Downside Risk - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

The Better Way to Forecast the Future

linked to the specifics of the downsides of getting it wrong,” Grushka-Cockayne says. Use history for confirmation Organizations serious about improving their forecasting abilities need to do better at tracking past results. While it’s... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Air Transportation; Transportation

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

my life,” said RJ Melman, president of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises and creator and developer of more than 13 restaurant concepts. “I know a good chunk of those people, this is a family business.” In 2012, the World Economic Forum published an assessment of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

industry who could also learn from knowledge spillovers. There were downsides to the new industry, however. The creation of the national image of a natural paradise enabled many businesses that were not environmentally sustainable to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization

says. Porter provides the example of a company focused on high-end features and service that is tempted during a recession to cut back in response to a customer’s price concerns. This is the wrong move, he says. By cutting back on what has made it successful, that... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

of the very nature of their mission and objectives. People feel good about contributing to and participating in helping those in need. Nonprofits provide a channel for them to do so. Q: Is there a downside to such widespread recognition?... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

10 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How to Get Companies to Make Investments That Benefit Everyone

The benefits of creating good aren’t often apparent to companies, since they often don’t reap the rewards. Thus, many tend to practice “loss aversion,” avoiding a known downside rather than taking the risk... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

22 May 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

A Luxury Industry Veteran Teaches the Importance of Aesthetics to Budding Business Leaders

Hilton.) Another team focused on the French streetwear company Vetements (French for “clothing”), an all-the-rage fashion company that specializes in expensive ironic hoodies and carefully crafted casual wear. Like any trendy fashion house, Vetements runs the View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Beauty & Cosmetics; Apparel & Accessories; Auto; Tourism

17 Aug 2021
Op-Ed

Dispensing Justice: The Case for Legalizing Cannabis Nationally

into inefficient local markets that face capital scarcity, absence of downside protection, and lack of differentiation. The illegal industry grows The devastating consequence is that the unregulated cannabis market continues to thrive as... View Details

Keywords: by Ashish Nanda and Tabatha Robinson

31 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

American Idle: Workers Spend Too Much Time Waiting for Something to Do

Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School. “But that $100 billion figure astounded us.” Amabile co-wrote a paper on the topic, The Downside of Downtime:The Prevalence and Work Pacing Consequences of Idle Time at Work,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

20 Oct 2010
Op-Ed

Export Competitiveness: Reversing the Logic

by 2010, this process can still continue for a number of years. But the downside is that without improvements in competitiveness, Vietnam will ultimately remain stuck at the level of prosperity given by low value-added, labor intensive... View Details

Keywords: by Christian Ketels

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

What’s on HBS faculty members’ reading list for summer 2021? Which books are most meaningful to them and why? Below, faculty share their top picks, ranging from biographies and memoirs to their colleagues’ latest works. Julia Austin: Social justice and the Obamas I... View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

Web

2024 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

nominal and real interest rates in the last four decades, and how their recent trends and their potential evolution in a world characterized by structural changes in the way economies are organized and in geopolitical tail risks might... View Details

08 May 2015
News

A new view of the cost of equity and capital requirements for banks

possibly substantial downside of heightened capital requirements. “Over the last 40 years, lower risk banks have higher stock returns on a risk-adjusted or even a raw basis, consistent with a stock market... View Details

01 Aug 2016
Blog Post

Reflecting on the Value of an MBA

capped the downside risk by getting an MBA from Harvard. This means you also bought a “put” option. Your working life will now have a pretty well-established foundation; if your first few wild ideas don’t... View Details

19 Nov 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

E-Santa: Is Retail Ready for Digital Christmas?

at risk of losing them. Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink Mass-market retailers, particularly big-box "category killers," are under critical pressure from online competitors. Why Online Retailers Should Hide... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

10 Nov 2008
What Do You Think?

How Much Can You Ask of Your Customers?

Summing Up Is customer volunteerism combined with "ownership" a double-edged sword? It's seems okay to involve customers in providing ideas for new products and processes. Encourage them to refer new business. But beware the View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

01 May 2000
What Do You Think?

Can You Hard-Wire Performance?

Can you design processes to reflect the promises implicit in hard-wiring?; (4) Do you have the people, incentives, and technology to deliver on the promise?; (5) Are you big enough?; (6) Do you have the financial capability to protect against View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Jul 2019
What Do You Think?

Are Super Stretch Goals Only for the Very Young?

audacious goals among managers in some parts of the world to a lack of wealth, resources, and the risk aversion that accompanies these conditions. Sandeep, on the other hand, citing those who have risen from poverty to achieve... View Details