Publications

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2006
Working Paper

The Costs and Benefits of Undoing Egocentric Responsibility Assessments in Groups

By: Eugene M. Caruso, Nicholas Epley and Max H. Bazerman

April–May 2021
Article

The Effect of Retaliation Costs on Employee Whistleblowing

By: Jonas Heese and Gerardo Pérez Cavazos

We use large increases in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to study the effects of expected retaliation costs on employee whistleblowing. Increases in UI benefits reduce the costs that arise from a job loss, one of the costliest forms of retaliation. We find that... View Details

Keywords: Employee Whistleblowing; Retaliation Costs; Labor Unemployment Insurance; Workplace Safety Inspections

SSRN

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2018
Working Paper

Corporate Refinancing, Covenants, and the Agency Cost of Debt

By: Daniel Green

How valuable are restrictive debt covenants in reducing the agency costs of debt? I exploit the revealed preference decision to refinance fixed-coupon bonds, which weighs observable interest rate savings against the unobservable costs of a change in restrictive... View Details

Keywords: Covenants; Refinancing; Corporate Bonds; Agency Costs; Debt Policy; Borrowing and Debt; Bonds; Interest Rates

Research Summary

Cost Management Systems

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Robert S. Kaplan continues to explore the design and use of activity-based cost management systems for manufacturing and service companies. His most recent work, done collaboratively with Professor Michael E. Porter, applies time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC)... View Details

February 1997 (Revised July 2001)
Background Note

Introduction to Activity-Based Costing

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Introduces the fundamental notions of activity-based costing (ABC). Motivates ABC by means of a simple example, a single and a diversified pen factory. Proceeds to show how ABC assigns costs more accurately to products and customers by: 1) identifying the activities... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management

01 Sep 2021
News

The Problem of Social Benefit

01 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Benefits of Oversharing

conclusions about the costs of hiding information carry implications for individuals and companies alike. It turns out that who benefits from disclosing information has everything to do with how they reveal... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2023
Technical Note

How Decentralized are Layer 1 Protocols? The Costs and Benefits of Decentralization in the Blockchain Ecosystem

By: Marco Di Maggio

27 Feb 2012
News

Economist: Clean Air Regs Cost U.S. $21 Billion A Year But Produce $100 Billion In Benefits

2013
Working Paper

The Impact of Conformance and Experiential Quality on Healthcare Cost and Clinical Performance

By: Claire Senot, Aravind Chandrasekaran, Peter T. Ward and Anita L. Tucker

The quality of operational processes is an important driver of performance in hospitals. In particular, processes that reliably deliver both evidence-based and patient-centered care, which we call conformance and experiential quality, respectively, have been argued to... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Experiential Quality; Conformance Quality; Clinical Outcomes; Cost Efficiency; Quality; Service Operations; Health Care and Treatment; Performance; Outcome or Result; Health Industry

Web

3.6 VA Benefits - MBA

3. Financial Obligations 3.6 VA Benefits Welcome to HBS Being a Student at HBS 1. Academic Information & Policies 2. Integrity & Standards of Conduct 3. Financial Obligations 3.1 Student Accounts 3.2 Financial Aid 3.3 Student View Details

December 2017
Article

Overall Cost Comparison of Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedures with Endoscopist- or Anesthesia-Supported Sedation by Activity-Based Costing Techniques

By: Richard A. Helmers, James A. Dilling, Christopher R. Chaffee, Mark V. Larson, Bradly J. Narr, Derek A. Haas and Robert S. Kaplan

Endoscopic/Colonoscopic procedures are done either with gastroenterologist-administered conscious sedation or with anesthesia-administered sedation with propofol. Anesthesia-administered sedation has medical and patient benefits but is more expensive to administer. We... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Cost; Activity Based Costing and Management

Web

Benefits | Information Technology

a difference in the world, while scaling the School’s impact and pedagogy. By removing some of the barriers to learning, like travel cost and logistics, we can allow more people to benefit from, and... View Details

June 1997 (Revised January 1999)
Background Note

Understanding Costs for Management Decisions

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Defines types of costs--current, sunk, opportunity, relevant, differential--and their use in management and management decision making. Contrasts single-period and multiple-period cost analysis. View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decision Making

11 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Adding Time to Activity-Based Costing

To improve any business, managers need to understand how much it costs to produce a profitable product. It seems a simple task, but the process of securing and analyzing the data can be incredibly complex and organizationally taxing. In... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

Article

Quantifying the Benefits from a Care Coordination Program for Tracheostomy Placement in Neonates

By: Christen Caloway, Alisa Yamasaki, Kevin M. Callans, Mahek Shah, Robert S. Kaplan and Christopher Hartnick

Value-based care models are becoming instrumental in structuring clinical care delivery in our healthcare climate. Our objective was to determine the value associated with implementation of a Family-Centered Care Coordination (FCCC) program for neonates undergoing... View Details

Keywords: Family-centered Care; Value-based Healthcare; Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Health Care and Treatment; Value; Activity Based Costing and Management

2012
Article

The Cost and Timing of Financial Distress

By: Christopher Parsons

Assessments of the trade-off theory have typically compared the present value of tax benefits to the present value of bankruptcy costs. We verify that this comparison overwhelmingly favors tax benefits, suggesting that firms are under-leveraged. However, when we... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy

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Disease management programs aim to reduce cost by improving the quality of care for chronic diseases. Evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. Reducing health care spending sufficiently to cover program costs has proved particularly challenging. This study uses a... View Details

January 2005 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Parisian: productivity and selling cost

By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han

Presents the dilemma facing George Jones with respect to the high selling cost at Parisian Department Stores. The challenges to be considered reflect issues at different levels of the organization, including individual salespeople, the store itself, and the merchandise... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Executive Compensation; Production; Sales; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry