The COVID-19 pandemic intensified economic reliance on gig workers that perform essential tasks such as health care, personal transport, food and package delivery, and ad-hoc tasking services within the developed and developing world. As a result, workers who provide such services are no longer perceived as low-skilled laborers but as essential workers who fulfill a crucial role in society. These workers' newly elevated moral and economic status increases consumer demand for corporate social responsibility toward this stakeholder group, specifically for practices that increase worker freedom and rewards. We provide algorithmic tools for online labor platforms to meet this demand, bolstering their social purpose and ethical branding while better protecting themselves against potential reputational crises. To do this, we propose a managerial strategy rooted in moral self awareness theory that leverages customers' self-perceived virtuosity to increase gig-worker freedom.
What is Web3, and what does it mean for established companies? Web3 describes a broad range of emerging internet applications for blockchain technology (i.e., a decentralized, public database that allows information to be securely recorded on a network of computers rather than verified and controlled by centralized entities). Central to this evolution of the internet are four distinct blockchain-enabled applications: fungible tokens (cryptocurrencies), nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and metaverses. In this article, we define each of these applications and discuss their capacity to increase peer-to-peer interactions, decrease large companies' control of information and services, and facilitate access to user networks at a much lower cost than currently possible. These distinctions make Web3 both a natural evolution of Web 2.0 and a broader paradigm shift that may fundamentally alter the online interface, organizational structure, and business practices. We conclude by addressing how established companies can prepare for a more decentralized internet.
Public policy affects businesses in several ways, yet its intersection with the food logistics industry is not well understood. This article explores the case of the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food Rule--enforced in 2018--and its impact on the food logistics industry. It is one of the most significant rules of the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act and, in many ways, improves the rulebook for U.S. food haulage. The objective is to prevent food contamination during transportation by establishing vehicle design and maintenance requirements, safe transportation operations, transit temperature controls, carrier personnel training, and record-keeping. The Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food Rule also transforms the roles and responsibilities of traditional industry stakeholders (i.e., brokers, shippers, carriers, loaders, and receivers) and creates unique challenges for them. This article works to develop an understanding of stakeholders' evolved roles via the salience model, identify challenges, and suggest relevant solutions, including a compliance checklist for each stakeholder.
To advance their interests by shaping public policies and influencing government decision-making, companies use internal resources, outside lobbyists, or trade associations to lobby. This article examines companies' use of outside lobbyists even though in-house capacity exists and explores how these resources complement each other. The study aims to offer practical advice to companies and lobbying consultancies regarding the optimal use of internal and external government relations resources. Another aim of the study is to examine how companies monitor the lobbying efforts of the consultancies they hire. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 35 in-house government relations managers and executives to accomplish these goals. The research showed that companies engage with outside lobbyists for two leading reasons: to help with specific issues that have no internal expertise and to provide surge capacity. The interviews identified six ways companies use outside lobbyists: they provide (1) strategic advice, (2) external validation, (3) political intelligence, (4) contact plans, (5) logistical support, and (6) assistance with tough conversations.
Success as an entrepreneur requires boldness, creativity, and action in the face of uncertain opportunities and idiosyncratic setbacks. Our recent research elevated and defined the concept of entrepreneurial hustle: an entrepreneur's urgent, unorthodox actions intended to be useful in addressing immediate challenges and opportunities under conditions of uncertainty. We argue this foundational construct is useful for explaining how successful entrepreneurs behave. Early scholarly research on entrepreneurial hustle has generated meaningful theoretical insights into the concept. In this article, we extend those insights into practical prescriptions for entrepreneurs, corporative innovators, and innovative changemakers, identifying what they might do and how they might use the hustle concept to effectively manage uncertain and ambiguous business scenarios. Furthermore, we examine the potential downsides of hustle and provide practical steps that can be taken to mitigate such risks.
Research shows servant leadership has a strong positive impact on employees and the businesses they run. More than 300 peer-reviewed articles support the myriad benefits, including increased profit, improved work climate, and enhanced employee well-being and productivity. Servant leaders are knowledgeable, ethical people who bring value to organizations and the people they serve by developing followers via prioritizing work needs, valuing growth, empowering employees, and being sensitive to personal concerns. By doing this, servant leaders encourage followers to contribute to organizational goals, develop a sense of belonging, and increase confidence in their work and leadership skills, increasing happiness, health, and productivity. Servant leadership also uniquely involves a concern for the community. Our research shows that leaders have the least confidence in this most distinguishing aspect of servant leadership. We offer 32 practical ideas on implementing servant leadership with special attention to the community component to help leaders develop this valuable leadership style.
Improving corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance starts with recognizing that not every dollar of earnings is created equally, as some profit may be earned at the cost of damaging the environment or of harming stakeholder relationships. These costs are often invisible to corporate employees, as they are not recorded. To earn corporate profits that are environmentally and socially responsible, boards and CEOs must overcome two barriers: (1) the ESG issue-assessment barrier, which reflects an organization's inability to fairly assess, prioritize, scope, and plan ESG initiatives that address the invisible environmental and social damage corporations cause, and (2) the shareholder value barrier, which recognizes that corporate employees may resist implementing ESG initiatives owing to their entrenched belief that corporations must maximize shareholder returns. To overcome these two barriers, we propose an ESG mindset model that highlights the pitfalls relating to ESG issue assessment and to the common belief in maximizing shareholder value and then suggests tactics to overcome them. The benefits to corporations that successfully overcome the barriers and improve their corporate ESG performance are threefold: They (1) will be perceived as positively contributing to environmental and societal issues, and thereby (2) avoid accusations of greenwashing and (3) improve their standing with stakeholders.
