Faculty & Research

Facilitating faculty research and case development on an international scale

Our unprecedented network of research centers and regional offices in key areas of the world enable faculty to work with leaders, industry, government, and academia worldwide, and to learn from business challenges and innovations wherever they occur. Through sustained work in the field, faculty are provided the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture and values – as well as intricacies and nuances – that lead to truly meaningful and insightful global research.

Research Centers & Offices

More than half the faculty are actively involved in international research, developing high-impact cases and course materials on relevant global issues and innovations.

New Research

2020
Working Paper

Party-State Capitalism in China

By: Margaret Pearson, Meg Rithmire and Kellee Tsai

The “state capitalism” model, in which the state retains a dominant role as owner or investor-shareholder amidst the presence of markets and private firms, has received increasing attention, with China cited as the main exemplar. Yet as models evolve, so has China’s “state capitalism.” We argue that a resurgent party-state, motivated by a logic of political survival, has generated political-economic dynamics that better resemble “party-state capitalism” than familiar conceptualizations of state capitalism. We demonstrate this by examining three prominent manifestations of China’s unique model: party-state encroachment on markets; a blending of functions and interests of state and private ownership; and politicized interactions with foreign capital. Nevertheless, there remain deficits in the party-state’s hold over capital, some of which themselves result from Beijing’s logic of control. By probing the comparative and historical context of this evolution of China’s model, we suggest directions for further inquiry on the consequences of party-state capitalism.

Forthcoming
Article
Academy of Management Review

Artificial Intelligence, Data-Driven Learning, and the Decentralized Structure of Platform Ecosystems

By: David R. Clough and Andy Wu

Gregory, Henfridsson, Kaganer, and Kyriakou (2020) highlight the important role of data and AI as strategic resources that platforms may use to enhance user value. However, their article overlooks a significant conceptual distinction: the installed base of decentralized users who connect with a platform lie outside the boundaries of the platform-owning firm, whereas the accumulated data derived from that installed base exists internal to the boundaries of the firm and under firm control. Accounting for this distinction brings forth two key departures from their theory. First, the decentralized structure of a platform ecosystem makes value capture by the platform an essential consideration when analyzing the implications of data-driven learning for users. Because AI and data allow a platform to increase the share of value the platform owner captures from the users, the value perceived by users can often decline. Second, as an internal asset of the platform firm, data from users and complementors exhibits different dynamics compared with the dynamics that govern the installed base itself. As a result, the quantity and quality of the platform’s stock of data are only loosely coupled with the size of the platform’s installed base. We highlight the strategic implications of this distinction for a manager launching a new multi-sided platform.

November 2020
Teaching Material

Social Salary Setting at Spiber

By: Ashley Whillans and John Beshears

This 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 own salary. In the course of discussing the case, students are asked to contemplate the challenges that managers face when incentivizing innovation and are invited to brainstorm methods for motivating the behaviors that drive innovation. Students consider the merits of Spiber’s new compensation system and reflect on issues of pay equity. The case allows for a rich discussion regarding the design of effective and fair compensation systems, with a special emphasis on exploring how organizational culture and the broader social and cultural context in which an organization is embedded shape employees’ responses to compensation systems.

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Global Colloquium for participant-centered learning

For senior faculty at top business schools in emerging economies who want to be trained in interactive methods of teaching and learning. GloColl comprises a seven-day session held on the HBS campus, followed by a three-day session held in two cities in Asia, Europe, or Latin America each year.

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In the News

- 08 Nov 2020
- CCTN
U.S. Election Breakdown: China and U.S. need three Cs – clarity, continuity and competence

Re: William Kirby
- 08 Sep 2020
- Harvard Business Review
Creating More Resilient Supply Chains

Re: Willy Shih
- 28 Aug 2020
- VoxDev
Subsidising stability: State employment in China

08 Nov 2020
CCTN

U.S. Election Breakdown: China and U.S. need three Cs – clarity, continuity and competence

Re: William Kirby

08 Sep 2020
Harvard Business Review

Creating More Resilient Supply Chains

Re: Willy Shih

28 Aug 2020
VoxDev

Subsidising stability: State employment in China

→More News