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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,110)
- People (3)
- News (387)
- Research (1,174)
- Events (18)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (459)
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- 2021
- Article
Consumer Disclosure
By: Tami Kim, Kate Barasz and Leslie John
As technological advances enable consumers to share more information in unprecedented ways, today’s disclosure takes on a variety of new forms, triggering a paradigm shift in what “disclosure” entails. This review introduces two factors to conceptualize consumer... View Details
Keywords: Disclosure; Passive Disclosure; Information; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Situation or Environment
Kim, Tami, Kate Barasz, and Leslie John. "Consumer Disclosure." Consumer Psychology Review 4 (2021): 59–69.
- Research Summary
The limits of reviews
Consumer reviews are an important source of information in the digital age. Yet there are limits to the role that reviews can play. In a case study, Professor Luca discusses the limits of reviews and how companies can create more comprehensive reputation systems... View Details
- August 2015
- Case
Yabbly (A)
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton
In November 2013, with less than 10 months of cash on hand, Tom Leung, the founder and CEO of Yabbly, must decide where to focus his resources. His startup, a question-and-answer application for shopping decisions, had benefited from a strong showing at the SXSW... View Details
Keywords: Startup; Mobile; Online Product Reviews; Consumer Products; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; North America; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle
Ghosh, Shikhar, and Christopher Payton. "Yabbly (A)." Harvard Business School Case 816-030, August 2015.
- June 2025
- Article
Who Benefits from Online Gig Economy Platforms?
By: Christopher T. Stanton and Catherine Thomas
Online labor platforms for short-term, remote work have many more job seekers than available jobs. Despite their relative abundance, workers capture a substantial share of the surplus from transactions. We draw this conclusion from demand estimates that imply workers'... View Details
Keywords: Gig Economy; Knowledge Workers; Online Platforms; Job Search; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Wages; Demand and Consumers
Stanton, Christopher T., and Catherine Thomas. "Who Benefits from Online Gig Economy Platforms?" American Economic Review 115, no. 6 (June 2025): 1857–1895.
- December 2000
- Background Note
Online Portals
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Sanjay Pothen
Describes the online portal business model. Analyzes the model, focusing on the tactics used to acquire new users, turn new users into repeat visitors, and monetize user traffic. Explains portals' revenue and cost drivers and their implications for pursuing aggressive... View Details
Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Sanjay Pothen. "Online Portals." Harvard Business School Background Note 801-305, December 2000.
- December 2000
- Background Note
Online Retailers
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown
Describes online retailers, companies that use the Internet to sell physical goods. Defines online retailers and describes different ways to categorize them. Explores their economic model and value proposition for consumers in comparison with offline retailers. Next,... View Details
Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Alastair Brown. "Online Retailers." Harvard Business School Background Note 801-306, December 2000.
- 06 Mar 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Consumer Protection in an Online World: An Analysis of Occupational Licensing
- May 2018
- Article
Using Online Prices for Measuring Real Consumption Across Countries
By: Alberto Cavallo, Erwin Diewert, Robert C. Feenstra, Robert Inklaar and Marcel P. Timmer
We show that online prices can be used to construct quarterly purchasing power parities (PPPs) with a closely matched set of goods and identical methodologies in a variety of developed and developing countries. Our results are close to those reported by the... View Details
Keywords: Purchasing Power Parity; International Economy; Online Prices; Billion Prices Project; Economics; Macroeconomics; Price; Internet and the Web; Spending; Economy; Global Range; Measurement and Metrics
Cavallo, Alberto, Erwin Diewert, Robert C. Feenstra, Robert Inklaar, and Marcel P. Timmer. "Using Online Prices for Measuring Real Consumption Across Countries." AEA Papers and Proceedings 108 (May 2018): 483–487.
- 2013
- Article
Where Not to Eat? Improving Public Policy by Predicting Hygiene Inspections Using Online Reviews
By: Jun Seok Kang, Polina Kuznetsova, Yejin Choi and Michael Luca
Restaurant hygiene inspections are often cited as a success story of public disclosure. Hygiene grades influence customer decisions and serve as an accountability system for restaurants. However, cities (which are responsible for inspections) have limited resources to... View Details
Keywords: Safety; Food; Governance Compliance; Mathematical Methods; Applications and Software; Public Administration Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry
Kang, Jun Seok, Polina Kuznetsova, Yejin Choi, and Michael Luca. "Where Not to Eat? Improving Public Policy by Predicting Hygiene Inspections Using Online Reviews." Proceedings of the Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (2013): 1443–1448.
