by James Sebenius - Publications - Faculty & Research

26 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

Lipstick Tips: How Influencers Are Making Over Beauty Marketing

products—as less credible and less trustworthy, according to research by recent Harvard Business School MBA graduate Alessia Vettese. “People used to watch celebrities on the red carpet talking about what they were wearing, or they would... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products; Beauty & Cosmetics

23 Nov 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Self Control and Commitment: Can Decreasing the Liquidity of a Savings Account Increase Deposits?

Keywords: by John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Christopher Harris & Jung Sakong; Banking

16 Feb 2023
HBS Case

ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?

The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Financial Services

23 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Three-Dimensional Strategy: Winning the Multisided Platform

by facilitating direct connections between multiple types of affiliated customers, which most often leads to network effects. Think of what a shopping mall accomplishes in bringing together a multitude of sellers and buyers who interact... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

help-friendly organization has to be actively nurtured, however, because helpfulness among colleagues does not arise automatically: competition, pride, or distrust may get in the way. The trickiness of this management challenge-to increase a discretionary behavior that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

Latest Isn’t Always Greatest: Why Product Updates Capture Consumers

described exactly the same way.” Garcia-Rada is lead author on a new working paper about the study, co-written with Leslie John, the James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration at HBS, and Michael Norton, the Harold M. Brierley... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products; Retail

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

Editor's note: Every year, HBS Professor Clayton Christensen teaches students that well-tested academic theories can help them succeed not just in business, but in life. He expounds upon those lessons in his forthcoming book, How Will You Measure Your Life? Co-authored... View Details

10 Jul 2023
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2023

Souls, Healthy Minds by philosopher John Kaag. This book is a fantastic summary of the life and work of William James, the father of modern psychology, and a professor right here at Harvard. James endured... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 2004 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Johnson & Johnson's Corporate Credo

By: Thomas R. Piper

No corporate credo is better known than that of Johnson & Johnson. Describes the history of the credo, including the credo challenge initiated by the CEO, James Burke, in 1975 and the role the credo played during the Tylenol poisoning crisis. View Details

Keywords: History; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Corporate Accountability; Reputation; Crisis Management; Corporate Governance; Management Teams

Citation

Educators

26 May 2022
HBS Case

Apple vs. Feds: Is iPhone Privacy a Basic Human Right?

championing privacy as controversy was swirling around an extensive US government surveillance program that had been disclosed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden had leaked information indicating that... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

01 Aug 2022
What Do You Think?

Does Religious Belief Affect Organizational Performance?

the leader's role in his book, Win From Within: Build Organizational Culture for Competitive Advantage. References: John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett, Corporate Culture and Performance (The Free Press, 1992). Zhihui, Gu and Liang, Hao... View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

10 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

Has #MeToo Changed How Hollywood Hires?

be particularly sympathetic to #MeToo’s call to empower women and are the main driver of the shift to hire more women following the scandal, write Hong Luo and Laurina Zhang, the paper's authors. Luo is the James Dinan and Elizabeth... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Media & Broadcasting

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

Sam Walton: Great From the Start

fully the power of the idea. Once seizing on it, never wavering from it became the centerpiece of Wal-Mart's greatness. Sam Walton That was still a long time in the future. Butler Brothers was not thrilled by Walton's freelancing ways,... View Details

Keywords: by Richard S. Tedlow; Retail

30 May 2023
Research & Ideas

Can AI Predict Whether Shoppers Would Pick Crest or Colgate?

you they would pay more than they’re actually willing to pay. They say they would choose something that they don’t actually choose in practice,” says James Brand, an economist for Microsoft, who cowrote the working paper with Israeli and... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

13 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding

real-world challenges and anxieties faced by increasing numbers of Americans.” As HBS professor Anat Keinan explains, "Today, underdog brand biographies are being used by both large and small companies... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

auto market in the 1950s. The industry leader, unbothered by competition and looming threats, began to coast on its former glory, however, and bypass such areas as consumer preferences and industry innovation. View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

04 Feb 2022
Book

Beyond the Cold War: Reinventing Socialism in 5 Countries

Although many view socialism through the rigid lens of Soviet orthodoxy, it has always been a work in progress and an evolving and adaptable ideology on a global scale, says Harvard Business School Marvin Bower Associate Professor Jeremy Friedman. In his new book, Ripe... View Details