Raffaella Sadun

Raffaella Sadun is Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. Professor Sadun's research focuses on managerial and organizational drivers of productivity and growth in both the private and public sector. She is among the founders of the World Management Survey and the Executive Time Use Study. She is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, the Center for Economic Policy Research and Ariadne Labs. She teaches in the  Owner/President Management Program, and is the Faculty Chair for the Strategy Unit Executive Education program. She also serves as Co-editor for Journal of Law, Economics and Organization and Associate Editor for Management Science and Economica. She received the honour of Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine "Al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" in 2021.

Please see Professor Sadun's personal website at https://scholar.harvard.edu/rsadun/ 

Journal Articles

• Aghion, Philippe, Nicholas Bloom, Brian Lucking, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Turbulence, Firm Decentralization and Growth in Bad Times." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 13, no. 1 (January 2021): 133–169. View Details
• Impink, Stephen Michael, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun. "Measuring Collaboration in Modern Organizations." AEA Papers and Proceedings 110 (May 2020): 181–186. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, Renata Lemos, and John Van Reenen. "Healthy Business? Managerial Education and Management in Healthcare." Review of Economics and Statistics 102, no. 3 (July 2020): 506–517. View Details
• Bandiera, Oriana, Stephen Hansen, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun. "CEO Behavior and Firm Performance." Journal of Political Economy 128, no. 4 (April 2020): 1325–1369. View Details
• Bandiera, Oriana, Renata Lemos, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun. "Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work." Review of Financial Studies 31, no. 5 (May 2018): 1605–1653. (Lead article.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, Nicholas Bloom, and John Van Reenen. "Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management? Neither Great Leadership Nor Brilliant Strategy Matters Without Operational Excellence." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 5 (September–October 2017): 120–127. (Winner of 59th Annual HBR McKinsey Award.) View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Renata Lemos, Raffaella Sadun, Daniela Scur, and John Van Reenen. "International Data on Measuring Management Practices." American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 106, no. 5 (May 2016): 152–156. View Details
• Tsai, Thomas C., Ashish K. Jha, Atul A. Gawande, Robert S. Huckman, Nicholas Bloom, and Raffaella Sadun. "Hospital Board and Management Practices Are Strongly Related to Hospital Performance on Clinical Quality Metrics." Health Affairs 34, no. 8 (August 2015): 1304–1311. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Do Private Equity Firms Have Better Management Practices?" American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 105, no. 5 (May 2015): 442–446. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Renata Lemos, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Does Management Matter in Schools?" Economic Journal (Royal Economic Society) 125, no. 584 (May 2015): 647–674. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Renata Lemos, Raffaella Sadun, Daniela Scur, and John Van Reenen. "The New Empirical Economics of Management." Journal of the European Economic Association 12, no. 4 (August 2014): 835–876. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Does Planning Regulation Protect Independent Retailers?" Review of Economics and Statistics 97, no. 5 (December 2015): 983–1001. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Luis Garicano, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization." Management Science 60, no. 12 (December 2014): 2859–2885. View Details
• Bandiera, Oriana, Luigi Guiso, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun. "Matching Firms, Managers, and Incentives." Journal of Labor Economics 33, no. 3 (July 2015): 623–681. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "The Organization of Firms Across Countries." Quarterly Journal of Economics 127, no. 4 (November 2012). (Slides from 2008, Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12-005, August 2011.) View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Does Management Really Work?" Harvard Business Review 90, no. 11 (November 2012). View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Americans Do IT Better: US Multinationals and the Productivity Miracle." American Economic Review 102, no. 1 (February 2012): 167–201. (Slides; Summary; The Economist; Financial Times; New York Times.) View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Christos Genakos, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Management Practices across Firms and Countries." Academy of Management Perspectives 26, no. 1 (February 2012): 12–33. View Details
• Haskel, Jonathan, and Raffaella Sadun. "Regulation and UK Retailing Productivity: Evidence from Microdata." Economica 79, no. 315 (July 2012): 425–448. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin, and Raffaella Sadun. "Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?" Economic Journal (Royal Economic Society) 120, no. 544 (May 2010): 551–572. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Does Product Market Competition Lead Firms to Decentralize?" American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 100, no. 2 (May 2010): 434–438. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Recent Advances in the Empirics of Organizational Economics." Annual Review of Economics 2 (2010): 105–137. View Details

