Publications

SSRN

June 2014
Article

Acquirer-Target Social Ties and Merger Outcomes

By: Joy Ishii and Yuhai Xuan

This paper investigates the effect of social ties between acquirers and targets on merger performance. Using data on educational background and past employment, we construct a measure of the extent of cross-firm social connection between directors and senior executives... View Details

Keywords: Mergers; Acquisitions; Social Ties; Social Connections; Mergers and Acquisitions; Relationships; Outcome or Result

2013
Article

Does Social Connection Turn Good Deeds into Good Feelings? On the Value of Putting the 'Social' in Prosocial Spending

By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Gillian M. Sandstrom and Michael I. Norton

When are the emotional benefits of generous behavior most likely to emerge? In three studies, we demonstrate that the hedonic benefits of generous spending are most likely when spending promotes positive social connection. Study 1 shows that people feel happier after... View Details

Keywords: Money; Prosocial Spending; Social Connection; Well-being; Donations; Charitable Giving; Warm Glow; Social Relationships; Gift Giving; Happiness; Relationships; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Society

2022
Article

Social Interactivity in Live Video Experiences Reduces Loneliness

By: Benjamin T. Kaveladze, Robert R. Morris, Rosa Victoria Dimitrova-Gammeltoft, Amit Goldenberg, James J. Gross, Judd Antin, Melissa Sandgren and Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt

Background: Loneliness, especially when chronic, can substantially reduce one's quality of life. However, positive social experiences might help to break cycles of loneliness by promoting more prosocial cognitions and behaviors. Internet-mediated live video... View Details

Keywords: Lonelines; Social Connection; Internet-mediated Communication; Experiment; Emotions; Well-being; Interpersonal Communication; Internet

November 2011
Article

Social Strategies That Work

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Although most companies have collected lots of friends and followers on social platforms such as Facebook, few have succeeded in generating profits there. That's because they merely port their digital strategies into social environments by broadcasting their commercial... View Details

Keywords: Social Platforms; Social Strategies; Social and Collaborative Networks; Customers; Relationships; Business Strategy; Profit

25 Apr 2014
News

Connecting companies and customers through social media

Victoria Ransom (MBA 2008) launched Wildfire Interactive, now a Google company, to connect companies and customers through social media. (Published April 2014) View Details

10 Jun 2020
News

Experts on How to Stay Emotionally Connected While Socially Distant

15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Right Connections

connections can be a source of information about the FDA approval process and offer insights as to how to market and sell the young firm's products. They can also provide resources and contacts to facilitate these tasks. Another... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

22 Sep 2023
News

Capital Connection

Vernon Beckford (MBA 2013) saw the gap almost immediately. From the beginning of his career in commercial real estate finance—first at Credit Suisse and then later at CW Capital and Global Atlantic Financial Group—Beckford observed Wall Street’s obsession with... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Real Estate

Web

Connections & Relationships | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Connections & Relationships Background People always tell you that business school isn't just about the available resources and what you learn in class—it's about the other students. My first experience with the View Details

December 2014
Case

DaVita HealthCare Partners and the Denver Public Schools: Creating Connections

By: John J-H Kim and Christine S. An

In 2011, DaVita HealthCare Partners (DaVita)—a Fortune 500 healthcare services company specializing in kidney dialysis services—and the Denver Public Schools (DPS)—the largest school district in Colorado—forged a plan to incorporate greater intentional focus on culture... View Details

Educators

January 2018 (Revised January 2021)
Background Note

Customer Lifetime Social Value (CLSV)

By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller

One of the hallmarks of the digital revolution is the rise of the socially connected consumer. Concomitantly, the ability of companies to affect and measure the social interactions among customers has grown tremendously. Consequently, in assessing the full value of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Management; Social Contagion; Word Of Mouth; Customer Engagement; Customer Value and Value Chain; Measurement and Metrics; Customer Relationship Management

Educators

Web

Alumni Clubs Supporting & Connecting | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Alumni Clubs Supporting & Connecting Local and regional HBS alumni clubs offer a range of opportunities to support and connect with the local nonprofit community. Alumni clubs in a number of cities have... View Details

Research Summary

Why Do Consumers Contribute to Connected Goods? A Dynamic Game of Competition and Cooperation in Social Networks

Social network platforms and media rely on the voluntary contributions of individual users to stay relevant. Consumers (users) contribute content such as photographs, videos, tweets etc.: these are available to any of their friends or peers, but not... View Details

01 Jun 2000
News

The Right Connections

impact on the size of the start-up's IPO. "Downstream social capital was essential in attracting the interest of a top investment bank and getting a high valuation for the IPO," Higgins says. Such downstream View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

20 Jun 2021
News

How to Keep People Feeling Socially Connected across Distances and Time Zones

May 2012
Course Overview Note

Managing Stakeholders with Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Christopher Marquis and Laura Velez Villa

This note articulates the ways in which strong stakeholder-company relationships developed through corporate social responsibility initiatives and other types of social strategies deliver bottom line benefits. The analysis follows stakeholder logic models connecting... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Social Responsibility; Stakeholder Management; Government And Business; Philanthropy; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Revenue

Article

Beyond the Target Customer: Social Effects in CRM Campaigns

By: Eva Ascarza, Peter Ebbes, Oded Netzer and Matthew Danielson

Customer relationship management (CRM) campaigns have traditionally focused on maximizing the profitability of the targeted customers. The authors demonstrate that in business settings characterized by network externalities, a CRM campaign that is aimed at changing the... View Details

Keywords: Social Effects; Field Experiment; Mobile; Customer Relationship Management; Network Effects; Consumer Behavior

2022
Chapter

Connecter les rêves

By: Hubert Joly and Mariana Arnaut

Trouver du sens dans son travail est plus que jamais vécu comme essentiel. L’entreprise, l’une des organisations humaines les plus capables d’innovation, a un rôle central à jouer face aux enjeux sociaux et environnementaux. Reste à déterminer quels principes peuvent... View Details