Publications

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

PublicationsWhen Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice? Authors:Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Hałaburda Publication:Journal of Economics & Management Strategy (forthcoming) Abstract We present a theory for why it... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Rumo: Infrastructure for a Healthier Economy

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Mariana Cal, Ruth Costas and Natalie Kindred

Brazilian logistics company Rumo operated 13,500 km in railway networks, port terminals, and inland transshipment terminals, connecting major Brazilian ports to the agriculture hubs of Mato Grosso and São Paulo state. Controlled by Cosan, Brazil's leading sugar and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Customer Relationship Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Rail Transportation; Value Creation; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Brazil

10 Sep 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations

Keywords: by Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim; Financial Services

2017
Article

True Happiness: The Role of Morality in the Concept of Happiness

By: Jonathan Phillips, Julian De Freitas, Christian Mott, June Gruber and Joshua Knobe

Recent scientific research has settled on a purely descriptive definition of happiness that is focused solely on agents' psychological states (high positive affect, low negative affect, high life satisfaction). In contrast to this understanding, recent research has... View Details

Keywords: Moral Cognition; Happiness; Moral Sensibility; Emotions; Well-being

Article

When Talk Is "Free": The Effect of Tariff Structure on Usage Under Two- and Three-Part Tariffs

By: Eva Ascarza, Anja Lambrecht and Naufel Vilcassim

In many service industries, firms introduce three-part tariffs to replace or complement existing two-part tariffs. In contrast with two-part tariffs, three-part tariffs offer allowances, or “free” units of the service. Behavioral research suggests that the attributes... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Nonlinear Pricing; Discrete/continuous Choice Model; Three-part Tariffs; Free Products; Price; Consumer Behavior; Analysis; Learning; Risk and Uncertainty

Article

On the Causality and Cause of Returns to Organizational Status: Evidence from the Grands Crus Classés of the Médoc

By: Daniel Malter

This paper identifies the causal symbolic effect of status on the prices organizations charge for their products. I exploit the classification of the châteaux of the Médoc, which sorted 61 wine producers into five growth classes in 1855, as a fixed hierarchical symbol... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Status; Quality Signals; Conspicuous Consumption; Wine Classification Of 1855; Grand Cru; Status and Position; Quality; Reputation; Price; France

2009
Working Paper

Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect

By: Amir E. Khandani, Andrew W. Lo and Robert C. Merton

The confluence of three trends in the U.S. residential housing market-rising home prices, declining interest rates, and near-frictionless refinancing opportunities-led to vastly increased systemic risk in the financial system. Individually, each of these trends is... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Mortgages; Interest Rates; Price; Housing; Risk and Uncertainty; United States

September 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Dianrong: Marketplace Lending, Blockchain, and 'The New Finance' in China

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Anthony K. Woo

This case examines the strategic positioning of Dianrong, one of the largest online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in China, in its attempt to become a foundational player in the expansion of the FinTech sector in Asia. Dianrong had recently announced the... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain; Finance; Innovation and Invention; Competition; Product Positioning; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; China

Web

Key Concepts - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Measure Outcomes & Cost for Every Patient Aligning Reimbursement with Value Systems Integration Geography of Care Information Technology Key Concepts Value-based health care is one of the most important topics in health care... View Details

07 Jul 2022
HBS Case

How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)

more ‘going with the flow’ Smith and Cuscuna licked their wounds, took time off to reflect, and decided to open a new Brooklyn ice cream shop called the Social in 2021 that mirrored the values of Ample Hills—that is, fresh, homemade... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

October 23, 2013
Article

Banyan Family Business Advisors On The Keys to Long-Term Resilience

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Family businesses have been found to excel in resilience during economic downturns compared to publicly-traded ones. This is attributed to their focus on resilience over performance. Key qualities of resilient family firms include managing low debt, practicing... View Details

Keywords: Performance Consistency; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Family Ownership; Family Business; Values and Beliefs; Business Strategy

04 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Putting Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector

The social sector is big business. In the United States alone some 1.5 million nonprofits and other social ventures have combined revenues of $700 billion and control assets valued at $2 trillion—a seemingly substantial arsenal to tackle... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Program

Compensation Committees

executive compensation Adapt your compensation strategy to fit your business strategy Make decisions with deeper knowledge of the relationships among compensation plans, employee motivation, and long-term value creation Balance the... View Details

2015
Working Paper

Auditor Lobbying on Accounting Standards

By: Abigail Allen, Karthik Ramanna and Sugata Roychowdhury

We examine how Big N auditors' changing incentives impact their comment-letter lobbying on U.S. GAAP over the first thirty-four years of the FASB (1973–2006). We examine the influence of auditors' lobbying incentives arising from three basic factors: managing expected... View Details

Keywords: Auditors; FASB; GAAP; Lobbying; Fair Value Accounting; Accounting Audits

September 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Windward Investment Management

By: Luis M. Viceira and Ricardo Alberto De Armas

Windward Investment Management has experienced rapid growth in assets under management in just ten years, from under $30 million at year-end 1999 to $3.6 billion in 2010. Windward is one of the leading firms in the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) industry that... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Valuation; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry

06 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Leaders Lose Their Way

with success tend to look to others to gain satisfaction, and often appear self-centered and egotistical. They start to believe their own press. As leaders of institutions, they eventually believe the institution cannot succeed without them. The Leadership Trap While... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

09 Aug 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues

Keywords: by Jody Grewal, George Serafeim, and Aaron Yoon

Article

Survive Another Day: Using Changes in the Composition of Investments to Measure the Cost of Credit Constraints

By: Luis Garicano and Claudia Steinwender

We introduce a novel empirical strategy to measure the size of credit shocks. Theoretically, we show that credit shocks reduce the value of long-term relative to short-term investments. Empirically, we can therefore compare the reduction of long-term relative to... View Details

Keywords: Credit Constraints; Credit Crunch; Spain; Investment Behavior; Credit Squeeze; Financial Crisis; Economic Growth; Investment; Credit; Manufacturing Industry; Spain; European Union