Working Papers

• Teodorovicz, Thomaz, Raffaella Sadun, Andrew L. Kun, and Orit Shaer. "Working from Home during COVID-19: Evidence from Time-Use Studies." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-094, March 2021. View Details
• Scur, Daniela, Raffaella Sadun, John Van Reenen, Renata Lemos, and Nicholas Bloom. "The World Management Survey at 18: Lessons and the Way Forward." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 28524, February 2021. (Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-093, March 2021.) View Details
• DeFilippis, Evan, Stephen Michael Impink, Madison Singell, Jeffrey T. Polzer, and Raffaella Sadun. "Collaborating During Coronavirus: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Nature of Work." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-006, July 2020. View Details
• Yang, Mu-Jeung, Michael Christensen, Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun, and Jan Rivkin. "How Do CEOs Make Strategy?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-063, October 2020. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Management as a Technology?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-133, June 2016. (Revised October 2017.) View Details
• Alfaro, Laura, Nick Bloom, Paola Conconi, Harald Fadinger, Patrick Legros, Andrew F. Newman, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Come Together: Firm Boundaries and Delegation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-051, December 2017. (Revised October 2020.) View Details
• Janke, Katharina, Carol Propper, and Raffaella Sadun. "The Impact of CEOs in the Public Sector: Evidence from the English NHS." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-075, March 2018. (Revised September 2020.) View Details
• Bandiera, Oriana, Luigi Guiso, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun. "What Do CEOs Do?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-081, February 2011. (Media: The Economist, May 5th 2011.) View Details

Book Chapters

• Bennett, Victor Manuel, Megan Lawrence, and Raffaella Sadun. "Are Founder CEOs Good Managers?" Chap. 4 in Measuring Entrepreneurial Businesses: Current Knowledge and Challenges. Vol. 75, edited by John Haltiwanger, Erik Hurst, Javier Miranda, and Antoinette Schoar, 153–185. Studies in Income and Wealth (NBER). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017. View Details
• Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Do Private Equity-owned Firms Have Better Management Practices?" Chap. 1 in The Global Economic Impact of Private Equity Report 2009, edited by Josh Lerner and Anuradha Gurung, 1–23. Globalization of Alternative Investments Working Papers. Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum, 2009. (Slides.) View Details
• Haskel, Jonathan, and Raffaella Sadun. "Entry, Exit and Labour Productivity in U.K. Retailing: Evidence from Micro Data." Chap. 7 in Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data, edited by Timothy Dunne, J. Bradford Jensen, and Mark J. Roberts. University of Chicago Press, 2009. (Working Paper version.) View Details
• Draca, Mirko, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Productivity and ICTs: A Review of the Evidence." Chap. 5 in The Oxford Handbook of Information and Communication Technologies, edited by Robin Mansell, Chrisanthi Avgerou, Danny Quah, and Roger Silverstone, 100–147. Oxford University Press, 2007. (August 2006 version available at IDEAS.) View Details

