Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,708)
- Faculty Publications (1,043)
- November 2013
- Article
Simplification and Saving
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
The daunting complexity of important financial decisions can lead to procrastination. We evaluate a low-cost intervention that substantially simplifies the retirement savings plan participation decision. Individuals received an opportunity to enroll in a retirement... View Details
- October 2013 (Revised November 2016)
- Case
Carbon Engineering
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Sid Misra
Dr. David Keith, President of Carbon Engineering, a company based in Calgary, Alberta, is commercializing a technology to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The company plans to market the captured CO2 to produce low carbon transportation fuels in... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Government Legislation; Technological Innovation; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Risk and Uncertainty; Research and Development; Transportation; Information Infrastructure; Energy; Forecasting and Prediction; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Transportation Industry; Utilities Industry; Technology Industry; Canada; United States; China; India
- October 2013 (Revised April 2015)
- Case
Myomo: Getting Sales in Motion
By: Frank V. Cespedes, Shikhar Ghosh and Matthew Preble
In late 2012, the management team of Myomo, a startup which had designed a unique myoelectric arm brace for patients with dysfunctional arms, was deciding which of the three sales models the company had tested to pursue as its sales strategy going forward. Each model... View Details
- Article
Unexpected Benefits of Deciding by Mind Wandering
By: Colleen Giblin, Carey K. Morewedge and Michael I. Norton
The mind wanders, even when people are attempting to make complex decisions. We suggest that such mind wandering—allowing one's thoughts to wander until the "correct" choice comes to mind—can positively impact people's feelings about their decisions. We compare... View Details
- September 2013
- Article
Converging to the Lowest Common Denominator in Physical Health
By: Leslie K. John and Michael I. Norton
Objective: This research examines how access to information on peer health behaviors affects one's own health behavior. Methods: We report the results of a randomized field experiment in a large corporation in which we introduced walkstations (treadmills... View Details
- Article
No Evidence for an Effect of Testosterone Administration on Delay Discounting in Male University Students
By: Georgia Rada Ortner, Matthias Wibral, Anke Becker, Thomas Dohmen, Dietrich Klingmüller, Armin Falk and Bernd Weber
Intertemporal choices between a smaller sooner and a larger delayed reward are one of the most important types of decisions humans face in their everyday life. The degree to which individuals discount delayed rewards correlates with impulsiveness. Steep delay... View Details
- September 2013
- Article
Testimonials Do Not Convert Patients from Brand to Generic Medication
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Gwendolyn Reynolds
Objectives: To assess whether the addition of a peer testimonial to an informational mailing increases conversion rates from brand name prescription medications to lower-cost therapeutic equivalents, and whether the testimonial's efficacy increases when... View Details
- September–October 2013
- Article
The Role of Organizational Scope and Governance in Strengthening Private Monitoring
By: Lamar Pierce and Michael W. Toffel
Governments and other organizations often outsource activities to achieve cost savings from market competition. Yet such benefits are often accompanied by poor quality resulting from moral hazard, which can be particularly onerous when outsourcing the monitoring and... View Details
Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Governance Compliance; Policy; Management Practices and Processes; Demand and Consumers; Market Design; Market Entry and Exit; Market Transactions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Structure; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Expectations; Practice; Transportation; Transportation Industry; Service Industry; United States; New York (state, US)
- July–August 2013
- Article
Leadership Lessons from the Chilean Mine Rescue
By: Faaiza Rashid, Amy C. Edmondson and Herman B. Leonard
Three years ago, when a cave-in at the San José mine in Chile trapped 33 men under 700,000 metric tons of rock, experts estimated the probability of getting them out alive at less than 1%. Yet, after spending a record 69 days underground, all 33 were hoisted up to... View Details
- June 2013 (Revised January 2024)
- Case
Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-hê Hsieh and Lara Adamsons
Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details
Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland
- June 2013 (Revised September 2016)
- Supplement
Governance and Sustainability at Nike (B)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-he Hsieh and Lara Adamsons
Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details
Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland
- June 2013 (Revised August 2020)
- Case
Bonnie Road
By: Arthur I Segel, John H. Vogel, Jr. and Lisa Strope
Victor Alexander was intrigued by the packet of papers that lay in front of him. The papers comprised a brochure that Garden State Bank had put together in an effort to sell the Bonnie Road Distribution Center in Somerset, New Jersey, for $9.7 million. It was April... View Details
- Article
The Profits of Power: Commerce and Realpolitik in Eurasia
By: Rawi Abdelal
Although the energy trade is the single most important element of nearly all European countries' relations with Russia, Europe has been divided by both worldview and practice. Why, in the face of the common challenge of dependence on imported Russian gas, have national... View Details
Keywords: Performance; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Profit; Framework; Corporate Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Policy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Government and Politics; Energy Industry; Europe; Russia; France; Germany; Italy
- May 2013
- Case
Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand
By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong
Altius Golf is the clear leader in the golf ball market despite a long-term decline in the number of golfers and a drop in sales following the financial crisis. The firm has maintained its position by introducing generations of advanced, super-premium golf balls that... View Details
- May 2013
- Teaching Plan
High Wire Act: Credit Suisse and Contingent Capital
By: Clayton Rose and David Lane
Late in 2010, Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan and his team considered whether or not to issue contingent capital, which Swiss regulators would require by 2019. They faced a number of substantial issues, including: Would contingent capital actually work as conceptualized... View Details
- April 2013
- Article
An fMRI Investigation of Racial Paralysis
By: Michael I. Norton, Malia F. Mason, Joseph A. Vandello, Andrew Biga and Rebecca Dyer
We explore the existence and underlying neural mechanism of a new norm endorsed by both black and white Americans for managing interracial interactions: "racial paralysis," the tendency to opt out of decisions involving members of different races. We show that people... View Details
- March 2013 (Revised July 2014)
- Supplement
Bay Partners (B)
By: Josh Lerner and Lauren Barley
In December 2012, Salil Deshpande has rejoined Bay Partners (Bay), which had been restructured following the 2010 departures of three of its general partners. Life was good for Deshpande: his firm had distributed roughly $1 billion to its limited partners (LPs) over... View Details
- Article
The Business of Business Schools: Restoring a Focus on Competing to Win
By: Robert Simons
As business leaders worry about the decline of American competitiveness, business schools are responding by changing their curriculums. But are the topics and approaches taught in today's business schools part of the solution or part of the problem? In this paper, I... View Details
Keywords: Business Schools; Purpose Of Business Schools; Management Education; Business School Curriculum; Strategy Execution; U.S. Competitiveness; Capitalism; Management Profession; Innovation; Competing To Win; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Trends; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Design; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Innovation and Management
- January 2013
- Case
Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (A)
By: Willy Shih and Ying Zhou
Managers at Cabot Corporation are faced with deciding the future of its fuel cell program. The (A) case recounts the view of the business manager and the technical project lead, and the (B) case describes the perspective of a senior manager who is the head of the New... View Details
Keywords: Technical Decision-making; Decision-making Process; Fuel Cells; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Judgments; Business Plan; Business Exit or Shutdown; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts; United States
- January 2013
- Supplement
Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (B)
By: Willy Shih and Ying Zhou
Managers at Cabot Corporation are faced with deciding the future of its fuel cell program. The (A) case recounts the view of the business manager and the technical project lead, and the (B) case describes the perspective of a senior manager who is the head of the New... View Details
Keywords: Technical Decision-making; Decision Making Process; Fuel Cells; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Judgments; Business Plan; Business Exit or Shutdown; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Massachusetts