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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,975)
- People (2)
- News (200)
- Research (1,351)
- Events (14)
- Multimedia (14)
- Faculty Publications (899)
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- October 2013
- Article
How Much to Make and How Much to Buy? An Analysis of Optimal Plural Sourcing Strategies
By: Phanish Puranam, Ranjay Gulati and Sourav Bhattacharya
While many theories of the firm seek to explain when firms make rather than buy, in practice, firms often make and buy the same input—they engage in plural sourcing. We argue that explaining the mix of external procurement and internal sourcing for the same input... View Details
Keywords: Supply Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Framework; Prejudice and Bias; Mathematical Methods
Puranam, Phanish, Ranjay Gulati, and Sourav Bhattacharya. "How Much to Make and How Much to Buy? An Analysis of Optimal Plural Sourcing Strategies." Strategic Management Journal 34, no. 10 (October 2013): 1145–1161.
- 2006
- Chapter
A Decision Perspective on Organizations: Social Cognition, Behavioral Decision Theory and the Psychological Links to Micro and Macro Organizational Behaviour
By: M. A. Neale, A. E. Tenbrunsel, T. Galvin and M. H. Bazerman
Keywords: Decision Making; Perspective; Behavior; Cognition and Thinking; Organizations; Mathematical Methods
Neale, M. A., A. E. Tenbrunsel, T. Galvin, and M. H. Bazerman. "A Decision Perspective on Organizations: Social Cognition, Behavioral Decision Theory and the Psychological Links to Micro and Macro Organizational Behaviour." In The SAGE Handbook of Organization Studies. 2nd ed. Edited by Stewart R. Clegg, Cynthia Hardy, Thomas Lawrence, and Walter Nord. Sage Publications, 2006.
- February 2021
- Article
A Dynamic Theory of Multiple Borrowing
By: Daniel Green and Ernest Liu
Multiple borrowing—a borrower obtains overlapping loans from multiple lenders—is a common phenomenon in many credit markets. We build a highly tractable, dynamic model of multiple borrowing and show that, because overlapping creditors may impose default externalities... View Details
Keywords: Commitment; Multiple Borrowing; Common Agency; Misallocation; Microfinance; Investment; Mathematical Methods
Green, Daniel, and Ernest Liu. "A Dynamic Theory of Multiple Borrowing." Journal of Financial Economics 139, no. 2 (February 2021): 389–404.
- January 1971 (Revised November 1975)
- Background Note
Linear Programming: A Technique for Analyzing Resource Allocation Problems
By: Paul W. Marshall
Marshall, Paul W. "Linear Programming: A Technique for Analyzing Resource Allocation Problems." Harvard Business School Background Note 171-322, January 1971. (Revised November 1975.)
- 2020
- Working Paper
Contract Duration and the Costs of Market Transactions
By: Alexander MacKay
The optimal duration of a supply contract balances the costs of reselecting a supplier against the costs of being matched to an inefficient supplier when the contract lasts too long. I develop a structural model of contract duration that captures this tradeoff and... View Details
Keywords: Vertical Relationships; Transaction Costs; Contract Duration; Identification; Supply Chain; Cost; Contracts; Auctions; Mathematical Methods
MacKay, Alexander. "Contract Duration and the Costs of Market Transactions." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-058, December 2017. (Revised May 2020. Direct download.)
- Article
Formal Measures in Informal Management: Can a Balanced Scorecard Change a Culture?
By: Robert Gibbons and Robert S. Kaplan
Agency theorists, historically, have analyzed what kinds of performance measures should be used in formal incentive contracts. For example, after Kaplan-Norton proposed a balanced scorecard of both financial and non-financial measures, some envisioned its role only in... View Details
Keywords: Relational Contracts; Performance Measurement; Informal Management; Balanced Scorecard; Economics; Mathematical Methods
Gibbons, Robert, and Robert S. Kaplan. "Formal Measures in Informal Management: Can a Balanced Scorecard Change a Culture?" American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 105, no. 5 (May 2015).
- 2007
- Working Paper
Deferred Acceptance Algorithms: History, Theory, Practice, and Open Questions
By: Alvin E. Roth
The deferred acceptance algorithm proposed by Gale and Shapley (1962) has had a profound influence on market design, both directly, by being adapted into practical matching mechanisms, and, indirectly, by raising new theoretical questions. Deferred acceptance... View Details
- Article
Reputation When Threats and Transfers Are Available
By: Ernesto Dal Bo, Pedro Dal Bo and Rafael Di Tella
We present a model where a long-run player is allowed to use both money transfers and threats to influence the decisions of a sequence of short-run players. We show that threats might be used credibly (even in arbitrarily short repeated games) by a long-lived player... View Details
Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decision Choices and Conditions; Game Theory; Mathematical Methods; Interests; Power and Influence; Reputation
Dal Bo, Ernesto, Pedro Dal Bo, and Rafael Di Tella. "Reputation When Threats and Transfers Are Available." Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 16, no. 3 (Fall 2007).