Cases and Teaching Materials

• Bohmer, Richard M.J., Gary P. Pisano, Raffaella Sadun, and Thomas C. Tsai. "How Hospitals Can Manage Supply Chain Shortages as Demand Surges." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 3, 2020). View Details
• Khanna, Tarun, Raffaella Sadun, and Susie L. Ma. "Engineering an Inclusive Bioeconomy." Harvard Business School Case 720-356, September 2019. (Revised August 2020.) View Details
• Nanda, Ramana, Raffaella Sadun, and Olivia Hull. "Accomplice: Scaling Early Stage Finance." Harvard Business School Case 719-403, October 2018. View Details
• Gallani, Susanna, Francesca Gino, and Raffaella Sadun. "Cooking Down a Storm: Changing Culture at Pasta Serafina (A)." Harvard Business School Case 120-013, September 2019. View Details
• Gallani, Susanna, Francesca Gino, and Raffaella Sadun. "Cooking Down a Storm: Changing Culture at Pasta Serafina (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 120-014, September 2019. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Greta Friar. "Videojet (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-410, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Irene Rosenfeld at Mondelez International: Crafting a Corporate Strategy video supplement." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 718-803, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Corporate Strategy: Scope." Harvard Business School Module Note 718-461, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Corporate Strategy: Resources." Harvard Business School Module Note 718-460, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Corporate Strategy: Course Introduction 2018." Harvard Business School Course Overview Note 718-459, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Irene Rosenfeld at Mondelēz International: Crafting a Corporate Strategy." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-492, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Alphabet Eyes New Frontiers." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-407, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-493, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Greta Friar. "Weathering the Storm at NYU Langone Medical Center." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-506, March 2018. (Revised March 2018.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Greta Friar. "VMware and the Public Cloud (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-412, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Greta Friar. "CyberArk: Protecting the Keys to the IT Kingdom." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-490, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Greta Friar. "Alere." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-411, March 2018. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, David J. Collis, Amram Migdal, and Kerry Herman. "Irene Rosenfeld at Mondelēz International: Crafting a Corporate Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 718-403, November 2017. (Revised August 2018.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, David Yoffie, and Margot Eiran. "CyberArk: Protecting the Keys to the IT Kingdom." Harvard Business School Case 718-418, September 2017. (Revised July 2018.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, Michael Beer, and James Weber. "Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 717-504, July 2017. (Revised October 2017.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, Michael Beer, and James Weber. "Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (A)." Harvard Business School Case 717-419, June 2017. (Revised October 2017.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Christine Snively. "VMware and the Public Cloud (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 717-515, May 2017. (Revised February 2018.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Christine Snively. "VMware and the Public Cloud." Harvard Business School Case 717-480, March 2017. (Revised February 2018.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Where Should Pat Gelsinger's Time Go?" Harvard Business School Supplement 717-802, January 2017. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Where Should Pat Gelsinger's Time Go?" Harvard Business School Case 717-408, January 2017. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, Catherine Slater, and Channing Spencer. "Alere." Harvard Business School Case 717-402, August 2016. (Revised July 2019.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, Bharat Anand, and Eric Van den Steen. "Videojet (A)." Harvard Business School Case 717-403, August 2016. (Revised March 2018.) View Details
• Alcacer, Juan, Raffaella Sadun, Olivia Hull, and Kerry Herman. "Alphabet Eyes New Frontiers." Harvard Business School Case 717-418, July 2016. (Revised February 2018.) View Details
• Raffaelli, Ryan, Raffaella Sadun, and Kathy Qu. "Moleskine (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 716-464, May 2016. (Revised November 2018.) View Details
• Raffaelli, Ryan, Raffaella Sadun, and Kathy Qu. "Moleskine (A)." Harvard Business School Case 716-407, April 2016. (Revised March 2019.) View Details
• Huckman, Robert S., Raffaella Sadun, and Michael Norris. "Weathering the Storm at NYU Langone Medical Center." Harvard Business School Case 616-026, February 2016. (Revised February 2018.) View Details
• Collis, David, Raffaella Sadun, and Matthew Shaffer. "The Transformation of NCR." Harvard Business School Case 715-438, April 2015. (Revised June 2016.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Transforming Tommy Hilfiger (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 714-493, March 2014. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Henry Schein: Doing Well by Doing Good?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 714-492, March 2014. View Details
• Henderson, Rebecca, Raffaella Sadun, Aldo Sesia, and Russell Eisenstat. "Henry Schein: Doing Well by Doing Good?" Harvard Business School Case 714-450, January 2014. (Revised January 2014.) View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, Hanoch Feit, Vaibhav Gujral, and Gerard Zouein. "Transforming Tommy Hilfiger (A)." Harvard Business School Case 714-451, March 2014. View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, Hanoch Feit, Vaibhav Gujral, and Gerard Zouein. "Transforming Tommy Hilfiger (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 714-452, March 2014. View Details
• Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, Raffaella Sadun, and Richard G. Hamermesh. "Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey - Managing in the Shadow of Health Care Reform." Harvard Business School Case 711-403, March 2011. (Revised March 2011.) View Details