- 21 Mar 2016
- HBS Case
Can Customer Reviews Be 'Managed?'
in 2013. Professor Thales Teixeira discusses TripAdvisor’s staggering success, how the company has forced an entire industry to change the way it considers (and purposefully influences) the online review... View Details
- 20 Sep 2004
- Research & Ideas
How Consumers Value Global Brands
In 2002, we carried out a two-stage research project in partnership with the market research company Research International/USA to find out how consumers in different countries value global brands. First, we conducted a qualitative study... View Details
- 09 Feb 2012
- Sharpening Your Skills
Sharpening Your Skills: Online Marketing
Questions To Be Answered: What's the strategy for managing consumer reviews on my site? Do people watch online video ads?. How can I get more out of my customer loyalty... View Details
- December 2019
- Article
The Impact of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment
By: Donald Ngwe, Kris J. Ferreira and Thales Teixeira
Many online stores are designed such that shoppers can easily access any available discounted products. We propose that deliberately increasing search frictions by placing small obstacles to locating discounted items can improve online retailers’ margins and even... View Details
Keywords: Online Retailing; Friction; Effor; Search Costs; Price Discrimination; Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Strategy; Price; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry
Ngwe, Donald, Kris J. Ferreira, and Thales Teixeira. "The Impact of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 56, no. 6 (December 2019): 944–959.
- January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
- Teaching Note
Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods
By: Jill Avery
Brandless, an online direct-to-consumer seller of upscale private-label consumer packaged goods (CPG), offered consumers a limited assortment of values-conscious products delivered directly to their homes with the simplicity of one fixed $3.00 price point that promised... View Details
- December 2020
- Article
Consumer Reactance to Promotional Favors
By: Marco Bertini and Aylin Aydinli
Promotional favors are an increasingly popular but seldom researched form of price promotion where the receipt of the saving by consumers depends on an action on their part that is nonmonetary in nature, such as completing a questionnaire, posting a review, or making a... View Details
Keywords: Promotional Favors; Conditional Discounts; Psychological Reactance; Price Promotions; Pricing; Marketing; Price; Consumer Behavior
Bertini, Marco, and Aylin Aydinli. "Consumer Reactance to Promotional Favors." Journal of Retailing 96, no. 4 (December 2020): 578–589.
- February 2009
- Background Note
An Introduction to Consumer Credit
By: Peter Tufano
This note reviews a variety of shorter-term consumer credit products in the U.S. with an emphasis on the types of products that low- and moderate-income consumers use. Included here are the following: credit cards, bank overdraft products, payday lending, personal... View Details
Tufano, Peter, Andrea Ryan, and Daniel Schneider. "An Introduction to Consumer Credit." Harvard Business School Background Note 209-107, February 2009.
- October 1995 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
Disney Consumer Products in Lebanon
By: John A. Quelch
The managing director of Disney Consumer Products for Europe and the Middle East is reviewing recent market research in Lebanon regarding the sales potential of Disney licensed products and assessing the pros and cons of several distribution options. View Details
Keywords: Distribution; Multinational Firms and Management; Market Entry and Exit; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Lebanon
Quelch, John A. "Disney Consumer Products in Lebanon." Harvard Business School Case 596-060, October 1995. (Revised October 1996.)
- August 2009
- Article
Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer
By: John Beshears and Katherine L. Milkman
We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by comparing the purchases online grocery customers make when redeeming $10-off coupons with the purchases they make without coupons. Controlling for customer fixed effects and other variables, we... View Details
Keywords: Mental Accounting; Windfalls; Marginal Propensity To Consume; Coupons; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Accounting; Cognition and Thinking; Retail Industry
Beshears, John, and Katherine L. Milkman. "Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 71, no. 2 (August 2009): 384–394.
- 2015
- Chapter
The Consumer Psychology of Online Privacy: Insights and Opportunities from Behavioral Decision Theory
By: Leslie K. John
John, Leslie K. "The Consumer Psychology of Online Privacy: Insights and Opportunities from Behavioral Decision Theory." In The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology, edited by Michael I. Norton, Derek D. Rucker, and Cait Lamberton. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
- 2019
- Working Paper
The Impact of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment
By: Donald Ngwe, Kris J. Ferreira and Thales Teixeira
Many online stores are designed such that shoppers can easily access any available discounted products. We propose that deliberately increasing search frictions by placing small obstacles to locating discounted items can improve online retailers’ margins and even... View Details
Keywords: E-commerce; Online Retailing; Friction; Effor; Search Costs; Price Discrimination; Consumer Behavior; Price; Search Technology
Ngwe, Donald, Kris J. Ferreira, and Thales Teixeira. "The Impact of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-080, January 2019.