaction of importers, retailers, and exporters to US trade policy since 2018, this study finds most of the tariffs’ incidence rests with the US firms.
- 12 Nov 2019
- Research & Ideas
Corporate Innovation Increasingly Benefits from Government Research
Nearly a third of US patents rely directly on government-funded research, says Dennis Yao. Is government too involved in supporting private sector innovation—or not enough? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Nov 2019
- Climate Rising
Growing Our Food: Making Agriculture More Sustainable
The massive agriculture industry feeds billions of people but also contributes heavily to climate change. How do we employ more sustainable agricultural practices and maintain our ability to feed 7.7 billion people, plus 2 billion more by 2050? Indigo Agriculture’s David Perry and Harvard Business School Professor David Bell discuss the promising opportunities to change the ways in which we grow food.
- 06 Nov 2019
- Managing the Future of Work
Werk-ing the angles: how mapping work to real life can boost productivity
Werk Enterprises uses surveys and data analytics to help organize work through a set of predefined, flexible arrangements, rather than the traditional 9-to-5 in the office. This HR version of mass customization can recalibrate the relationship between employers and employees to better match the needs of both. HBS alumna Anna Auerbach and her cofounder, Annie Dean, were initially motivated by the challenges facing professional women, whose careers have often suffered due to the conflicting demands of work and life. Werk touts hard numbers – in employee retention, net promoter scores, and productivity -- to make the business case for carefully tailored flexibility across the board, in contrast to the chaotic approach blamed for recent high profile pullbacks.
- 06 Nov 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?
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.
- 06 Nov 2019
- Op-Ed
Torched Planet: The Business Case to Reinvent Almost Everything
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; 0 Comments.
- 05 Nov 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
The Economic Effects of Private Equity Buyouts
Private equity buyouts are a major financial enterprise that critics see as dominated by rent-seeking activities with little in the way of societal benefits. This study of 6,000 US buyouts between 1980 and 2013 finds that the real side effects of buyouts on target firms and their workers vary greatly by deal type and market conditions.
- 05 Nov 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
Can the Robin Hood Army Grow with Zero Financial Resources?
Over just a few years, volunteer-based Robin Hood Army had served meals to more than 9 million people around the world. Susanna Gallani discusses with founder Neel Ghose the challenges of growing while being a zero-funds organization. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Nov 2019
- Climate Rising
Getting Around: Shaping the Future of Transportation
What should the future of transportation look like? The solutions will likely require us to change how often we drive cars, the types of fuels we use, an investment in public transportation, congestion charges, and more car-pooling and ride-hailing services. But, it won’t be easy to change consumer behavior. Adam Gromis of Uber; Nicole Freedman, Director of Transportation for the City of Newton, MA; and Harvard Business School’s Ashley Whillans discuss the impact of transportation on climate change.
- 01 Nov 2019
- What Do You Think?
Should Non-Compete Clauses Be Abolished?
SUMMING UP: Non-compete clauses need to be rewritten, especially when they are applied to lower-income workers, respond James Heskett's readers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
Factories without walls: How Autodesk is redesigning the work of architecture, construction, and manufacturing
Computer-aided design pioneer, Autodesk, is tightening the integration of design and production in everything from architecture to movies. This simple concept has far-reaching implications for the nature of work. Jobs, supply chains, and industries are set to become more transparent, automated, and interconnected. Construction is on the verge of becoming more like manufacturing, thanks to machine learning and cloud-based automation and control. Manufacturing is becoming more automated and customized. Training will become a continuous function of many jobs. CEO Andrew Anagnost is collaborating with Autodesk customers and workers to speed the process and seeking ways to mitigate the disruptive effects. He joins us to discuss these changes and how to address the skills gap in tech, construction and manufacturing.