Publications

13 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

The Problem with Productivity of Multi-Ethnic Teams

When Harvard Business School professor Vincent Pons went to Kenya to conduct research in advance of the 2013 national elections, he discovered surprising lessons about how the ethnic makeup of teams affects the work they do—now published... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

July 2014
Article

Making Boston Stronger

By: Dutch Leonard, Arnold M. Howitt, Christine M. Cole and Philip B. Heymann

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, a team from Harvard University carried out extensive interviews with participants to identify strengths and weaknesses in the incident response to the terror attack. This abridged version of their final report focuses... View Details

Keywords: Boston Marathon Bombing; Disaster Response; Emergency Preparedness; Crisis Management; Cooperation; Boston

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01 Sep 2023
News

Case Study: The Home Team

residential buyers make informed decisions in similar circumstances, Kennealey concluded. So he launched Nester in the beginning of 2023. The service projects 15 years’ worth of maintenance and repair costs... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Real Estate

October 2006 (Revised August 2008)
Background Note

Performing Industry Research to Inform Investment Decisions

Conducting thorough research about an industry is often an important component of investment analysis. Written specifically for HBS MBA students, provides guidance on how to perform industry research to inform investment decisions. Provides detailed information about... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Supply and Industry; Research

1965
Article

Group Decision Making: A Report of an Experimental Study

By: Joseph L. Bower

When a group of people must decide on some one action, such as where shall we go out to dinner, or in an investment club which stock shall we buy, how do the individual members come to a decision that affords the best resolution of the question at hand for the group as... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Conflict Management

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October 1998 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Boston Beer Company: Light Beer Decision

By: Linda A. Cyr, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts

Boston Beer's current light-beer offering, Boston Lightship, has not been successful, and a student team is charged with investigating the problem and recommending a strategy. Highlights issues around branding, target customer selection, and cannibalization, and... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Customers; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston

01 Nov 2008
News

When Teams Cant Decide

Keywords: Bob Frisch

31 Jan 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Behavioral Decision Research, Legislation, and Society: Three Cases

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman

November 14, 2015
Other Article

Make or Buy Decisions Over Upstream and Downstream Inputs: An Investigation of Firm Boundaries Along Value Chains

By: Laura Alfaro, Pol Antràs, Davin Chor and Paola Conconi

Read Now

26 Sep 2013
Conference Presentation

Next Generation Approaches to Managing Business Conduct

By: Lynn S. Paine

Keywords: Ethical Decision Making; Ethical Behavior; Business Ethics; Decision Making; Ethics

13 Jul 2016
News

Howard Raiffa, Mathematician Who Studied Decision Making, Dies at 92

04 Apr 2013
News

Why our decisions get derailed and how to counter them

June 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Eric Hawkins Leading Agile Teams @ Digitally-Born AppFolio (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley, Paul Leonardi and Michael Norris

Eric Hawkins, director of engineering at AppFolio—a digital technology firm that offered cloud-based business software to small and medium sized companies—was shocked by an unusual request from his senior leadership team. Could Hawkins and one of his agile teams build... View Details

Keywords: Values; Agile; Vision; Corporate Culture; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Transformation; Technology Industry; United States; California

March 2016 (Revised January 2020)
Teaching Note

Behavioural Insights Team (A) and (B)

By: Michael Luca and Patrick Rooney

The Behavioural Insights Team case introduces students to the concept of choice architecture and the value of experimental methods (sometimes called A/B testing) within organizational contexts. The exercise provides an opportunity for students to apply these principles... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Experiments; Choice Architecture; Public Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mathematical Methods; United Kingdom

November – December 1969
Article

Systems Analysis for Social Decisions

By: Joseph L. Bower

Keywords: Decision Making; Society; Theory

January 1997
Background Note

Simulation as a Decision Aid

By: Roy D. Shapiro

A brief introduction to simulation--what it is, why it's used, etc. Meant to set context for a first class on simulation. A rewritten version of an earlier note. View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Decision Making

June 2016
Article

Wicked Problem Solvers: Lessons from Successful Cross-industry Teams

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Companies today increasingly rely on teams that span many industries for radical innovation, especially to solve “wicked problems.” So leaders have to understand how to promote collaboration when roles are uncertain, goals are shifting, expertise and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Leadership Style; Collaborative Innovation and Invention