Publications

February 2021
Article

The Department of Justice as a Gatekeeper in Whistleblower-Initiated Corporate Fraud Enforcement: Drivers and Consequences

By: Jonas Heese, Ranjani Krishnan and Hari Ramasubramanian

We examine drivers and consequences of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight of whistleblower cases of corporate fraud against the government. We find that the DOJ is more likely to intervene in and conduct longer investigations of cases that have a higher chance... View Details

Keywords: Whistleblowing; Department Of Justice; DOJ Enforcement; Performance Measures; False Claims Act; Crime and Corruption; Governance Compliance; Law Enforcement

SSRN

June 2020
Article

The Isolated Choice Effect and Its Implications for Gender Diversity in Organizations

By: Edward H. Chang, Erika L. Kirgios, Aneesh Rai and Katherine L. Milkman

We highlight a feature of personnel selection decisions that can influence the gender diversity of groups and teams. Specifically, we show that people are less likely to choose candidates whose gender would increase group diversity when making personnel selections in... View Details

Keywords: Behavior And Behavioral Decision Making; Organizational Studies; Decision Analysis; Economics; Decision Making; Behavior; Analysis; Organizations; Diversity; Gender

2022
Working Paper

The Lifesaving Benefits of Convenient Infrastructure: Quantifying the Mortality Impact of Abandoning Shallow Tubewells Contaminated by Arsenic in Bangladesh

By: Nina Buchmann, Erica Field, Rachel Glennerster and Reshmaan Hussam

We document the consequences of a public health campaign which led to the sudden abandonment of local water infrastructure by one-fifth of Bangladesh’s population. Households who experienced quasi-randomly distributed arsenic contamination, and thus were likely to... View Details

Keywords: Child Mortality; Arsenic; Unintended Consequences; Health Disorders; Safety; Outcome or Result; Bangladesh

2016
Working Paper

The Effect of Shareholder Litigation Risk on the Information Environment: The Case of Cross-Listed Firms

By: Anywhere Sikochi

I document the causal link between shareholder litigation risk and cross-listed firms’ information environment by exploiting a quasi-natural experiment in the form of a reduction in litigation risk resulting from the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Morrison v. National... View Details

Keywords: Cross-listing; Information Environment; Shareholder Litigation Risk; D＆O Insurance; Risk and Uncertainty; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business and Shareholder Relations

2013
Article

Inflated Applicants: Attribution Errors in Performance Evaluation by Professionals

By: S. A. Swift, D. Moore, Z. Sharek and F. Gino

When explaining others' behaviors, achievements, and failures, it is common for people to attribute too much influence to disposition and too little influence to structural and situational factors. We examine whether this tendency leads even experienced professionals... View Details

Keywords: Evaluations; Correspondence Bias; Selection Decisions; Attribution; Prejudice and Bias; Selection and Staffing; Decision Choices and Conditions; Performance Evaluation; Cognition and Thinking

October 2011
Supplement

An Interview with Jack Hughes, Founder and Chairman of TopCoder

By: David A. Garvin

TopCoder's crowdsourcing-based business model, in which software is developed through online tournaments, is presented. The case highlights how TopCoder has created a unique two-sided innovation platform consisting of a global community of over 225,0000 developers who... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Technological Innovation; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; Competition; Online Technology; Information Technology Industry

March 2011 (Revised October 2011)
Case

If We Ran the World

By: Hanna Halaburda, Radka Dohnalova and Aldo Sesia

Cindy Gallop launched IfWeRanTheWorld (IWRTW) in February 2010, as what the tech world called minimum viable product, in order to real-world test Gallop's "business of the future" concept while development was ongoing. IWRTW was conceived to bring together human good... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Network Effects

Educators

July 2010
Article

Board Interlocks and the Propensity to Be Targeted in Private Equity Transactions

By: Toby E. Stuart and Soojin Yim

In this paper, we examine the propensity for U.S. public companies to become targets for private equity-backed, take-private transactions. We consider the characteristics of 483 private equity-backed deals in the 2000-2007 period relative to public companies, and find... View Details

Keywords: Board Interlocks; Board Networks; Social Networks; Private Equity; Corporate Governance; Public Ownership; Market Transactions; Governing and Advisory Boards; United States

February 2007
Tutorial

Measuring Marketing Performance

By: John A. Quelch

In many organizations, marketing exists far from the executive suite and the boardroom. This tutorial instructs students how to improve the link between high level corporate strategy and the marketing function. First, students are exposed to three companies in which... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Performance Evaluation

11 Mar 2009
News

Asian footsteps in Africa

11 May 2020
News

Professor Frances Frei talks Uber, WeWork & more

13 Mar 2025
HBS Seminar

Sonny Tambe, Wharton

12 Oct 2016
HBS Seminar

Michelle Duguid, Olin Business School, Washington University

January 24, 2025
Article

Behaviorally Designed Training Leads to More Diverse Hiring

By: Cansin Arslan, Edward H. Chang, Siri Chilazi, Iris Bohnet and Oliver P. Hauser

Many organizations have shown interest in increasing the diversity of their workforces for various reasons. Collectively, they have spent millions of dollars and countless employee hours on diversity training. Yet, there is little empirical evidence that such training... View Details

Keywords: Training; Diversity; Selection and Staffing; Behavior; Outcome or Result; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Register to Read

Forthcoming
Article

Public Perception and Autonomous Vehicle Liability

By: Julian De Freitas, Xilin Zhou, Margherita Atzei, Shoshana Boardman and Luigi Di Lillo

The deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and the accompanying societal and economic benefits will greatly depend on how much liability AV firms will have to carry for accidents involving these vehicles, which in turn impacts their insurability and associated... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Judgments; Legal Liability; Insurance; Perception

October 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

AI and Brand Management: Promises and Perils

By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek

As AI gains traction across industries, companies anticipate that AI will revolutionize both backend processes and customer-facing interactions—with brands eager to leverage AI for tailored marketing materials and automated consumer engagements. Yet, despite a dramatic... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Brands and Branding; Reputation; Technology Adoption; Competitive Advantage

Educators