Publications

2012
Working Paper

The Dark Side of the Vote: Biased Voters, Social Information, and Information Aggregation Through Majority Voting

We experimentally investigate information aggregation through majority voting when some voters are biased. In such situations, majority voting can have a "dark side", i.e. result in groups making choices inferior to those made by individuals acting alone. We develop a... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Voting

Read Now

Research Summary

Overview

By: Isamar Troncoso

Professor Troncoso's research explores problems related to digital marketplaces and AI applications in marketing, and combines toolkits from econometrics, causal inference, and machine learning. She has studied how different platform design choices can lead to... View Details

October 2014
Supplement

Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Susan J. Winterberg

Five years after the Great Recession, Honeywell's CEO Dave Cote and his executive team reflect on the choices they made to manage costs and earnings forecasts during that uncertain time. They discuss which cost cutting measures they decided to take and their personal... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Furloughs; Downsizing; Work Sharing; Short Time Work; Recessions; Earnings Forecast; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Cost Management; Executive Compensation; Crisis Management; Financial Crisis; Manufacturing Industry

September 2012 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Kyruus: Big Data's Search for the Killer App

By: Robert F. Higgins, Penrose O'Donnell and Mehul Bhatt

Kyruus is used in a course at HBS on Entrepreneurship in Healthcare IT and Services (EHITS). It describes a young company that has built a very large database on physicians. The company has had some early successful pilots with prominent customers, but it is now faced... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Business Startups; Boston

February 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Mission Related Investments at the Ford Foundation (A)

By: Shawn Cole, Michael Norris and T. Robert Zochowski

In 2017, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world, was preparing to meet with his board of directors to discuss beginning a mission related investments (MRI) program. Walker hoped to devote $1 billion of... View Details

Keywords: Mission-Related Investing; Philanthropy; Foundation; Endowments; Socially Responsible Investing; Investment; Institutional Investing; Investment Activism; Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States; New York (city, NY)

Research Summary

Overview

My research broadly examines design choices of management control systems, with a special focus on organizational culture as an informal control mechanism and how it interacts with other formal control system View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation

January 1988
Case

Santa Clara County Transportation Agency (A)

A manager is confronted with a choice between promoting a man, recommended through a careful evaluation process, or a woman, who scored slightly lower in the same process, and who is seen as a trouble maker. Appendix summarizes legal issues in affirmative action... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Laws and Statutes; Gender

July 1973 (Revised August 1987)
Case

Central Express Corp.

Deals with the choice between debt and equity as a vehicle for financing expansion. Introduces the concept of EBIT charts and raises a number of other issues (e.g. dilution, leverage, etc.). View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Financing and Loans

Find at Harvard

01 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: Judgment Calls

bear. Written by Harvard Business School Visiting Professor Thomas H. Davenport and independent consultant Brook Manville, the book shares the tales of organizations that made successful choices through team-led decisions. This excerpt... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas H. Davenport & Brook Manville; Consumer Products

February 2005 (Revised November 2006)
Case

InfoVision (A): Technology Transfer at Georgia Tech

InfoVision illustrates university technology transfer through the choices of a graduating doctoral student. Also explores the challenges of working across the scientific, business, and legal disciplines in the Georgia Tech transfer program. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Transformation; Higher Education; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Research and Development; Education Industry; Georgia (state, US)

19 Sep 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Say Again? Uncommon Advice for Common Business Problems

iStock Much has been accomplished by business leaders who turned left when told to turn right, who reached for the door instead of for the stars, who hired A when the search committee unanimously recommended B. The following research celebrates such unconventional... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

July 2000 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Guidant: Radiation Therapy

Describes a potential new approach to treating cardiac disease--radiation therapy. Guidant, a leading medical device maker, faces a choice about whether to pursue this new and risky technology and, if so with what strategy. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Decisions; Innovation Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Product Design; Corporate Strategy; Medical Specialties; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry

2015
Working Paper

What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?

By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

We survey 79 private equity investors with combined assets under management (AUM) of over $750 billion about their practices in firm valuation, capital structure, governance, and value creation. Investors rely primarily on internal rate of return (IRR) and multiples to... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Value Creation; Private Equity; Capital Structure; Valuation; Management Practices and Processes

SSRN

Read Now

03 Jun 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Platforms and Limits to Network Effects

Keywords: by Hanna Halaburda & Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

February 2014 (Revised May 2016)
Case

The Rawlinsons: Facing Life and Career Decisions as a Couple

By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman

The Rawlinsons, a young, ambitious, career-minded couple, are considering their life and career goals. They are both successful, have aspirations to serve in public office, and are negotiating important career choices as a couple. View Details

Keywords: Talent Management; Career Management; Career Planning; Organizational Behavior; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Careers; Talent and Talent Management; Human Capital; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; United States

October 1997
Case

Roslin Institute, The

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

Dr. Ian Willmut and the Roslin Institute have developed a revolutionary new technology--cloning. Now they are faced with some tough choices concerning going forward. How should they balance commercialization opportunities with societal concerns? View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Independent Innovation and Invention; Social Issues; Commercialization; Biotechnology Industry

Find at Harvard

24 Oct 2023
Cold Call Podcast

How the United States Air Force Accelerated AI Adoption

Keywords: Re: Maria P. Roche

2007
Working Paper

Coupled Search Processes: Why Is it so Difficult to Find that Organizational Design Matters?

By: Nicolaj Siggelkow and Jan Rivkin

Organizational design affects performance via coupled search processes. At low frequency, managers search for appropriate organizational designs. At higher frequency, managers use designs to search for high-performing operational choices. The two searches are coupled:... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Operations; Organizational Design; Performance; Networks; Research; Cognition and Thinking; Strategy

Read Now

April 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Randy Komisar: Virtual CEO

Randy Komisar serves as "virtual CEO" to numerous hi-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley. Explores Randy's role, his perspective on general management, and a choice between two opportunities in which he is considering investing his time. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Business or Company Management; Leadership; Business Startups; Management Teams; Technology Industry; California