- 07 Sep 2019
- Op-Ed
Even for Non-Believers, These Are the Next Steps on Climate Change
Are there immediate steps business and government should take to address climate change? Somewhere between trillion-dollar solutions and the next eco-calamity are opportunities to take action, argues John Macomber. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Sep 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Experimentation and Startup Performance: Evidence from A/B Testing
Is experimentation the right strategy for startups? This analysis of the adoption of A/B testing technology by 35,000 global startups provides evidence that a strategy based on repeated experimentation will improve performance over time. However, the benefits of experimentation vary. Experimentation helps younger startups “fail faster,” while older firms may discover new, high-growth products.
- 05 Sep 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
The Value of Intermediation in the Stock Market
Despite the rise of alternative trading platforms, high-touch broker trading remains prominent in institutional equity markets. The authors analyze how fees, research, quality of execution, and information can help explain how execution decisions and preferences vary across investors.
- 05 Sep 2019
- Sharpening Your Skills
Making the Right Technical Hire
CEOs are usually more comfortable making key hires on the business side of the house than the technology side. Here is what executives need to understand about technical hires, according to Julia Austin. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Sep 2019
- Research & Ideas
'I Know Why You Voted for Trump' and Other Motivation Misperceptions
We often make knee-jerk assumptions about what motivates other people’s choices, a bad habit both in the political and business worlds. Kate Barasz explains what we can do about it. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Sep 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
At Booking.com, Innovation Means Constant Failure
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; 0 Comments.
- 02 Sep 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Legislators' Response to Changes in the Electorate: The Great Migration and Civil Rights
The second Great Migration (1940–1970) brought to the US North and West more than four million African Americans. We show that this unique episode of internal migration contributed to the development and eventual success of civil rights legislation.
- 02 Sep 2019
- What Do You Think?
Are Overlooked Forces Shielding the US from Severe Economic Downturns?
SUMMING UP: Many of Jame's Heskett's readers believe that one factor more than any other could kills expansion of the United States economy: actions by the Federal Reserve. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Aug 2019
- Managing the Future of Work
How teaching robots the way the world works changes the world of work
Robots aren’t necessarily primed to take over, but advances in machine learning are readying the mechanical components of the workforce for more complex and autonomous tasks. Startup Osaro specializes in deep reinforcement learning systems, artificial intelligence for industrial robots. CEO Derik Pridmore talks about the adaptive decision-making capabilities working their way into warehouses and factories, and the prospect of machines with a wider, more human range of cognitive capabilities.
- 28 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Who Drives Digital Innovation? Evidence from the US Medical Device Industry
Major industries are undergoing a digital transformation, in which key aspects of new product development are migrating to a software-driven context. In the medical device industry, experience matters, as does the geographic clustering of new product development, which gives advantages to both new entrants and incumbent firms.
- 26 Aug 2019
- Research & Ideas
Lipstick Tips: How Influencers Are Making Over Beauty Marketing
Influencer marketing has quickly become the best way to reach beauty consumers, proving more effective than celebrity endorsements and company ads, according to research by Alessia Vettese. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Aug 2019
- Sharpening Your Skills
Has the Corporate Mission Just Been Disrupted?
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; 0 Comments.
- 21 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Improving Customer Compatibility with Operational Transparency
Service firms seeking prospective customers usually highlight the advantages of their offerings and downplay the tradeoffs. This study suggests a different approach: Provide transparency into advantages as well as tradeoffs. The transparency helps customers make informed decisions and can lead to better outcomes for both firms and customers over the long run.
- 21 Aug 2019
- Research & Ideas
What Machine Learning Teaches Us about CEO Leadership Style
Tarun Khanna and Prithwiraj Choudhury use machine-learning technology to look for links between a CEO's communications style and company performance. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Spatial Agglomeration and Superstar Firms: Firm-level Patterns from Europe and US
Large, productive, or internationalized firms tend to co-locate geographically. This study of the United States and Eurozone shows greater agglomeration around high performance plants, particularly multinationals. For policymakers, then, policies aimed at improving industry performance should pay attention to firm productivity distribution and not only focus on average performance.
- 20 Aug 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World?
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; 0 Comments.
- 14 Aug 2019
- Managing the Future of Work
Fintech on Main Street: How small businesses are banking on new technology
Technology is changing financial institutions’ relationships with local businesses and sole proprietors, which account for half of America’s workforce. HBS professor and former head of the Small Business Administration Karen Mills sheds light on the ongoing transformation. Will new technologies expand access to credit for sole proprietors and small businesses on Main Street? How will these new technologies affect community banks? And what are the key challenges to smart Fintech regulation?
- 14 Aug 2019
- Sharpening Your Skills
The Manager's Guide to Leveraging Disruption
Clayton M. Christensen's seminal book, The Innovator's Dilemma, helped ignite the idea of innovative disruption. His Harvard Business School colleagues have been adding to innovation research ever since. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances
Nine working papers by Srikant M. Datar and colleagues explore technologies pioneered during the late 20th century that US internists say have greatly improved patient care.
Germany May Have the Answer for Reducing Drug Prices
In Germany, drugmakers must prove that a new medication’s benefits merit a higher price than existing drugs. Ariel Dora Stern asks whether "value-based pricing" should become the standard elsewhere. Open for comment; 0 Comments.