24 Aug 2020Working Paper Summaries

Performance Hacking: The Contagious Business Practice that Corrodes Corporate Culture, Undermines Core Values, and Damages Great Companies

by Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan
Performance hacking (or p-hacking for short) means overzealous advocacy of positive interpretations to the point of detachment from actuals. In business as in research there are strong incentives to p-hack. If p-hacking behaviours are not checked, a crash becomes inevitable.

Author Abstract

August 7, 1955 is an important date in commercial aviation history. You could say it began the jet airliner age, though other dates might also qualify. Jet engines had proven successful in military aircraft. But no one knew then whether members of the general public would ever want to fly in airplanes without propellers.

Paper Information

  • Full Working Paper Text
  • Working Paper Publication Date: July 2020
  • HBS Working Paper Number: HBS Working Paper #21-003
  • Faculty Unit(s):
Richard L. Nolan
Richard L. Nolan
William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
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