Levers Of Control - Publications - Faculty & Research

August 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan

After observing record voter dissatisfaction with the choices in the 2024 U.S. presidential election—Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump—the bipartisan nonprofit No Labels decided to reserve ballot access in... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Lawsuits and Litigation; Failure; System Shocks; Political Elections; Motivation and Incentives; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

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06 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Where Do Workers Go When the Robots Arrive?

the economy at large absorb adverse economic shocks? Or does the local population decline, stuck in economic decay? The answers to those questions are vital for economists, policymakers, and local governments to decide as new waves of... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Manufacturing

30 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 30, 2007

worker dismissal costs will curtail hiring below efficient levels and retain unproductive workers, both of which should affect productivity. These theoretical predictions have rarely been tested. We use the adoption View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Lessons from the Browser Wars

to use strategic levers such as market power and channels of distribution, growth in demand leading to diffusion of the new technology through the population, and uncertainty.... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Computer; Consumer Products; Technology

30 Jun 2020
Book

Capitalism Is More at Risk Than Ever

long espoused a “doing well by doing good” philosophy going back to founding figure William Lever. In the late nineteenth century, Lever had built a business by making and selling household soap that he hoped would improve hygiene and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

11 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Politicians Benefited From Using Toxic Loans

Talk of the recent financial crisis often falls into a simplistic narrative of villainous banks, marketing toxic financial products to innocent customers who did not understand their risks. Among the storied... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

awareness of cybersecurity issues. Combined with the ability to block ads, the growing costs of acquiring customers online, the experience of “Zoombombing,” and View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

20 Apr 2020
Book

Why COVID-19 Raises the Stakes for Healthy Buildings

occupied, preferably using demand control ventilation. Select the right filter for the location of your building. (Check out the terrific report by Brent Stephens, Terry Brenna, and Lew Harriman, “Selecting... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Real Estate; Health

12 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

How to Turn Down the Boil on Group Conflict

feel. Lees and Cikara found similar results for other scenarios, involving changes to selection of judges, campaign financing, and renaming of a state highway. (The researchers purposefully stayed away from... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

16 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Earnings Calls That Get Lost in Translation

The CEO's key to a successful earnings call with investors? Crystal clear communication. Earnings calls are typically held after the release of quarterly earnings, allowing company executives a chance to brief investors, analysts, and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

21 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Fighting the COVID Blues: Advice from Business Research

risks—including spending hours reading or watching the news. "This is such an impermanent state of affairs that we just have to do as best we can." Rather than ruminating on the virus and replaying possible future outcomes in our minds,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman and Danielle Kost

26 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn

responsibility of finance and operations, while marketing and sales focus on value generators. But the only way to maximize the space between customer value generated and the selling company's costs is to get these people together so you... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Consumer Products

21 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Excessive Executive Pay: What’s the Solution?

think CEOs are not paid too much. In corporate America there is a battle going on for control and power. Over the last two decades or so you've seen boards of directors gain more power vis-à-vis managers.... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

22 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Negotiation is Like Jazz

improvisational forms can help you shape your negotiations from the onset. Just as a piece of jazz springs from all the musicians in an ensemble, a negotiation evolves from interactions across the parties. No matter how much you prepare... View Details

Keywords: by Kathleen L. McGinn

11 May 2015
Research & Ideas

A Road Map to Fix America’s Transportation Infrastructure

Any highway commuter who has wasted hours stuck in traffic can see the cracks in the United States' transportation system, as can any airline passenger who has been stranded overnight in an airport. Yet while many agree that the need for infrastructure change is... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Transportation

18 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Open Innovation Contestants Build AI-Based Cancer Tool

Radiation therapy can be lifesaving for lung cancer patients. The first step, though, is having a trained, skilled oncologist who knows how to best segment or mark off the tumor for radiation. This expertise is vital for targeting the tumor and View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

07 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

Video: Harvard Business School at the Kumbh Mela

restrict the religious groups' acreage and make the roads even wider to control foot traffic—and land disputes-even more? What about expanding the festival site northward, thereby creating the equivalent of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Construction; Real Estate

06 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Money and Quotas Motivate the Sales Force Best

randomly by branch, interspersed with control weeks. At the beginning of a test week, the company would send a text message to members of the sales force in a given branch,... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Retail

06 May 2002
Research & Ideas

A Toolkit for Customer Innovation

regulatory, and quality control expertise. On average, the client eventually accepts only 15% of all new flavors for full market evaluation, and only 5% to 10% make their way to the marketplace. Meanwhile,... View Details

Keywords: by Stefan Thomke & Eric Von Hippel

21 Nov 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, November 21, 2017

their boundaries and in their domestic economies only a subset of their production stages. A key decision facing firms worldwide is the extent of control to exert over the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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