Rationalization - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Fail—and How Their Founders Can Bounce Back

rationalize away the proverbial problem of the dogs not eating the dog food. When you don't have money you reformulate the dog food so that the dogs will eat it. When you have a lot of money you can afford to argue that the dogs should... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

as well as with past stock returns and with the level of the stock market. However, investor expectations are strongly negatively correlated with model-based expected returns. The evidence is not consistent with rational expectations... View Details

Article

Values, Purpose, Meaning, and Expectations: Why Culture and Context Matter

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

The "rational person" standard, based on assumptions of economic self-interest, has long prevailed in legal reasoning. But understanding of decision making, behavioral choices, and possibilities for action must be enlarged to include a variety of factors that give... View Details

Keywords: Standards; Interests; Decision Making; Behavior; Value; Groups and Teams; Performance Expectations; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Motivation and Incentives

Citation

Find at Harvard

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is Government Just Stupid? How Bad Decisions Are Made

evaluating business leaders, most people judge them primarily by results: profitability, return to shareholders, innovation and so on. This is the more rational measure of effectiveness. An organization's overall health will generally... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, Jonathan Baron & Katherine Shonk

10 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Technology and COVID Upended Tipping Norms. Will Consumers Keep Paying?

whether they should be tipping at all. “Asking for higher tip levels felt appropriate during COVID as we understood or could rationalize the ‘why’ behind them,” she says. “It feels less fine in the current environment and could be... View Details

Keywords: by Anna Lamb, Harvard Gazette

Web

Systems Integration - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

system as a whole. Delivering the right care at the right location in a multi-site care delivery system is a key element of a value-based health care system. To integrate care effectively, providers need to re-define the scope of services at each facility and View Details

31 Oct 2018
What Do You Think?

What is the Function of Fear in Leadership?

achieved by appeals to rational reasoning?” Wildebeest, finding this argument persuasive, suggested that the use of fear combined with respect for a leader among those being led is defensible. He reminded us that, “Patton said ‘God help... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Technology & Innovation - Faculty & Research

surge in innovation and exports in REE-intensive downstream sectors outside of China. To rationalize these findings and quantify the global impact of the adverse REE supply shock, we develop a quantitative general equilibrium model of... View Details

04 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Scrap the Big New Year's Resolutions. Make 6 Simple Changes Instead.

terms, but issues are rarely so clear-cut, Takeuchi says. “This intellectual tradition,” Takeuchi and Nonaka write, “is reflected in the debates over dualism—such as mind versus body, subject versus object, rationality versus empiricism,... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

23 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Men Want Powerful Jobs More Than Women Do

the researchers note that their findings are “descriptive, not prescriptive.” “Based on these data, we cannot make value judgments about whether men and women’s differing views of professional advancement are good or bad, rational or... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

30 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Modularity and Intellectual Property Protection

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin & Joachim Henkel

28 Nov 2023
Book

Economic Growth Draws Companies to Asia. Can They Handle Its Authoritarian Regimes?

world of rational actors destroying their own firms’ balance sheets in late Suharto-era Indonesia and in contemporary China was fascinating and surprising. Once I understood the phenomenon, I saw it everywhere. You Might Also Like: Will... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Banks Ditch Coal: The Impact Is 'More Than Anyone Thought'

Consumers who are eager to mitigate climate change can take many actions, such as reducing the number of airline flights they take or installing solar panels on their homes. But the planet is in a race against time, and individual action alone won’t help most countries... View Details

Keywords: by Barbara DeLollis; Financial Services; Mining

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

Web

Geography of Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

exceeding complex patients. Not every hospital needs a heart transplant program, or even cardiac surgery, yet that is what has happened in US health care expansion today. Rational geographic expansion should occur through a hub-and-spoke... View Details

24 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Rethinking Activity-Based Costing

profit-enhancement opportunities through the repricing of unprofitable customer relationships, process improvements on the shop floor, lower-cost product designs, and rationalized product variety. Its potential on a larger scale... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & Steven R. Anderson

16 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Understanding the ‘Want’ vs. ’Should’ Decision

are affected by the receipt of a coupon for $10 off their bill. A rational actor model suggests that people without extreme wealth constraints (meaning anyone who can afford to shop for groceries online) should buy the same items they... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Retail; Entertainment & Recreation

TeachingInterests

Decision Making Under Uncertainty

By: David E. Bell

Many of the decisions we face are made complicated by having uncertain consequences: how should I set my inventory when I don’t know what demand will be, should I refinance my mortgage when rates might go lower, how big a bet shall I make in a new business, and so... View Details

30 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

The Role of Emotions in Effective Negotiations

which was a recipe for disaster." Wasynczuk learned to enter into contract talks with a smile—and to rationalize away his own anger when a deal couldn't be struck. "If an agent was being greedy with me, they were probably being... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports

10 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Top Scholars Say About Leadership

20th centuries, it is clear that scholars studied leadership closely. One example is sociologist Max Weber and his concern about the nature of authority: the foundation of authority that was located in traditional authority, charismatic authority, View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

Publications