Synthetic media presents looming threats to managers in a business setting. To address this issue, we first offer a short overview of the evolution of media manipulation to contextualize the new era of synthetic media. Then, we present the problems associated with synthetic media via veridicality and heuristics to illustrate how consumers have little choice but to believe what they see, read, and hear online. We outline the most likely and impactful types of synthetic media threats and attacks and present a synthetic media incident response playbook. Our aim is to inform managers about six specific phases so they can prepare, assess, detect, analyze, and recover from synthetic media incidents and coordinate their lessons learned.
Is there a model of the ideal business school instructor? I asked myself this question many times when first teaching in a business school classroom. Assessing the style and approach of other effective instructors signaled that there are many models for success in the classroom, but how should I think about developing my own successful teaching style and approach? To address this challenge, I developed the concept of the personalized teaching signature, which accounts for teaching as a complex, multidimensional activity that includes preparation, practicality, rigor, entertainment, empathy, experiential engagement, enthusiasm, novelty, and surprise. I argue that an instructor should strive to exceed an expected threshold of proficiency in each teaching dimension and then focus on specific dimensions in which they can excel to develop a personalized teaching signature. In this article, I describe the concept of a personalized teaching signature, outline its basic dimensions, and offer a step-by-step process for using this signature to become a better business school instructor.
In November 2019, digital marketing firm Arcane was six months into the conversion of its London, Ontario, headquarters into an organization of “agile” squads (small, self-managed teams)—a radical departure from the discipline-based silos that had served the agency since its beginning in 2011. Chief executive officer Lindsay Schneider and chief operating officer David Bunce, the architects of the change, were preparing an update for Arcane’s Ownership Group the following week on the status of the squad structure rollout. Schneider and Bunce were tasked with reviewing the introduction of the squad structure and assessing the success of its implementation.
In November 2019, digital marketing firm Arcane was six months into the conversion of its London, Ontario, headquarters into an organization of "agile" squads (small, self-managed teams)-a radical departure from the discipline-based silos that had served the agency since its beginning in 2011. Chief executive officer Lindsay Schneider and chief operating officer David Bunce, the architects of the change, were preparing an update for Arcane's Ownership Group the following week on the status of the squad structure rollout. Schneider and Bunce were tasked with reviewing the introduction of the squad structure and assessing the success of its implementation.
The skill of perspective taking can help build psychological safety for creative, collaborative problem-solving in the workplace. This approach is particularly effective with leaders who are skeptical about psychological safety and other concepts or interventions they see as "soft". The authors share a perspective-taking exercise that can help bring diverse team members together to address strategic challenges.
When IBM set about commercializing its artificial intelligence-driven Watson AI in the healthcare market, its early successes were widely publicized. Senior managers and the media claimed that its diagnostic features would soon surpass those of the sharpest doctors. The case describes the large gap between what was promised and what happened in practice, offering insider insights on why IBM's projects failed. As the corporate commitment to AI escalated in response to successful lab results, cognitive dissonance arose between managers' expectations and what they could actually deliver. How could that have happened? Three reasons for Watson's downfall are explored: 1) The tendency for societal expectations to exceed the actual technical capabilities, leading to a gap in perception between AI in the lab and AI in the field. 2) Overselling of the economic benefits of AI by the salesforce; 3) Failure to secure the cooperation of key stakeholders, notably doctors who were asked to improve the performance of AI but were undermined by claims that AI could outperform them.
From their research on digital initiatives at 30 organizations, the authors have identified four key practice areas that businesses should focus on to advance their strategic data-sharing capabilities. Using specific examples from Schneider Electric, Elevance Health, and other companies they studied, they describe how strategic data-sharing practices can help businesses better cocreate with customers, engage in novel partnerships, and pursue opportunities in digital ecosystems.
Kiah Williams started SIRUM as a Stanford undergraduate alongside her classmates Adam Kircher and George Wang. Nearly two decades later, the medication donation nonprofit was now operating in five states across the country and had helped facilitate medication donations to reach 150,000 uninsured and underinsured patients. SIRUM's technology enabled donors with excess medication supply to donate unexpired, sealed, non-opioid medications to those who needed it most. SIRUM had been largely funded by philanthropic sources and had secured funding through 2025. Williams was now pondering different growth paths for the nonprofit. SIRUM could attempt to grow quickly by expanding into new states or offering a wider range of medications. It could pressure test its pricing model. Or it could build new lines of business related to data, reporting, and compliance. The growth path was unclear. Williams wanted to demonstrate that SIRUM could be a model for social enterprises to succeed and achieve both deep impact and long-term financial stability. How should she build SIRUM's growth strategy?
Vikrant Kadian founded Cherrygrocer Pvt. Ltd. (Fresherry), an online app and delivery service for fruits and vegetables, in February 2021 in Gurgaon, India, and was joined in the venture by three friends. In January 2023, Kadian was still the majority shareholder. The venture promised its customers better prices, convenience, an alternative to physical inspection of the produce, and traceability. However, the company had no defined target market and insufficient capabilities to straddle two main market segments, and the bootstrapped venture was suffering from wastage and inefficient resource allocations and facing high operational losses. Kadian had to choose from among the options available: Should he target a specific market or continue to straddle two segments and invest in capabilities? If he decided to choose a target market, should he chase the premium or budget segment? Should he continue bootstrapping the firm or bring in an external investor to implement a marketing strategy? Realizing the importance of his entrepreneurial dream and the principle on which he started his venture, Kadian had to decide the way forward without losing time.