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Show Results For
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All HBS Web
(872)
- News (118)
- Research (651)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (218)
- 08 Apr 2013
- Research & Ideas
How to Demotivate Your Best Employees
It would seem to make sense that when companies recognize their workers with awards, they are likely to see a boost in morale and perhaps even inspire them to work harder. It turns out that sometimes rewarding employees for good behavior...
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- 2017
- Article
The Energizing Nature of Work Engagement: Toward a New Need-Based Theory of Work Motivation
By: Paul Green, Eli Finkel, Grainne Fitzsimons and Francesca Gino
We present theory suggesting that experiences at work that meet employees’ expectations of need fulfillment drive work engagement. Employees have needs (e.g., a desire to be authentic) and they also have expectations for how their job or their organization will fulfill...
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Keywords:
Needs;
Motivation;
Work Engagement;
Disengagement;
Authenticity;
Self-Expression;
Employees;
Motivation and Incentives;
Behavior;
Human Needs
Green, Paul, Eli Finkel, Grainne Fitzsimons, and Francesca Gino. "The Energizing Nature of Work Engagement: Toward a New Need-Based Theory of Work Motivation." Research in Organizational Behavior 37 (2017): 1–18.
- 17 Jul 2014
- News
Motivating Corporations to Do Good
- December 2023
- Article
Discerning Saints: Moralization of Intrinsic Motivation and Selective Prosociality at Work
By: Mijeong Kwon, Julia Lee Cunningham and Jon M. Jachimowicz
Intrinsic motivation has received widespread attention as a predictor of positive work outcomes, including employees’ prosocial behavior. In the current research, we offer a more nuanced view by proposing that intrinsic motivation does not uniformly increase prosocial...
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Kwon, Mijeong, Julia Lee Cunningham, and Jon M. Jachimowicz. "Discerning Saints: Moralization of Intrinsic Motivation and Selective Prosociality at Work." Academy of Management Journal 66, no. 6 (December 2023): 1625–1650.
- 05 Jan 2020
- News
Motivate Your High Performers to Share Their Knowledge
- April 2014
- Article
The Cost of High-Powered Incentives: Employee Gaming in Enterprise Software Sales
By: Ian Larkin
This paper investigates the pricing distortions that arise from the use of a common non-linear incentive scheme at a leading enterprise software vendor. The empirical results demonstrate that salespeople are adept at gaming the timing of deal closure to take advantage...
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Keywords:
Incentives;
Motivation;
Compensation;
Gaming;
Sales Force Management;
Motivation and Incentives;
Salesforce Management;
Software;
Compensation and Benefits;
Information Technology Industry
Larkin, Ian. "The Cost of High-Powered Incentives: Employee Gaming in Enterprise Software Sales." Journal of Labor Economics 32, no. 2 (April 2014): 199–227.
- November 2009 (Revised December 2009)
- Case
RL Wolfe: Implementing Self-Directed Teams
By: David A. Garvin and Elizabeth Collins
Key topics include team design, team management, job design, employee empowerment, implementing change, and high performance workforces. In 2004, John Amasi, the director of production for a manufacturer of plastic pipe, introduced the concept of self-directed teams...
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Keywords:
Work Force Management;
Employee Empowerment;
Motivation;
Motivation and Incentives;
Leading Change;
Employee Relationship Management;
Performance Productivity;
Groups and Teams;
Labor Unions;
Labor and Management Relations;
Manufacturing Industry;
Texas
Garvin, David A., and Elizabeth Collins. "RL Wolfe: Implementing Self-Directed Teams." Harvard Business School Brief Case 094-063, November 2009. (Revised December 2009.)
- November 2020 (Revised March 2022)
- Teaching Note
Social Salary Setting at Spiber
By: Ashley Whillans and John Beshears
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 920-050. The case tells the story of Spiber, a Japanese technology start-up company. To reflect the company’s values, the leadership team implemented a new and unique salary-setting process: each employee had the authority to choose their...
