Publications

2023
Working Paper

The Complexity of Economic Decisions

By: Xavier Gabaix and Thomas Graeber

We propose a theory of the complexity of economic decisions. Leveraging a macroeconomic framework of production functions, we conceptualize the mind as a cognitive economy, where a task’s complexity is determined by its composition of cognitive operations. Complexity... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Complexity; Perception; Consumer Behavior; Production

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October 2000 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Vyaderm Pharmaceuticals: The EVA Decision

By: Robert Simons and Indra A. Reinbergs

In 2016, the new CEO of Vyaderm Pharmaceuticals introduces an Economic Value Added (EVA) program to focus the company on long-term shareholder value. The EVA program consists of three elements: EVA centers (business units), EVA drivers (operational practices that... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Economic Growth; Economic Systems; Management; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Performance Evaluation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Washington (state, US)

March 2018 (Revised September 2023)
Case

X: The Foghorn Decision

By: Robert S. Huckman, Karim R. Lakhani and Kyle R. Myers

In February 2016, Kathy Hannun—a project leader at X, Alphabet Inc.'s so-called "moonshot factory"—had to prepare a recommendation for the senior leadership of X regarding the future of Foghorn, a project she was leading to develop a carbon-neutral process for... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; R＆D Project Management; Radical Innovation; Clean Technology; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Energy; Research and Development; Projects; Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; California

Research Summary

Experience and description-based decision making.

Prof. Barron and his co-authors study the effect of the economic environment on decision making. One example involves the effect of rare (low probability) events. People behave as if they overweight these events in some settings (e.g., when buying insurance and... View Details

February 2024 (Revised March 2024)
Teaching Note

X: The Foghorn Decision

By: Kyle Myers and Walter Frick

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 618-060. View Details

2013
Chapter

Judgment and Decision Making

By: Max Bazerman and Robert Biswas-Diener

July 1996 (Revised January 1998)
Case

Vietnam: Market Entry Decisions

The management of three U.S. multinationals have to decide whether to enter the Vietnam market and, if so, how. View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Viet Nam; United States

30 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

Looking Behind Bad Decisions

political science to explain drivers behind the crafting of public policy. Now Bazerman and coauthors Jonathan Baron and Katherine Shonk are looking into the psychology of decision making to provide a fuller explanation. Their paper,... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

13 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

When Good Incentives Lead to Bad Decisions

readily be reclaimed by investors in the firm who lost money." In a new research paper, coauthored with World Bank economists Martin Kanz and Leora Klapper, Cole explores how various performance incentives affect lending decisions... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Banking

August 1970
Background Note

Note on Decision Diagrams

July 1989 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Decision Guide Corp. (A)

February 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Pixley-Richards: The Adko Decision

2005
Chapter

The Decision Perspective to Negotiation

By: M. Bazerman and Katie Shonk

Keywords: Decision Making; Negotiation; Perspective

Article

How Venture Capitalists Make Decisions

By: Paul A. Gompers, Will Gornall, Steven Kaplan and Ilya Strebulaev

For decades now, venture capitalists have played a crucial role in the economy by financing high-growth start-ups. While the companies they’ve backed—Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and more—are constantly in the headlines, very little is known about what VCs actually... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Decision Making

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January 2002
Case

Lycos (A): The Tripod Decision

By: Giovanni M. Gavetti, Jan W. Rivkin and Elizabeth Johnson

The Internet portal Lycos has acquired Tripod, a provider of home-page-building tools, and now must decide how to integrate the acquisition. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Organizational Structure; Situation or Environment; Mergers and Acquisitions; Internet and the Web; Decision Choices and Conditions; Web Services Industry