- 21 Aug 2013
- Research & Ideas
To Buy Happiness, Spend Money on Other People
Video directed and produced by Joanie Tobin In their book Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, authors Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton draw on years of quantitative and qualitative research to... View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
- 2011
- Working Paper
Free to Punish? The American Dream and the Harsh Treatment of Criminals
By: Rafael Di Tella and Juan Dubra
We describe the evolution of selective aspects of punishment in the U.S. over the period 1980-2004. We note that imprisonment increased around 1980, a period that coincides with the "Reagan revolution" in economic matters. We build an economic model where beliefs about... View Details
Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economy; Moral Sensibility; Mathematical Methods; Opportunities; Behavior; United States
Di Tella, Rafael, and Juan Dubra. "Free to Punish? The American Dream and the Harsh Treatment of Criminals." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 17309, August 2011.
- January 2008
- Background Note
Valuing Risky Debt
By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford
This lesson develops the classical structural approach to pricing and hedging credit risk: Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims. This model is used to make investment and risk management decisions in an over-the-counter (OTC) market for... View Details
Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Investment; Price; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Valuation
Coval, Joshua, and Erik Stafford. "Valuing Risky Debt." Harvard Business School Background Note 208-111, January 2008.
- December 2001 (Revised May 2003)
- Background Note
Queueing Theory
By: V.G. Narayanan and George Batta
Explains the assumptions behind and the insights from a simple queueing model. View Details
Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Theory; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Motivation and Incentives; Service Delivery
Narayanan, V.G., and George Batta. "Queueing Theory." Harvard Business School Background Note 102-023, December 2001. (Revised May 2003.)
- October 2007
- Article
The Effectiveness of Pre-Release Advertising for Motion Pictures: An Empirical Investigation Using a Simulated Market
By: Anita Elberse and Bharat N. Anand
One of the most visible and publicized trends in the movie industry is the escalation in movie advertising expenditures over time. Yet, the returns to movie advertising are poorly understood. The main reason is that disentangling the causal effect of advertising on... View Details
Keywords: Advertising; Stocks; Investment Return; Price; Revenue; Quality; Mathematical Methods; Motion Pictures and Video Industry
Elberse, Anita, and Bharat N. Anand. "The Effectiveness of Pre-Release Advertising for Motion Pictures: An Empirical Investigation Using a Simulated Market." Information Economics and Policy 19, nos. 3-4 (October 2007): 319–343. (Special Issue on Economics of the Media.)
- 2001
- Working Paper
When Does the Market Matter? Stock Prices and the Investment of Equity Dependent Firms
By: Malcolm Baker, Jeremy Stein and Jeffrey Wurgler
We use a simple model of corporate investment to determine when investment will be sensitive to non-fundamental movements in stock prices. The key cross-sectional prediction of the model is that stock prices will have a stronger impact on the investment of firms that... View Details
Baker, Malcolm, Jeremy Stein, and Jeffrey Wurgler. "When Does the Market Matter? Stock Prices and the Investment of Equity Dependent Firms." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 8750, December 2001. (First draft in 2001.)
- June 2013 (Revised November 2022)
- Exercise
Competition Simulator Exercise
In the Competition Simulator Exercise, students explore through trial and error some important economic foundations of competitive strategy and managerial economics. In particular, the nine simulator exercises let students explore horizontal differentiation with and... View Details
Keywords: Competition; Economics; Game Theory; Competitive Strategy; Learning; Mathematical Methods; Analysis
Van den Steen, Eric J. "Competition Simulator Exercise." Harvard Business School Exercise 713-804, June 2013. (Revised November 2022.)
- 2021
- Article
Aggregate Advertising Expenditure in the U.S. Economy: Measurement and Growth Issues in the Digital Era
By: Alvin J. Silk and Ernst R. Berndt
The two components of the advertising industry—the creative sector that develops and produces messages, and the communications sector that transmits messages via various media—have each been greatly affected by advances in creative design and communications... View Details
Keywords: Industry Evolution; Advertising; Spending; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods; Media; Advertising Industry; United States
Silk, Alvin J., and Ernst R. Berndt. "Aggregate Advertising Expenditure in the U.S. Economy: Measurement and Growth Issues in the Digital Era." Foundations and Trends® in Marketing 15, no. 1 (2021): 1–85.
- Article
On Market Timing and Investment Performance Part II: Statistical Procedures for Evaluating Forecasting Skills
By: Robert C. Merton and Roy D. Henriksson
Merton, Robert C., and Roy D. Henriksson. "On Market Timing and Investment Performance Part II: Statistical Procedures for Evaluating Forecasting Skills." Journal of Business 54, no. 4 (October 1981): 513–533.
- January 2006
- Tutorial
Cost-Volume Profit Models
By: David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens
Covers fixed, variable, and semivariable costs and their role in building and interpreting cost-volume-profit models. Introduces the cost-volume and contribution-volume-profit models and identifies some of their uses and limitations. Teaches how to use the... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer
By: Katherine L. Milkman, John Beshears, Todd Rogers and Max H. Bazerman
We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by examining the purchasing behavior of a sample of online grocery shoppers over the course of a year. We compare the purchases customers make when redeeming a $10-off coupon they received from their... View Details
Keywords: Spending; Consumer Behavior; Mathematical Methods; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry
Milkman, Katherine L., John Beshears, Todd Rogers, and Max H. Bazerman. "Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-024, September 2007. (Revised March 2008.)