Research

- Dec 2019
- Survey
A Recovery Squandered

By: Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, Mihir A. Desai, Katherine M. Gehl, William R. Kerr, with Manjari Raman

In 2019, HBS faculty members of the U.S. Competitiveness Project conducted the sixth survey on U.S. competitiveness. This report—built on the latest survey findings and eight years of prior research on the competitiveness of the United States—highlights a disturbing pattern: structural failures in the U.S. political system continue to prevent meaningful progress on actions needed to improve U.S. competitiveness. Despite a decade of steady economic growth, the trajectory of the nation’s competitiveness remains disappointing.
- Sep 2017
- Report
Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America

By: Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter

The lens of industry competition helps diagnose why the U.S. political system is failing to deliver results for the average American. A Five Forces analysis explores the nature of competition in the politics industry, identifies the root causes of poor political outcomes for customers (citizens), and provides a strategic framework to determine reforms that are powerful and achievable.
- Sep 2016
- Survey
Problems Unsolved & A Nation Divided

By: Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, and Mihir A. Desai, with Manjari Raman

The 2016 HBS report on the State of U.S. Competitiveness provides a comprehensive analysis of five years of research from the U.S. Competitiveness Project along with the findings of the 2016 HBS survey on U.S. competitiveness. This survey was administered to HBS alumni worldwide, HBS students, and members of the U.S. general public in May—June 2016.
- Sep 2015
- Survey
The Challenge of Shared Prosperity

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Karen G. Mills, and Michael E. Porter, with contributions from Michael I. Norton and Mitchell B. Weiss

The 2015 HBS survey on U.S. competitiveness reveals that business leaders are concerned about the economy’s ability to generate shared prosperity. America’s business environment is improving, but alumni doubt that firms in the U.S. will be able to improve living standards for the average American. Alumni see issues like inequality, middle-class stagnation, and economic immobility, as social as well as business challenges.
- Sep 2015
- Report
Business Aligning for Students: The Promise of Collective Impact

By: Allen S. Grossman

This report calls on business leaders to take stock of their efforts to improve pre-K-12 education and commit to an innovative approach called “Collective Impact,” a community endeavor that addresses fundamental weaknesses in the U.S. education ecosystem.
- Sep 2015
- Report
Growth & Shared Prosperity

By: Karen G. Mills with contributions from Joseph B. Fuller and Jan W. Rivkin

In June 2015, nearly 75 experienced leaders from across business, government, labor, academia, and media gathered at Harvard Business School to discuss a topic of increasing concern in America: How can our nation continue to remain competitive while also providing a path to prosperity for more citizens? This report highlights the group’s deliberations and summarizes the HBS research that was presented during the convening.
- Jun 2015
- Report
America’s Unconventional Energy Opportunity: A Win-Win Plan for the Economy, the Environment, and a Lower-Carbon, Cleaner-Energy Future

By: Michael E. Porter, David S. Gee, and Gregory J. Pope

America's unconventional gas and oil resources are perhaps the single largest opportunity to improve the trajectory of the nation’s economy, at a time when the prospects for the average American are weaker than experienced in generations. The benefits can be achieved while substantially mitigating local environmental impacts and speeding up the transition to a cleaner-energy future that is both practical and affordable.
- Nov 2014
- Report
Bridge the Gap: Rebuilding America's Middle Skills

The market for middle-skills jobs—those that require more education and training than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree—is consistently failing to clear. That failure is inflicting a grievous cost on the competitiveness of American firms and on the standard of living of American workers. How can business lead the charge to close the gap?
- Sep 2014
- Survey
An Economy Doing Half Its Job

Re: Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin, with contributions from Joseph B. Fuller, Allen S. Grossman, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Kevin W. Sharer

This report presents the findings of HBS' 2013–14 survey on U.S. competitiveness. It highlights a troubling divergence in the U.S. economy: large and midsize firms are prospering, but middle- and working-class citizens and small businesses are struggling.
- Nov 2012
- The Economist
What Washington Must Do Now: An Eight-Point Plan to Restore American Competitiveness

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan Rivkin

Policy steps for the president and Congress to follow in order to make American companies more competitive and their employees more prosperous.
- Mar 2012
- Harvard Business Review
Special Report: Restoring U.S. Competitiveness

Some of the world’s most original thinkers explain the competitiveness challenge America faces and point the way forward.

