- 08 Feb 2021
- Book
How to Make the World Better, Not Perfect
If we want to do more good for the world, we must first change how we think about our behavior, says Max Bazerman in his book Better, Not Perfect. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
In the Red: Overdrafts, Payday Lending, and the Underbanked
Low-income customers turn to payday lenders and check cashers for basic financial needs when traditional banks push them out of the system through high overdraft fees and other penalties. Reducing overdraft fees improves consumers’ overall financial health and access to cheaper credit.
- 04 Feb 2021
- Research & Ideas
Inside CEOs' Pandemic Worries: Uncertainty, Employees, and Kids
Boris Groysberg and colleagues peer into the minds of 10 global CEOs trying to steer their businesses through the upheaval of COVID-19. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Feb 2021
- Managing the Future of Work
MIT’s David Autor on engineering more equitable growth
MIT labor economist David Autor, co-chair of the Institute’s Task Force on the Work of the Future, discusses the initiative’s report, “The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines.” Describing the report as both optimistic and cautionary, Autor makes the case that the US needs to reinvest in innovation while supporting a more sustainable workforce transformation that broadens opportunity and narrows inequality.
- 02 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Nonprofits in Good Times and Bad Times
Tax returns from millions of US nonprofits reveal that charities do not expand during bad times, when need is the greatest. Although they are able to smooth the swings of their activities more than for-profit organizations, nonprofits exhibit substantial sensitivity to economic cycles.
- 02 Feb 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Using Empathy and Curiosity to Overcome Differences
Bill Riddick, an African-American community leader and counselor, must find a way to bridge the divide between Black and white community leaders, who are on opposing sides of school integration in Durham, North Carolina, in 1971. Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino and Jeffrey Huizinga explain how empathy and curiosity can foster understanding in divisive situations in their case, “Bill Riddick and the Durham S.O.S. Charrette.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Learning with People Like Me: The Role of Age-Similar Peers on Online Business Course Engagement
Online learning usually has lower course engagement and higher dropout rates than in-person instruction. However, when classmates are of similar ages it helps boost retention and engagement. Similar-aged classmates have more in common, making interactions mutually rewarding.
- 01 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Hate Crime Increases with Minoritized Group Rank
Attitudes and behaviors toward social categories are not fixed but vary depending on perceived group size and rank. In the United States, an increase in a group’s size-based rank relative to those of other minority groups is associated with greater likelihood of being targeted with hate crimes.
- 01 Feb 2021
- What Do You Think?
Has the New Economy Finally Arrived?
Economists have long tied low unemployment to inflation. James Heskett considers whether the US economic policy of the past four years has shaken those assumptions. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Jan 2021
- Op-Ed
How Influencers, Celebrities, and FOMO Can Win Over Vaccine Skeptics
Drawing from product innovation theory, Rohit Deshpandé and colleagues offer three recommendations to speed adoption of COVID-19 vaccines. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Jan 2021
- Managing the Future of Work
Reorienting work and learning around skills building
As work life morphs into an expanding series of limited engagements, education and training need to be retooled for the long haul. Workforce training expert Michelle Weise, author of the new book Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don’t Even Exist Yet, says the sector needs to do a better job of accommodating the demands of the workplace and the realities of workers’ lives. Senior advisor to education venture fund Imaginable Futures and data collaboration platform BrightHive, the former Skidmore English professor deconstructs learning, hiring, and skills.
- 26 Jan 2021
- Research & Ideas
A New Way to Cut Credit Card Debt: Pay Off One Purchase at a Time
Letting credit card customers pay back specific purchases encourages borrowers to go beyond the minimum, says research by Michael Norton and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Jan 2021
- Book
In a Nutshell, Why American Capitalism Succeeded
Walter Friedman encapsulates four centuries of economic progress—from European merchants to Steve Jobs—in his efficient book, American Business History: A Very Short Introduction. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
India’s Food Supply Chain During the Pandemic
Policy makers in the developing world face important tradeoffs in reacting to a pandemic. The quick and complete recovery of India’s food supply chain suggests that strict lockdown measures at the onset of pandemics need not cause long-term economic damage.
- 25 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
The Evolutionary Nature of Breakthrough Innovation: Re-Evaluating the Exploration vs. Exploitation Dichotomy
Analyzing more than 2,500 firm-level innovation histories spanning 30 years, this study shows that breakthrough innovation requires organizational capabilities for both exploration and exploitation. Managers should therefore question the frequent advice to put exploration- and exploitation-related innovative efforts into different organizational units.
- 20 Jan 2021
- Managing the Future of Work
Safely unleashing the power of industrial robots
The idea of uncaging industrial robots may seem like a Hollywood trope, but it refers to technology that allows manufacturers to choreograph more precise and productive interplay between robots and workers. Veo Robotics president, CEO, and co-founder, Patrick Sobalvarro, explains the state of the art in industrial automation.
- 19 Jan 2021
- In Practice
Leadership Advice for Biden: Restore a Sense of Calm
Harvard Business School faculty members share their expectations for a Biden presidency and offer advice to the commander in chief as he takes on the raging COVID-19 pandemic and a divided nation. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Jan 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Engaging Community to Create Proactive, Equitable Public Safety
Saint Paul, Minnesota Mayor Melvin Carter swept into office in 2018 promising equity. He wanted a new public safety framework that would be rooted in community. Then, with the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out much of the city’s budget and the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by a police officer in neighboring Minneapolis sparking calls to defund the police, how would Mayor Carter make these changes happen? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses the challenges and rewards of “possibility government” in his case, Community-First Public Safety. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
The Value of Descriptive Analytics: Evidence from Online Retailers
Analytics are descriptive when they describe what happened. Descriptive-analytics solutions are popular among marketers and retailers. This paper provides a benchmark for the benefits of using a descriptive dashboard and illustrates how to potentially extract these benefits.
Developing Resilience on the Path to Becoming a CEO
As a Black female CEO, Shellye Archambeau is no stranger to adversity. Now she faces her most critical leadership decision. The software company she leads, MetricStream, is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash, and struggling to make payroll. Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley discusses Archambeau’s leadership style and the importance of developing resilience, particularly when managing through a crisis, in her case, “Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.