Publications

2021
Working Paper

When Does Uncertainty Matter?: Understanding the Impact of Predictive Uncertainty in ML Assisted Decision Making

By: Sean McGrath, Parth Mehta, Alexandra Zytek, Isaac Lage and Himabindu Lakkaraju

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23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

Is it possible to truly empower employees to make their own decisions—even when those decisions could mean life or death? That is the question posed by Dutch home healthcare organization Buurtzorg, which has... View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

2006
Working Paper

Too Hot to Handle? Engaging in Hot Conflict to Make Better Decisions and Build Resilient Management

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Diana M. Smith

07 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

How Teams Work: Lessons from the Pandemic

When COVID-19 first sent office employees home last year, many managers filled their teams’ calendars with online check-ins, drop-ins, and updates to make up for the loss of spontaneous interactions—often sinking morale and efficiency.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

February 1991
Case

Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (B)

By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan

The ARES team formally proposes that Burlington Northern implement the ARES system. The project meets resistance. In light of financial restructuring and high level of debt, executives wonder whether the company can afford ARES. Weak links during the ARES development... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Restructuring; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Budgeting; Projects; Technology Adoption; Service Industry

Educators

December 1971 (Revised November 1975)
Background Note

Note on Decision Analysis

By: Paul W. Marshall

Keywords: Decision Making; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

Working Paper

How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?

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

We survey 885 institutional venture capitalists (VCs) at 681 firms to learn how they make decisions across eight areas: deal sourcing, investment selection, valuation, deal structure, post-investment value-added, exits, internal firm organization, and relationships... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Decision Choices and Conditions

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March 22, 2012
Article

Global Team Leaders Must Deliberately Create 'Moments'

By: Tsedal Neeley

Global teams face the challenge of having to operate with limited face-to-face contact and across vast distances, time zones, language backgrounds, and contexts, as well as cultural differences. In turn, these differences generate disruptions to team cohesion and top... View Details

Keywords: Global Range; Groups and Teams; Management Practices and Processes

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October 1998 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Boston Beer Company: Light Beer Decision

By: Linda A. Cyr, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts

Boston Beer's current light-beer offering, Boston Lightship, has not been successful, and a student team is charged with investigating the problem and recommending a strategy. Highlights issues around branding, target customer selection, and cannibalization, and... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Customers; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston

Educators

27 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Customer Experts Lose Influence When Teams are Pressured

such as conforming to the status hierarchy when it comes time to make a decision (for example, "She's been here the longest, so let's just go with her idea"), the opportunity for utilizing relevant expertise... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

03 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Making Money Making Movies

Universal that produce and distribute movies. More and more, fears of piracy impact decisions that industry executives make regarding release strategies. However, a different picture emerges for theatrical... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

October 2006 (Revised August 2008)
Background Note

Performing Industry Research to Inform Investment Decisions

Conducting thorough research about an industry is often an important component of investment analysis. Written specifically for HBS MBA students, provides guidance on how to perform industry research to inform investment decisions. Provides detailed information about... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Supply and Industry; Research

Educators

Research Summary

Overview

Dr. Logg studies how people can improve the accuracy of their judgments and decisions. Her main program of work examines when people are most likely to leverage the power of algorithms to improve their accuracy. Research on what she calls “theory of machine” is... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Judgment; Algorithms; Advice Taking

1965
Article

Group Decision Making: A Report of an Experimental Study

By: Joseph L. Bower

When a group of people must decide on some one action, such as where shall we go out to dinner, or in an investment club which stock shall we buy, how do the individual members come to a decision that affords the best resolution of the question at hand for the group as... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Conflict Management

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January 1987
Article

Posterior Implementability in a Two-person Decision Problem

By: Jerry R. Green and Jean-Jacques Laffont

When a decision rule is implemented using a Bayesian incentive compatible mechanism in which the messages are publicly observable, the players' information is augmented by their observation of each others' strategies. In this paper we study the set of Bayesian... View Details

Keywords: Incentives; Commitment; Mechanism Design; Decision Making; Information

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2005
Chapter

The Decision Perspective to Negotiation

By: M. Bazerman and Katie Shonk

Keywords: Decision Making; Negotiation; Perspective