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- 06 Jul 2015
- Research & Ideas
Money and Quotas Motivate the Sales Force Best
It's well understood that cash bonuses often motivate a sales force to step up its game, but they don't work in every scenario and in some cases can backfire, a new study from Harvard Business School has found. The key variable? Whether...
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- 1 Dec 2021
- Interview
Hubert Joly on Humanizing the Profit Motive
Can businesses afford to see employees in terms other than unit labor cost? How do you factor the Golden Rule into a profit and loss statement? Former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly explains how unlearning business orthodoxies helped him prove that a human-centered approach...
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"Hubert Joly on Humanizing the Profit Motive." Managing the Future of Work (podcast), Harvard Business School, December 1, 2021.
- May 1994
- Article
The Work Preference Inventory: Assessing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations
By: T. M. Amabile, K. G. Hill, B. A. Hennessey and E. M. Tighe
The Work Preference Inventory (WPI) is designed to assess individual differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Both the college student and the working adult versions aim to capture the major elements of intrinsic motivation (self-determination,...
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Keywords:
Creativity;
Motivation and Incentives;
Measurement and Metrics;
Higher Education;
Employees;
Personal Characteristics
Amabile, T. M., K. G. Hill, B. A. Hennessey, and E. M. Tighe. "The Work Preference Inventory: Assessing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66, no. 5 (May 1994): 950–967.
- 01 Jun 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Motivating Effort in Contributing to Public Goods Inside Organizations: Field Experimental Evidence
- 07 May 2012
- News
Checking In with Employees (Versus Checking Up)
- Web
Motivation and Incentives - Course Catalog
that motivate employees and others associated with an organization to engage in behaviors that further the organization’s value-creating purpose. The course is useful for students in all career tracks and...
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- August 8, 2003
- Comment
A Better Way to Motivate Staff
By: Roberto G. Mendoza, Peter Hancock and Robert C. Merton
Mendoza, Roberto G., Peter Hancock, and Robert C. Merton. "A Better Way to Motivate Staff." Financial Times (August 8, 2003). (Comment.)
- 29 Oct 2013
- Research & Ideas
Do Employees Work Harder for Higher Pay?
Harvard Business School Professor Deepak Malhotra set out to answer a basic question: "Do employees work harder when they are paid more?" As Malhotra, the Eli Goldston Professor of Business Administration, said in an interview, "Previous...
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by Chuck Leddy & Harvard Gazette
- 19 Jul 2017
- Research & Ideas
Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior
A tiny nudge can motivate big change. (Source: dziewul) Most governments aren’t subtle when they want citizens to do something. The United States spends close to $1 billion annually on advertising--trying to convince citizens to do...
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by Michael Blanding
- 21 Feb 2023
- Research & Ideas
Are Your Employees Passing Up Incentives? Try Promoting the Programs More
Motivating employees takes more than carrots and sticks—it hangs on making them aware of those incentives and deterrents, according to new research. Companies, governments, and institutions across the globe...
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Keywords:
by Scott Van Voorhis
- June 2010 (Revised April 2014)
- Course Overview Note
Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement
By: Christopher Marquis, Bobbi Thomason and Jennifer Tydlaska
Analyzes the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and employee engagement, including CSR effects on employee commitment and motivation, new skills and training, and motivation. Also discusses best practices in employee engagement through CSR.
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Keywords:
Competency and Skills;
Training;
Employees;
Retention;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Organizational Culture;
Practice;
Motivation and Incentives
Marquis, Christopher, Bobbi Thomason, and Jennifer Tydlaska. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement." Harvard Business School Course Overview Note 410-138, June 2010. (Revised April 2014.)
- Article
Employee Selection as a Control System
By: Dennis Campbell
Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study...
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Keywords:
Management Systems;
Governance Controls;
Employees;
Selection and Staffing;
Motivation and Incentives;
Decision Making;
Business Model
Campbell, Dennis. "Employee Selection as a Control System." Journal of Accounting Research 50, no. 4 (September 2012): 931–966.