Publications

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

http://hbr.org/2014/01/can-a-strong-culture-be-too-strong/ar/1 January 2014 MIT Sloan Management Review Strategic Decisions for Multisided Platforms By: Hagiu, Andrei Abstract—Multisided platforms such as... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Wayfair

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Susie L. Ma and Matthew G. Preble

In 2016 Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, founders of online home goods retailer Wayfair, are faced with a decision about how to improve user experience on their e-commerce sites. A key driver of consumer interest and conversion to purchase in the home category is visual... View Details

Keywords: Visual Assets; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Business or Company Management; Growth Management; Innovation and Invention; Operations; Strategy; Technology; Retail Industry; Service Industry; United States; Massachusetts

November 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri (Condensed)

By: Robert L. Simons

The merger of Asea AB and BBC Brown Boveri required a restructuring of operations and a change in organizational cultures. Competitive success also necessitated the benefits of scale while remaining "local" for political and customer-responsiveness reasons. The case... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Cost vs Benefits; Competitive Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development; Performance Effectiveness; Consumer Products Industry

January 1993 (Revised May 2002)
Background Note

Note on Techniques for Analyzing Business Problems

A six-step technique for solving business problems is presented: stating the problem, developing a framework for analysis, identifying key issues, performing analysis, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations. Intended to be used with a case or cases that... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Framework; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges

Web

Accounting & Management - Faculty & Research

two operational pillars: data-driven decision-making and prioritization. Using BMC’s experience as an illustrative case, the article outlines six strategic choices healthcare leaders must make to translate... View Details

09 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 9

clients. We stated that even honest auditors were incapable of independence within the current regulatory framework. We document the failure to make sufficient changes to our institutions, highlight the barriers to needed changes, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Managing Innovation is Like Theater

clear objective. If you don't have a good fix on your destination—be it a product or service, a strategic or competitive outcome, or anything else—you may as well not start the journey. For a lot of your work, though, this so-called... View Details

Keywords: by Rob Austin & Lee Devin

Web

Placement - Doctoral

Business Economics, 2023 Placement: Stanford University, Department of Economics, Post-Doctoral Fellow (2023-2024), Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Assistant Professor (2024) Dissertation: Essays in... View Details

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

The Challenge of the Multi-site Nonprofit

constructive co-existence of unit autonomy and organizational affiliation, organizations must have in place a clear process for making decisions as to who will perform the functions necessary for the system,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

27 Oct 2021
News

If Money Is Tight, That’s Nothing to Be Ashamed Of

2008
Book

Managing Your Boss

By: John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter

Managing your boss: Isn't that merely manipulation? Corporate cozying up? Not according to John Gabarro and John Kotter. In this handy guidebook, the authors contend that you manage your boss for a very good reason: to do your best on the job—and thereby benefit not... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Decision Making; Information Management; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Tactics; Performance Productivity; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Personal Characteristics

Find at Harvard

Program

Transforming Customer Experiences

operating models and strategic service mission with changing consumer needs, shifting market demands, and an evolving competitive landscape. Details Design effective service strategies and offerings Develop operations and service features... View Details

May 2020
Case

Schlumberger's WesternGeco Division

By: John R. Wells, Sneha Biswas and Benjamin Weinstock

In October 2017, Maurice Nessim, President of WesternGeco, a business unit of Schlumberger, faced a difficult decision. In the face of falling oil prices and increasing pressure on costs, did it make sense to sell off the company’s specialized fleet of seismic survey... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Decision Making; Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Energy Industry; Information Technology Industry

07 Nov 2019
News

The Future Of Education In Family Business Leadership And Tips To Get Started

November 2019
Article

When and Why Defaults Influence Decisions: A Meta-analysis of Default Effects

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Shannon Duncan, Elke U. Weber and Eric J. Johnson

When people make decisions with a pre-selected choice option—a “default”—they are more likely to select that option. Because defaults are easy to implement, they constitute one of the most widely employed tools in the choice architecture toolbox. However, to decide... View Details

Keywords: Choice Architecture; Defaults; Default Effects; Decision Making; Behavior; Analysis

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05 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance

it. Type 2 processes, on the other hand, are consciously reflective, and are often associated with decision making. Essentially, the researchers hypothesized that learning by doing would be more effective if deliberately coupled with... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

November 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Ava Labs: Navigating the Next Blockchain

By: Marco Di Maggio and Wenyao Sha

John Wu, President of Ava Labs, the primary developer of the Avalanche blockchain, and Emin Gün Sirer, the software company’s Founder and CEO, team up to develop a lending and borrowing protocol that would jumpstart the Decentralized finance (DeFi) economy on... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Decentralized Finance; Alternative Assets; Financial Instruments; Assets; Decisions; Financing and Loans; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry