Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,708)
- Faculty Publications (1,043)
- September 2014
- Teaching Plan
Linden Lab: Crossing the Chasm
In early 2009, managers at Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, faced decisions about the company's growth strategy. Despite profound initial skepticism about demand for a user-generated virtual world that was not a traditional game, Second Life was... View Details
- September 2014
- Article
The Interrelationships Between Brand and Channel Choice
By: Scott Neslin, Kenshuk Jerath, Anand Bodapati, Eric T. Bradlow, John A. Deighton, Sonja Gensler, Leonard Lee, Elisa Montaguti, Rahul Telang, Raj Venkatesan, Peter C. Verhoef and Z. John Zhang
We propose a framework for the joint study of the consumer's decision of where to buy and what to buy. The framework is rooted in utility theory where the utility is for a particular channel/brand combination. The framework contains firm actions, the consumer search... View Details
- 2016
- Working Paper
Signaling without Certification: The Critical Role of Civil Society Scrutiny
By: Susan A. Kayser, John W. Maxwell and Michael W. Toffel
In response to stakeholders' growing concerns, companies are joining voluntary environmental programs to signal their superior environmental management capabilities. In contrast to the literature's focus on certification programs that require a third-party audit, we... View Details
Keywords: United Nations; Labor Standards; Supplier Relationship; Procurement; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Quality And Safety; Risk; Globalization; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Working Conditions; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Quality; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Reputation
- 2014
- Working Paper
Don't Take 'No' for an Answer: An Experiment with Actual Organ Donor Registrations
By: Judd B. Kessler and Alvin E. Roth
Over 10,000 people in the U.S. die each year while waiting for an organ. Attempts to increase organ transplantation have focused on changing the registration question from an opt-in frame to an active choice frame. We analyze this change in California and show it... View Details
- September 2014
- Article
Structural Models of Complementary Choices
By: Steven T. Berry, Ahmed Khwaja, Vineet Kumar, Andres Musalem, Kenneth C. Wilbur, Greg Allenby, Bharat Anand, Pradeep K. Chintagunta, W. Michael Hanemann, Przemyslaw Jeziorski and Angelo Mele
Complementary choices are important and pervasive yet occasionally elusive. Single consumers make complementary choices in purchase decisions (e.g., chips and salsa), product inter-operabilities (smartphones and networks), and dynamic decisions (current exercise and... View Details
- 2014
- Article
Thought Calibration: How Thinking Just the Right Amount Increases One’s Influence and Appeal
By: Daniella Kupor, Zakary L. Tormala, Michael I. Norton and Derek D. Rucker
Previous research suggests that people draw inferences about their attitudes and preferences based on their own thoughtfulness. The current research explores how observing other individuals make decisions more or less thoughtfully can shape perceptions of those... View Details
- June 2014 (Revised October 2015)
- Case
Molycorp: Financing the Production of Rare Earth Minerals (A)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield
Molycorp, the western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth minerals, was in the middle of a $1 billion capital expenditure project in its effort to become a vertically integrated supplier of rare earth minerals, oxides, and metals. Yet it had just reported lower... View Details
Keywords: Convertible Debt; Uncertainty; Competition; Startup; China; Supply ＆ Demand; Growth; Rare Earth Minerals; Discounted Cash Flows; Mining; Payoff Diagrams; Option Pricing; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Financial Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Vertical Integration; Valuation; Metals and Minerals; Mining Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Canada; California
- June 2014 (Revised March 2016)
- Teaching Note
Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal
By: Nancy F. Koehn
Keywords: General Management; Corporate Change And Sustainability; Turnaround; Howard Schultz; Leading Change; Starbucks; Change; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Growth and Development; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Management; Organizations; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Value; Retail Industry; Service Industry; North and Central America; Asia; Europe; South America
- June 2014
- Case
Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal
By: Nancy F. Koehn, Kelly McNamara, Nora N. Khan and Elizabeth Legris
Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal analyzes the turnaround and reconstruction of Starbucks Coffee Company from 2008 to 2014 as led by CEO and co-founder Howard Schultz. The case offers executives and students an opportunity to examine in depth how... View Details
Keywords: Howard Schultz; Starbucks; Transformation; Turnaround; Change; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Leadership; Organizations; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Value; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; North and Central America; Europe; Asia; South America; Middle East; Latin America
- Summer 2014
- Article