Other Publications and Materials

• Kun, Andrew, Raffaella Sadun, Orit Shaer, and Thomaz Teodorovicz. "Where Did the Commute Time Go?" Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 10, 2020). View Details
• Pisano, Gary P., Raffaella Sadun, and Michele Zanini. "Lessons from Italy's Response to Coronavirus." HO5ITU. Harvard Business Review (website) (March 27, 2020). View Details
• Bandiera, Oriana, Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Prat, and Stephen Hansen. "A Survey of How 1,000 CEOs Spend Their Day Reveals What Makes Leaders Successful." H03Y2R. Harvard Business Review (website) (October 12, 2017). View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Google's Secret Formula for Management? Doing the Basics Well." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 24, 2017). View Details
• Teti, Kimberly, Mu-Jeung Yang, Nicholas Bloom, Jan Rivkin, and Raffaella Sadun. "The Different Approaches Firms Use to Set Strategy." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 10, 2017). View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella, and Frieda Klotz. An Interview with Raffaella Sadun: "Information" vs. "Communication:" The Battle to Influence Decision Making. Art. 57407. MIT Sloan Management Review (website) (April 5, 2016). View Details
• Sadun, Raffaella. "Managing Firms in an Emerging Economy: Evidence from the Time Use of Indian CEOs." Working Paper, 2013. View Details

Awards & Honors

Recipient of the Grande Ufficiale dell'Ordine "Al merito della Repubblica Italiana" in 2021.

Winner of the first-place HBR McKinsey Award for the Best Article in Harvard Business Review in 2017 for "Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management?” with Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen.

Named Harvard Business School Richard Hodgson Fellow in 2013.

Named a Research Affiliate at the Center for Economic Policy Research in 2013.

Recipient of a 2012 Kauffman Foundation Junior Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship Research.

Named a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2010.

Named a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2009.

Additional Information

• Personal web page
• CV
• HBS Working Knowledge
• Twitter

Affiliations

• National Bureau of Economic Research
• The Centre for Economic Performance - CEP
• Kauffman Junior Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship Research
• Ariadne Labs at the Harvard School of Public Health

Areas of Interest

• economics
• human resource management
• management styles
• organizational structure
• strategy
Additional Topics
• education
• foreign direct investment
• health care quality
• information technology
• managerial incentives
• private equity
• strategy
• technological change
• trust

In The News

In The News

• • 17 Sep 2020
  • Bloomberg

  We Really Shouldn’t Force People Back into the Office
• • 14 Sep 2020
  • HBS Working Knowledge

  You're Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings
• • 14 Jul 2020
  • HBS Working Knowledge

  Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World
• • 23 Jun 2020
  • Politico

  ‘the U.S. Has Hamstrung Itself’: How America Became the New Italy on Coronavirus
• • 27 Mar 2020
  • Harvard Business Review

