Consumer Power - Publications - Faculty & Research

02 Dec 2010
What Do You Think?

Making Right Choices: Art or Science?

explores choices we make as consumers of products and services, many of which she has observed in her numerous experiments. Her definition of choice is "the ability to exercise control over ourselves and our environment. In order to... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

March 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells and Carole A. Winkler

In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States in November 2016 had triggered a national storm of protests, and many attributed Trump’s victory to... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

Citation

Educators

Purchase

08 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 8

structural estimation methods. Our results confirm the belief expressed by industry experts that in the fast-food drive-thru industry, customers trade off price and waiting time. More interestingly, our estimates indicate that consumers... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 16

technologies that allow books to be published, distributed, and sold to consumers electronically. New competitors like Amazon and Apple attacked the traditional industry structure, creating many uncertainties over the long-term viability... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’

writing." Levitt deployed that power again and again in his books and numerous HBR articles, including "The Globalization of Markets." In it, he described "a new commercial reality—the emergence of global markets for... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education; Retail

08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

great-grandfather, the business editor and analyst Henry Varnum Poor, to 2 recent volumes, published while he was in his 80s: Inventing the Electronic Century: The Epic Story of the Consumer Electronics and Computer Industries and Shaping... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 May 2019
What Do You Think?

What Should the Leadership of YouTube Do?

barred People already consume tabloid newspapers, racist propaganda, biased news broadcasts, and pornography willingly. Let them at least know how the general public categorizes such materials Everyone benefits from such a system. Viewers... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

19 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Isn't Business Research More Relevant to Business Practitioners?

challenging, is achievable. Take HBS colleague Benjamin G. Edelman, an expert in online markets whose research focuses on consumer protection related to online businesses. “My research is made better by choosing questions that are... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

22 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Name Your Price. Really.

relationships between people, and don't necessarily need to be balanced evenly. It's the kind of interaction we have when taking a friend out to dinner. "If you give me a dollar, I may not feel the need to give you back the dollar immediately," says Santana.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

04 Dec 2000
What Do You Think?

Have We Overdone Deregulation and Privatization?

consumers were that deregulation: (1) unleashes the power of a self-correcting free market (Jeff Struck), giving customers services at prices they are willing to pay and quality levels that they are willing... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

09 Jun 2015
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Social Media

Using social media to advance your marketing is a potentially powerful and low-cost tool. But the risk is potentially powerful, too—allowing consumers to co-create your brand is enough to induce night sweats... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Advertising

13 Jun 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

That Costs HOW Much?

Pricing the Right Price for You? Not every industry or company can benefit from performance-based pricing. But where there is a fit, PBP can be a powerful tool that merges the interests of buyers and sellers. How Our Brain Determines if... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

17 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is There Help for the Big Ticket Buyer?

they have alternatives. Once this love affair begins, the homebuyer has often effectively thrown away their chief source of power in the negotiation, their BATNA. Research that examined why consumers so... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman

25 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Cyber-Marketing: Scouting the Digital Communications Frontier

done. Much of its future will lie in the background of consumer life, where, like plumbing, it will be indispensable but seldom conspicuous. Deighton and Barwise see digital communications as the most recent in a series of advances that... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs

28 Jul 2016
Op-Ed

Where is TripAdvisor for Doctors?

persuade them to reciprocate by adding reviews themselves. In addition, you need a business model that monetizes the site traffic without diminishing the site’s credibility. Once these issues are resolved, health care consumers will... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Health

23 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Status: When and Why It Matters

Consumers pay handsomely for products that are considered the best of the best in their league, whether they are the fastest cars, the fanciest handbags, or the finest wines. But for what, exactly, are they paying a premium? The superior... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Big Messages, Small Screens, Many Choices

is, if the app is the way we interact with the brands, how do you get me to be one of your favorite apps?" Gupta said that a successful app must provide obvious, unique value—and meet consumers where they live. As an example, he cited the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Peeling Back the Global Brand

powerful countries—homes of transnationals—are less persuaded by the dimensions," said Holt. And as national borders become less important, niches or pockets of consumer preferences become more... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

29 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Creating the Perfect Super Bowl Ad

question whether ads, including the over-the-top Super Bowl spots, have become too entertaining, says Thales S. Teixeira, an assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School. In upcoming research, Why, When and How Much to Entertain View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Advertising; Media & Broadcasting

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