When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda
We present a theory for why it might be rational for a platform to limit the number of applications available on it. Our model is based on the observation that even if users prefer application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there... View Details
Keywords: Platform Governance; Direct Network Effects; Indirect Network Effects; Complements; Tragedy Of The Commons; Equilibrium Selection; Coordination; Foresight; Strategy; Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Balance and Stability; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Network Effects
- March 2014 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
Ukraine: On the Border of Europe and Eurasia
By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael M. Di Tella, Sogomon Tarontsi and Lavinia Teodorescu
In the fall of 2013, the people of Ukraine disagreed passionately whether their country should intensify ties with the European Union or Russia. After President Yanukovych rejected the free trade agreement with the EU in November, thousands of Ukrainians peacefully... View Details
Keywords: Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Judgments; Geopolitical Units; Country; Globalization; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Globalized Economies and Regions; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Growth and Development; History; Europe; Ukraine; European Union; Russia
- March 2014
- Case
MediaTek: From Feature Phones to Smartphones
By: Willy Shih
MediaTek was the third largest fabless semiconductor company in the world, and was the second largest supplier of the silicon microchips that powered mobile phones. Yet as the company's chairman reflected on his R&D strategy, he wondered why it hadn't moved faster on... View Details
- March 2014
- Article
Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life
By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams
Work/life balance is at best an elusive ideal and at worst a complete myth, today's senior executives will tell you. But by making deliberate choices about which opportunities they'll pursue and which they'll decline, rather than simply reacting to emergencies, leaders... View Details
- February 2014 (Revised May 2016)
- Case
The Rawlinsons: Facing Life and Career Decisions as a Couple
By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman
The Rawlinsons, a young, ambitious, career-minded couple, are considering their life and career goals. They are both successful, have aspirations to serve in public office, and are negotiating important career choices as a couple. View Details
- February 2014 (Revised August 2016)
- Case
Strava
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Sid Misra
Strava is a new fast-growing social network for the avid cyclist and runner. The Strava case traces the entrepreneurial journey of two serial entrepreneurs who have been co-founders in a prior venture, and who have co-founded Strava 3 years ago. The protagonists must... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Cycling; Biking; Running; Sports; Technology; Mobile App; Mobile; GPS; Motivation; Behavioral Science; Founders; Term Sheet; Investment; Terms; Silicon Valley; Lifestyle; Strava; Financing; Fundraising; Angel; Valuation; Growth; Forecast; Business Startups; Business Plan; Trends; Forecasting and Prediction; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Institutional Investing; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Management Succession; Growth Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Timing; Bicycle Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry; Sports Industry; Web Services Industry; California; New England
- February 2014
- Article
Gender Differences in Willingness to Guess
We present the results of an experiment that explores whether women are less willing than men to guess on multiple-choice tests. Our test consists of practice questions from SAT II subject tests; we vary whether a penalty is imposed for a wrong answer and the salience... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised November 2015)
- Background Note
Rational Choice and Managerial Decision-Making
By: Willy Shih
This note discusses Herbert Simon's notion of bounded rationality: how managers may sometimes make suboptimal choices because of their limited ability to access or process information. View Details
- December 2013
- Case
Bruce Allyn: Negotiating with the KGB (A)
Isolated by the KGB in Moscow, Harvard graduate student Bruce Allyn faces high-pressure negotiation tactics to recruit him for the Soviet spy agency. At the tense height of the Cold War, with CIA agents systematically being exposed and executed in Russia, Allyn was... View Details
- December 2013
- Supplement
Bruce Allyn: Negotiating with the KGB (B)
This case picks up (from the end of the "A" case) the detailed story of the KGB's high-pressure negotiations with Harvard doctoral student Bruce Allyn to recruit him as a secret asset for the Soviet spy agency. The "A" case describes how, at the tense height of the... View Details
- November 2013
- Teaching Note
8 Spruce Street
By: Arthur I Segel
The case begins in March 2009 during the depths of the recession with Forest City Ratner (FCR) Companies, a New York City based developer, facing the decision to halt construction half-way on 8 Spruce Street, the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere, or... View Details