Faculty Research Online
HBS Working Knowledge is an online forum for innovation in business practice, offering a first look at new thinking from HBS faculty. Read the complete articles summarized below by visiting their Web links.
The Value of a ‘Portable’ Career
Can you predict whether star performers will replicate their success in a new environment? Associate Professor Boris Groysberg, with Lex Sant (MBA ’03) and HBS research associate Robin Abrahams, ask this question of professional football teams, and the results offer valuable lessons for star performers and hiring executives of business firms, too. See http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6077.html.
Decoding the Artful Sidestep
Do you notice when someone changes the subject after you ask them a question? If you don’t always notice or even mind such conversational transformations, you’re not alone. New research by Todd Rogers (PhDOB ’08) and Assistant Professor Michael Norton explores the common occurrence of “conversational blindness.” See http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6066.html.
Thinking Twice about Supply-Chain Layoffs
Cutting the wrong employees can be counterproductive for retailers, new research from Assistant Professor Zeynep Ton concludes. One suggestion: Pay attention to staff who handle mundane tasks such as stocking and labeling. Your customers do. See http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6088.html.