  Lessons from Italy’s Response to Coronavirus

→More News for Raffaella Sadun

Raffaella Sadun In the News

17 Sep 2020
Bloomberg
We Really Shouldn’t Force People Back into the Office

14 Sep 2020
HBS Working Knowledge
You're Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings

14 Jul 2020
HBS Working Knowledge
Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

23 Jun 2020
Politico
‘the U.S. Has Hamstrung Itself’: How America Became the New Italy on Coronavirus

27 Mar 2020
Harvard Business Review
Lessons from Italy’s Response to Coronavirus

16 Nov 2019
Economist
Octogenarians are shaking up Italian business

05 Nov 2019
Los Angeles Times
Gender bias turned out to be a wonderful indicator of WeWork’s incompetence

05 Nov 2019
Los Angeles Times
News Analysis: Gender bias turned out to be a wonderful indicator of WeWork’s incompetence

06 Feb 2019
Washington Post
Unlike Trump, most CEOs have very little ‘executive time’

05 Nov 2018
Harvard Business School
HBS Associate Professor Raffaella Sadun Wins National Science Foundation Grant

17 Aug 2018
Harvard Business Review
Worker Representation on Boards Won’t Work Without Trust

17 Apr 2018
Harvard Business School
Associate Professor Raffaella Sadun Wins Harvard Business Review McKinsey Award for Best Article

17 Jan 2018
Freakonomics
What Does a C.E.O. Actually Do?

30 Oct 2017
American Public Media: Marketplace
HR is not there to be your friend. It’s there to protect the company

30 Oct 2017
Fast Company
How The Most (And Least) Successful CEOs Spend Their Workdays

12 Oct 2017
Harvard Business Review
A Survey of How 1,000 CEOs Spend Their Day Reveals What Makes Leaders Successful

30 Aug 2017
Harvard Business Review
Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management?

28 Aug 2017
Harvard Business Review
Basic Competence Can Be a Strategy

06 Mar 2017
Harvard Business School
The Power of Mentorship

01 Dec 2016
Harvard Business School
Using Data to Explore Uncharted Territories

01 Jul 2016
Wall Street Journal
P&G Overhauls Bonus System for Managers

11 Apr 2016
Harvard Business School
Professor Raffaella Sadun on Improving Care in Hospitals

05 Mar 2014
Wall Street Journal
Do CEOs of Family-Owned Businesses Work Less?

01 Nov 2013
Harvard Business Review
Does Management Really Work?

12 Jan 2013
Wall Street Journal
In Defense of the CEO

29 Oct 2012
HBR Blogs
The Radical Beauty of Three Simple Management Practices

01 Jun 2012
Economist
Silicon sally

13 Jul 2011
Wall Street Journal
Worth It to Work Long Hours?

11 Jul 2011
Mint
The new-age boss

13 Jun 2011
HBR Blogs
Why American Management Rules the World

18 May 2011
Forbes India
What CEOs Do, and How They Can Do it Better

05 May 2011
Economist
What do bosses do all day?

25 Apr 2011
HBS Working Knowledge
What CEOs Do, and How They Can Do it Better

01 Apr 2011
Harvard Crimson
Harvard Business School Panelists Examine Health Care Flaws

25 Mar 2011
HBR Blogs
Family Firms Need Professional Management

World Management Survey

25 Jan 2013
Slate
Management Consultants Can Save the World

02 Jun 2012
Economist
Free Exchange: Silicon Sally

01 Nov 2010
HBS Working Knowledge
How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making

Executive Time Use Survey

01 May 2014
NBER Digest
CEO Behavior: Are Family CEOs Different?

06 Mar 2014
Wall Street Journal
At Family Firms, Do CEOs Work Fewer Hours?

12 Jan 2013
Wall Street Journal
In Defense Of the CEO...

27 Nov 2012
Wall Street Journal
Investors Demand CEO Face Time

26 Apr 2012
Financial Times
How do highly paid chief executives fill their working hours?

14 Feb 2012
Wall Street Journal
Where’s the Boss? Trapped in a Meeting

14 Feb 2012
Wall Street Journal
Where's the Boss? Trapped in a Meeting

25 Apr 2011
HBS Working Knowledge
What CEOs Do, and How They Can Do it Better: A Way to Monitor Where the Efforts of the CEO are Going