Publications

October 2021
Article

Communicating Resource Scarcity and Interpersonal Connection

By: Grant E. Donnelly, Anne V. Wilson, Ashley V. Whillans and Michael I. Norton

Consumers often cite insufficient time or money as an excuse for rejecting social invitations. We explore the effectiveness of these excuses in preserving interpersonal relationships. Six studies—including perceptions of couples planning their wedding—demonstrate that... View Details

Keywords: Time; Interpersonal Relationships; Communication; Money; Relationships; Interpersonal Communication

15 Nov 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Dynamic Interplay of Inequality and Trust: An Experimental Study

Keywords: by Ben Greiner, Axel Ockenfels & Peter Werner

January 2013 (Revised March 2022)
Case

The Origins and Development of Silicon Valley

By: Tom Nicholas and James Lee

On October 1, 1891, as Senator Leland Stanford cut the ribbon at the ceremony gifting 8,000-acres of his Palo Alto, California, stock farm to a new, 559-student university bearing his name and seeking to produce "useful" in addition to "cultured" graduates, the... View Details

Keywords: Silicon Valley; History; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; United States

Educators

2020
Book

Business, Ethics and Institutions: The Evolution of Turkish Capitalism in Global Perspectives

By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones

This book is the first systematic scholarly study on the business history of Turkey and its predecessor the Ottoman Empire from the nineteenth century until the present. It places the distinctive characteristics of capitalism in Turkey within a global and comparative... View Details

Keywords: Capitalism; Corruption; Business History; Ethics; Economic Systems; Crime and Corruption; Middle East; Central Asia; Turkey

January 25, 2021
Blog Post

Lower Income Translates to Fewer Happy Experiences—Here Is How We Can Fix It

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz and Adam Eric Greenberg

Can money actually buy happiness? Research shows that having more money makes people evaluate their lives more favorably (what researchers call “life satisfaction”). Surprising as it may seem, whether money leads to greater life satisfaction because it makes people... View Details

Keywords: Life Satisfaction; Social Justice; Money; Happiness; Satisfaction; Well-being

November 2012
Article

Empirical Observations on Longer-term Use of Incentives for Weight Loss

By: Leslie K. John, George Loewenstein and Kevin Volpp

Behavioral economic-based interventions are emerging as powerful tools to help individuals accomplish their own goals, including weight loss. Deposit contract incentive systems give participants the opportunity to put their money down toward losing weight, which they... View Details

Keywords: Weight Loss; Obesity; Behavioral Economics; Intervention; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives

October 2015
Teaching Plan

The Coca-Cola Company's Case for Creative Transformation

By: Thales Teixeira

This Teaching Plan is to be used with the Video Case "The Coca-Cola Company's Case for Creative Transformation" (HBS No. 815-714) View Details

Research Summary

Managing Workplace Reforms and Organization-Wide Transformations

Richard E. Walton is studying (with doctoral candidate Scott Hamlin and research associate Kathleen Scharf) the development and diffusion of new forms of union-management partnership together with other new practices in the steel industry. To test and elaborate... View Details

2021
Working Paper

The Changing Role of Business in Society

By: Michael E. Porter

Business interaction with the U.S. government, historically based on securing industry or company special interests at the expense of the public good, has enabled and furthered government dysfunction. Gridlock within the American political system has precluded the... View Details

October 2009 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

Genzyme Center (A), (B) & (C)

By: Michael W. Toffel

Teaching Note for [610008], [610009], and [610010]. View Details

Keywords: Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Environmental Operations; Environmental Protection; Environmental Regulation; Standard Setting; Standards; Environmental Accounting; Engineering; Governance; Energy; Economics; Operations; Projects; Social Enterprise; Infrastructure; Construction Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Real Estate Industry

19 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

Political Turmoil and Mexico’s Economy

history, HBS assistant professor Noel Maurer considers these questions and opens the door to other queries involving issues of economics and governance that reach well beyond... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

February 2007 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Punjab and Kerala: Regional Development in India

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Between 2000 and 2004, India's economy grew by 6.35%. Focuses on the states of Punjab and Kerala, which emphasized sharply different development strategies. The states had to decide whether to focus their investment efforts on physical capital or improving social... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Capital; Investment; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Social Issues; Kerala; Punjab

Educators

2010
Book

Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism

By: Peter Wehner and Arthur C. Brooks

Popular opinion would have us believe that America's free market system is driven by greed and materialism, resulting in gross inequalities of wealth, destruction of the environment, and other social ills. Even proponents of capitalism often refer to the free market as... View Details

Keywords: Capitalism; Economic Systems; Ethics; Moral Sensibility

2007
Working Paper

Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal

By: Quy-Toan Do and Lakshmi Iyer

This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the geographic, economic and social factors that contributed to the spread of civil war in Nepal over the period 1996-2006. This within-country analysis complements existing cross-country studies on the same subject. Using a... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; War; Poverty; Nepal

27 Jun 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Inter-Generational Investment

Keywords: by Nava Ashraf, Natalie Bau, Corinne Low, and Kathleen McGinn

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

direction, resulting in an excessive number of brands and factories organized nationally in a Europe undergoing economic integration, and a virtually autonomous business in the... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

April 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

The Blair Wealth Project: Antecedents and Prospects

By: Huw Pill and Ingrid Vogel

Discusses the macroeconomic and political situation in the United Kingdom from the end of World War II through 2001. Focuses on the interactions among macroeconomic performance, labor relations, the corporate governance system, and social services. In particular,... View Details

Keywords: Welfare; Corporate Governance; Labor and Management Relations; Government and Politics; Macroeconomics; United Kingdom

Educators