Sep 2014
Survey

An Economy Doing Half Its Job

Re: Michael E. Porter and Jan W. Rivkin, with contributions from Joseph B. Fuller, Allen S. Grossman, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Kevin W. Sharer

This report presents the findings of HBS' 2013–14 survey on U.S. competitiveness. It highlights a troubling divergence in the U.S. economy: large and midsize firms are prospering, but middle- and working-class citizens and small businesses are struggling.

Sep 2014
Survey

2013-14 Survey Methodology

A detailed methodology of HBS' 2013–14 alumni survey on U.S. competitiveness.

Aug 2014
Working Paper

Defining Clusters of Related Industries

By: Mercedes Delgado, Michael E. Porter and Scott Stern

This paper develops a novel clustering algorithm that systematically generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions (i.e., groups of closely related industries).

Jul 2014
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance

International Tax Reform

By: Mihir A. Desai

Recent merger transactions highlight long-simmering problems in the U.S. corporate tax, particularly with respect to its international provisions.

Jul 2014
Working Paper

The State of Small Business Lending: Credit Access During the Recovery and How Technology May Change the Game

By: Karen G. Mills and Brayden McCarthy

Is there a credit gap in small business lending?

Jun 2014
Video

Transforming America's Schools: How Business Leaders Can Help

By: Allen S. Grossman and Jan W. Rivkin

How can business leaders best partner with educators to transform America's schools?

May 2014
Report

The Brink of Renewal: A Business Leader’s Guide to Progress in America’s Schools

This report focuses on the current state of U.S. PK-12 education. It highlights the converging trends that make this a special, promising moment in education reform.

Feb 2014
Report

A Call to Action: AOTM Summit Highlights

A printable version of the report on the February 2014 AOTM National Summit.

Feb 2014
Report

Catalogue of Ideas and Associations from the America on the Move Summit

Prepared as background for the America on the Move National Summit and used to identify experts, viewpoints, and data sources.

Feb 2014
Case

A Long, Bumpy and Unfinished Road: Education Reform in Memphis, Tennessee

By: Allen S. Grossman, J. Puckett, and Nithya Vaduganathan

Pitt Hyde, a Memphis business leader and the founder of the Hyde Family Foundation, works to ensure the success of the merger between the Memphis City School district and the Shelby County School system.

Feb 2014
Case

Southwire and 12 For Life: Scaling Up?

Re: Jan W. Rivkin and Ryan Lee

Southwire, a leading maker of cable based in rural Georgia, has partnered with the local school system to staff a factory with at-risk high school students.

Feb 2014
Case

Finding the Money: An Overview of Infrastructure Finance Challenges and Opportunities

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Daniel Fox

This overview describes how the United States funds and finances infrastructure investment to maintain its economic competitiveness.

Feb 2014
Report

Lasting Impact: A Business Leader’s Playbook for Supporting America’s Schools

This booklet provides a practical approach for business leaders seeking to understand the complex issues involved in transforming PK-12 education.

Feb 2014
Report

Partial Credit: How America’s School Superintendents See Business as a Partner

This report presents the findings of the first-ever national survey of school superintendents on U.S. competitiveness and the role of business in improving education outcomes in the U.S., including specific actions that business leaders can take to support transformative change.

Feb 2014
Case

Flying High, Landing Low: Strengths and Challenges for U.S. Air Transportation

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Aditi Jain (MBA 2014), and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

The U.S. air transportation system flies high on some indicators, mostly involving capacity to take to the air, but lands low on others, mostly involving ground facilities and processes.

Jan 2014
Case

StriveTogether: Reinventing the Local Education Ecosystem

By: Allen S. Grossman, Ann Lombard, and Noah Fisher

StriveTogether is building a network of communities that use Collective Impact as a way for the business community and other stakeholders to collaborate to improve public education in a locale.

Jan 2014
Case

Rethinking Cities: Chicago on the Move

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

It is impossible to discuss national competitiveness without considering cities and the regions they anchor.

Jan 2014
Case

Rail Transportation in the United States

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew Guilford (MBA 2013)

In the 20th century, automobiles and airlines pushed rail into the background as an often-troubled and neglected mode.

Sep 2013
Case

IBM and the Reinvention of High School (A): Proving the P-TECH Concept

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

This case explores the motivation behind P-TECH (a growing skills gap), how it was developed along with the challenges, and the attention generated by the unique school design.

Sep 2013
Case

IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

This case explores the challenges and complications of replicating P-TECH.

Research

Research Tracks

Research Tracks