Publications

2021
Article

Institutional Policies for a Healthy Anthropocene Society

By: Andrew J. Hoffman, P. Devereaux Jennings and Nicholas A. Poggioli

The Anthropocene epoch refers to the geological epoch, now underway, that is defined by monumental, human-caused geophysical changes in planetary ecosystems. Human society is also changing, marked by an equally profound shift in attitudes, beliefs, and practices. In... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Values and Beliefs; Climate Change; Natural Environment; Society

Article

Statistical Physics of Human Cooperation

By: Matjaž Perc, Jillian J. Jordan, David G. Rand, Zhen Wang, Stefano Boccaletti and Attila Szolnoki

Extensive cooperation among unrelated individuals is unique to humans, who often sacrifice personal benefits for the common good and work together to achieve what they are unable to execute alone. The evolutionary success of our species is indeed due, to a large... View Details

Keywords: Human Cooperation; Evolutionary Game Theory; Public Goods; Reward; Punishment; Tolerance; Self-organization; Pattern Formation; Cooperation; Behavior; Game Theory

January 2018
Article

Big Data and Big Cities: The Promises and Limitations of Improved Measures of Urban Life

By: Edward L. Glaeser, Scott Duke Kominers, Michael Luca and Nikhil Naik

New, "big" data sources allow measurement of city characteristics and outcome variables at higher frequencies and finer geographic scales than ever before. However, big data will not solve large urban social science questions on its own. Big data has the most value for... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Urban Scope; City

August 2021
Article

Multiple Imputation Using Gaussian Copulas

By: F.M. Hollenbach, I. Bojinov, S. Minhas, N.W. Metternich, M.D. Ward and A. Volfovsky

Missing observations are pervasive throughout empirical research, especially in the social sciences. Despite multiple approaches to dealing adequately with missing data, many scholars still fail to address this vital issue. In this paper, we present a simple-to-use... View Details

Keywords: Missing Data; Bayesian Statistics; Imputation; Categorical Data; Estimation

April 2023
Article

The Subjective Expected Utility Approach and a Framework for Defining Project Risk in Terms of Novelty and Feasibility—A Response to Franzoni and Stephan (2023), ‘Uncertainty and Risk-Taking in Science’

By: Jacqueline N. Lane

In their Discussion Paper, Franzoni and Stephan (F&S, 2023) discuss the shortcomings of existing peer review models in shaping the funding of risky science. Their discussion offers a conceptual framework for incorporating risk into peer review models of research... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Research; Resource Allocation; Perception

Article

Marginality and Problem-Solving Effectiveness in Broadcast Search

By: Lars Bo Jeppesen and Karim R. Lakhani

We examine who the winners are in science problem-solving contests characterized by open broadcast of problem information, self-selection of external solvers to discrete problems from the laboratories of large R&D intensive companies, and blind review of solution... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Open Source Distribution; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Markets; Independent Innovation and Invention; Problems and Challenges; Research and Development; Gender; Science

04 Jan 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Digital Commons: Tragedy or Opportunity? A Reflection on the 50th Anniversary of Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons

Keywords: by Frank Nagle

03 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts

flavijus For the first time, a link has been drawn between public sentiment about a company’s sustainability practices and how that company is valued in the market. The results are important both for investors searching for under-valued, socially responsible companies,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

June 2025
Exercise

Full-Funnel Advertising on TikTok: An Experiment (Solution)

By: Jeremy Yang and Ayelet Israeli

TikTok’s Marketing Science team developed a new type of advertising strategy beyond branding and performance advertising, called full-funnel advertising. Branding ads focused on brand building at the top of the funnel by generating consumer awareness, while performance... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Digital Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Measurement and Metrics

2015
Book

How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Though the scientific community largely agrees that climate change is underway, debates about this issue remain fiercely polarized. These conversations have become a rhetorical contest, one where opposing sides try to achieve victory through playing on fear, distrust,... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Culture; Values and Beliefs; Knowledge Dissemination

2010
Working Paper

Boundary Spanning in a For-profit Research Lab: An Exploration of the Interface Between Commerce and Academe

By: Christopher C. Liu and Toby E. Stuart

In innovative industries, private-sector companies increasingly are participants in open communities of science and technology. To participate in the system of exchange in such communities, firms often publicly disclose what would otherwise remain private discoveries.... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Higher Education; Information Publishing; Innovation and Invention; Science-Based Business; Social and Collaborative Networks; Boundaries; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

01 Dec 2021
What Do You Think?

How Will the Metaverse Affect Productivity?

accurately, your hologram or avatar) can, among other things, go to school, go to work, play games, watch concerts, and browse stores. For Facebook, or now Meta, its dominance in social networking combined with a Meta-based strategy is an... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

21 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 21, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54887 forthcoming Production and Operations Management The Operational Value of Social Media Information By: Cui, Ruomeng, Santiago Gallino, Antonio Moreno, and Dennis J. Zhang... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 27, 2022
Article

Inequality in Researchers' Minds: Four Guiding Questions for Studying Subjective Perceptions of Economic Inequality

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Shai Davidai, Daniela Goya-Tocchetto, Barnabas Szaszi, Martin Day, Stephanie Tepper, L. Taylor Phillips, M. Usman Mirza, Nailya Ordabayeva and Oliver P. Hauser

Subjective perceptions of inequality can substantially influence policy attitudes, public health metrics, and societal well-being, but the lack of consensus in the scientific community on how to best operationalize and measure these perceptions may impede progress on... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Perception; Analysis

14 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Process and Performance

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim; Accounting

04 Dec 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Intelligent Design of Inclusive Growth Strategies

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan, George Serafeim, and Eduardo Tugendhat

June 2025
Exercise

Full-Funnel Advertising on TikTok: An Experiment

By: Jeremy Yang and Ayelet Israeli

TikTok’s Marketing Science team developed a new type of advertising strategy beyond branding and performance advertising, called full-funnel advertising. Branding ads focused on brand building at the top of the funnel by generating consumer awareness, while performance... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Digital Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Measurement and Metrics

Editorial

Zeroing Out on zero-COVID

By: William C. Kirby

China’s culture reveres science, yet operates under a government that often defines what “science” is and is not. China’s “zero-COVID” policy has created a bifurcated scientific community that threatens international collaboration in science and technology. A... View Details

Keywords: COVID; Scientific Community; World Health Organization; Pseudoscience; Governance; Government and Politics; Health; Research and Development; Social Media; China