Publications

December 2016
Article

Fake It Till You Make It: Reputation, Competition, and Yelp Review Fraud

By: Michael Luca and Georgios Zervas

Consumer reviews are now part of everyday decision making. Yet, the credibility of these reviews is fundamentally undermined when businesses commit review fraud, creating fake reviews for themselves or their competitors. We investigate the economic incentives to commit... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Marketing Reference Programs

03 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why a Failed Startup Might Be Good for Your Career After All

career advancement, Gompers is comparing intercollegiate varsity athletes’ careers with non-athletes. (Spoiler alert: The athletes have more career success.) You Might Also Like: It’s All in a Name: Reputable Investors Help Startups Shine... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2023
Article

Can Purpose Foster Stakeholder Trust in Corporations

By: Ranjay Gulati and Franz Wohlgezogen

As part of institutional changes toward more responsible capitalism, firms increasingly articulate a purpose beyond simply profit as a central tenet of their governance. Management scholarship has noted the potential advantages of such purpose-focus for stakeholder... View Details

Keywords: Stakeholder Management; Moral Identity; Mission and Purpose; Trust; Corporate Governance; Business and Stakeholder Relations

January – February 2011
Article

Stop Holding Yourself Back

By: Anne Morriss, Robin J. Ely and Frances X. Frei

After working with hundreds of leaders in a wide variety of organizations and in countries all over the globe, the authors found one very clear pattern: when it comes to meeting their leadership potential, many people unintentionally get in their own way. Five barriers... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Personal Characteristics

04 Mar 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Consequences to Directors of Shareholder Activism

Keywords: by Ian D. Gow, Sa-Pyung Sean Shin & Suraj Srinivasan

January 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

DO & CO: Crafting Luxury in the Fast Lane (A)

By: Juan Alcácer, Esel Cekin, Michael Lee and Noah Roberson

In July 2023, Attila Dogudan, the chairman of DO & CO, a renowned international catering firm, found himself in a deep conversation with his two sons about a potential new venture: catering for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a significant step beyond their 31-year history... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Pandemics; Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Luxury; Food and Beverage Industry; Las Vegas

Web

History of Excellence - Doctoral

Community Do Yoon Kim Strategy Student Research Organizational Emplacement as a Response to Digital Threat: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores By: Ryan Raffaelli and Ryann Noe 01 SEP 2025 | Administrative Science Quarterly View Details

Blog

Take Control of Your Personal Brand

doesn’t happen overnight—and it is a continuous process. It may take some time to change how others see you. And throughout your career, your brand is likely to evolve. You may be known for certain specialized skills in your 20s, while you later develop a View Details

06 Sep 2016
First Look

September 6, 2016

full, clear, and succinct narrative for hiring managers. 2. “Borrow” reputation and legitimacy from others in your network, establishing innocence by association. Executive search firms can also act as references and sponsors. 3. Take a... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Web

Asia Pacific - Global

engagement and support could put customer satisfaction and TagHive’s reputation at risk. See more research Shanghai Staff Nancy Dai Managing Director and Executive Director, Harvard Center Shanghai; Executive Director, Asia-Pacific... View Details

14 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Curiosity, Not Coding: 6 Skills Leaders Need in the Digital Age

ever—cybersecurity, reputational risks, pandemics, social crises—executives need courage to make big bets. Executives we spoke to acknowledged that they mostly don’t feel psychologically safe, given the pressure they face from their... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards; Technology

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

outings, and becoming more strategic about their purchases. There's a renewed focus on investing in durable goods from reputable brands, seen as a long-term saving strategy despite the upfront cost. Slower rise, no return to pre-pandemic... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Consumer Products

Article

Third-party Punishment as a Costly Signal of Trustworthiness

By: Jillian J. Jordan, Moshe Hoffman, Paul Bloom and David G. Rand

Third-party punishment (TPP), in which unaffected observers punish selfishness, promotes cooperation by deterring defection. But why should individuals choose to bear the costs of punishing? We present a game theoretic model of TPP as a costly signal of... View Details

Keywords: Third-party Punishment; Trustworthiness; Behavior; Trust; Game Theory

Read Now

January 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Curriculum Associates: Turning the Page from Tradition to Innovation

By: John J-H Kim and Christine S. An

Set in Fall 2014, the traditional textbook publishing industry is being transformed by technological innovations and new student achievement standards. This case chronicles how Rob Waldron, CEO, and his team bring Curriculum Associates (CA), a traditional supplemental... View Details

Keywords: Education Technology; SaaS; Turnaround; Textbook Publishing; Innovation; Sales Cycle; HR Strategy; Privately-funded Businesses; Sustainable Growth; Product Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Publishing Industry

09 Sep 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Boundary Spanning in a For-Profit Research Lab: An Exploration of the Interface Between Commerce and Academe

Keywords: by Christopher C. Liu & Toby E. Stuart; Biotechnology

June 2025
Case

TagHive: Edtech Pricing and Distributor Decisions

By: Isamar Troncoso, Frank V. Cespedes and Stacy Straaberg

Education technology (edtech) company TagHive, founded in 2017, used a direct sales team and third-party distributors to sell its Class Saathi hardware and software solution to 300 clients, mainly primary and secondary schools in India. The product aimed to improve... View Details

January 2025
Case

Index and Active Investing: Vanguard and the New Frontier of Active ETFs

By: Marco Sammon, Luis M. Viceira and Jonathan Kanagasabai

This case explores Vanguard’s strategic decision-making process as it considers entering the growing market for actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Set in 2024, the case places students in the position of Rodney Comegys, Vanguard’s global head of the Equity... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry

September 2024
Case

InfraCredit and the Project Inception Facility

By: John Macomber, Namrata Arora and Maagatha Kalavadakken

Around the world, large infrastructure projects are frequently stymied by the high cost and high uncertainty of the project inception phase: the research and engineering and planning prior to financial close and start of construction. Could there be a new kind of... View Details

December 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Arcos Dorados: A QSR Recovery Plan

By: Forest Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

Arcos Dorados—McDonald’s largest independent franchisee, covering Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)—faced a pandemic that was disrupting the entire consumer foodservice business in 2020. With the exclusive right to own, operate, and sub-franchise McDonald’s... View Details