Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcast
  • Managing the Future of Work Podcast
  • About Us
  • Book
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Podcasts
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    J. Richard Hackman (1940-2013)
    02 Aug 2013Working Paper Summaries

    J. Richard Hackman (1940-2013)

    by Ruth Wageman and Teresa M. Amabile
    This paper—a tribute to the lifework of the late scholar J. Richard Hackman, a professor of social and organizational psychology at Harvard—recalls his many contributions to our understanding of work design and team effectiveness. As the authors note, Hackman's research changed the face of work design in countless industries, from service and manufacturing jobs, to education, health care, and the performing arts. His theory (with Greg Oldham) of job characteristics, and his evidence about how one could redesign and enrich jobs, made it possible for workers not only to perform well but also to develop and make meaningful contributions through their work. The author or coauthor of 10 books on group effectiveness, Hackman revitalized teams research with his insights into the conditions under which effective collective work processes emerge. Key concepts include:
    • Hackman began studying the impact of work design on motivation at a time when decades of "scientific management" had had the widespread impact of reducing jobs to a few minimum repeatable steps, requiring little knowledge or skill, and experienced as stultifying and dehumanizing by the people doing them.
    • While many scholars focused on pay and rewards, Hackman turned his attention to the work itself, asking: What are the qualities of jobs that make them inherently meaningful, motivating through a sense of accomplishment?
    • His model of groups has informed the design of countless task-performing teams, from cockpit crews and chamber orchestras, to teams leading organizations, performing surgeries, and gathering intelligence - all performing work that matters, in real time.
    • Hackman's focus on context was a fundamental insight into both how to understand complex social systems like groups and how to facilitate their effectiveness.
    LinkedIn
    Email

    Author Abstract

    When J. Richard Hackman died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 8, 2013, psychology lost a giant. Six and a half feet tall, with an outsize personality to match, Richard was the leading scholar in two distinct areas: work design and team effectiveness. In both domains, his work is foundational. Throughout his career, Richard applied rigorous methods to problems of great social importance, tirelessly championing multi-level analyses of problems that matter. His impact on our field has been immense.

    Paper Information

    • Full Working Paper Text
    • Working Paper Publication Date: July 2013
    • HBS Working Paper Number: 14-009
    • Faculty Unit(s): Entrepreneurial Management
      Trending
        • 13 Aug 2021
        • Research & Ideas

        Managers, Here’s How to Bond with New Hires Remotely

        • 09 Dec 2019
        • Research & Ideas

        Identify Great Customers from Their First Purchase

        • 18 May 2022
        • Research & Ideas

        Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

        • 13 May 2022
        • Research & Ideas

        Company Reviews on Glassdoor: Petty Complaints or Signs of Potential Misconduct?

        • 30 Nov 2021
        • Cold Call Podcast

        TikTok: Super App or Supernova?

    Teresa M. Amabile
    Teresa M. Amabile
    Baker Foundation Professor
    Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration, Emerita
    Contact
    Send an email
    → More Articles
    Find Related Articles
    • Theory
    • Management Teams

    Sign up for our weekly newsletter

    Interested in improving your business? Learn about fresh research and ideas from Harvard Business School faculty.
    ǁ
    Campus Map
    Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
    Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
    Soldiers Field
    Boston, MA 02163
    Email: Editor-in-Chief
    →Map & Directions
    →More Contact Information
    • Make a Gift
    • Site Map
    • Jobs
    • Harvard University
    • Trademarks
    • Policies
    • Digital Accessibility
    Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College