consumer choice - Publications - Faculty & Research

12 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

The Unexpected Link Between Cadavers and Careers

process." That said, the study's implications extend beyond cadaver donations. To Anteby, who teaches the MBA elective Managing Human Capital, the findings offer proof that our career choices directly affect other major life... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education; Health

06 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

The Best Place for Retirement Funds

thinking about where to hold them, specifically, inside or outside of tax-deferred accounts. "Getting this decision right can be pretty close to a free lunch," says Bergstresser, who with colleague James Poterba, a professor at MIT's Department of Economics,... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

20 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

When Predicting Other People's Preferences, You're Probably Wrong

implications for anyone looking to impress others, for those who are tasked with forecasting consumer behavior, or for salespeople who consult with customers on prospective purchases. In short, it’s dangerous to predict what others will... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

19 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019

health-economics literature has done a better job documenting consumer-choice mistakes in insurance and treatment choices than explaining why those mistakes occur, it is clear that we should not ignore these mistakes in our analyses. We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

An Organization Your Customers Understand

consumer products. Finally, a series of cubes represents major customers. The shapes lie scattered on your desk. Your job is to fit the pieces together. Do you place the spheres on top of the blocks so that functions report to the... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

04 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

'I Know Why You Voted for Trump' and Other Motivation Misperceptions

studies consumer decision-making, with a particular interest in how we make sense of other people’s choices. Just five days after the election, Barasz conducted an online survey that asked Trump voters what spurred them to vote for the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

April 2021
Teaching Note

Social Media War 2021: Snap vs. Facebook vs. TikTok

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

This teaching note provides analysis and a teaching plan for the Social Media War 2021: Snap vs. Facebook vs. TikTok case. View Details

Keywords: Strategy Development; Competitor Analysis; Strategy; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Social Media

Citation

Purchase

05 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 5

http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/kuziemko%20buell%20reich%20norton_3e675fb6-f83c-47fc-912d-e0c0b383e56d.pdf Working Papers Competing with Privacy By: Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Andres Hervas-Drane Abstract—We analyze the implications of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 1997
Case

Polaroid Corporation: Digital Imaging Technology in 1997

Focuses on strategic decisions regarding investment in digital imaging technology facing Polaroid Corp., a worldwide leader in the traditional imaging marketplace, in July 1997. New Polaroid CEO Gary DiCamillo must decide how much emphasis to place on digital vs.... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

25 Oct 2016
First Look

October 25, 2016

understanding of how consumers adopt innovations with how firms effectively acquire, serve, and retain customers. The result is a lens through which to view the commercial potential of innovations and a powerful vehicle for placing a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Jun 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching the Next Generation of Energy Executives

You may think that being an energy executive—especially a manager in a leading oil company—might be the easiest job around. Just flip the production switch, and watch gas prices head toward $4 a gallon. But students enrolled in Harvard Business School professor Forest... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

08 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

Tell Me What to Do: When Bad News Is a Big Relief

Barasz’s new paper, “Hoping for the Worst? A Paradoxical Preference for Bad News,” which recently appeared in the Journal of Consumer Research, documents this peculiar preference for worse-case scenarios in a variety of medical... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

07 Aug 2009
What Do You Think?

Why Can’t Americans Get Health Care Right?

"consumer choice and honest competition are usually achieved without a public provider. We don't need government-run grocery stores or government-run gas stations to ensure that Americans can buy food and fuel at reasonable... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Who Has the Power in the Music Industry?

music that consumers encounter? Those questions were debated at the "Digital Music: Recreating the Industry" panel on March 30 the at the Digital Initiative Summit at Harvard Business School. "It's interesting to think about the source of... View Details

Keywords: Re: Felix Oberholzer-Gee; Music

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

regret relaxes self-control and motivates consumers to counteract their righteousness. A series of five studies demonstrates the effect of self-control regrets on real choices and actual shopping behavior.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Hunting for a Hot Job in High Tech? Try 'Digitization Economist'

advising on everything from the type of auction to run to where to set reserve prices. “Tech firms have also hired economists to solve challenges relating to the choice of outcome of advertising, such as pay-per-click versus... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Technology; Education

2010
Other Unpublished Work

God, Government and Outsiders: The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Depositor Behavior in an Emerging Market.

By: Ayesha K. Khan and Tarun Khanna

This paper provides evidence that religious beliefs can have a significant impact on individual financial choices. Using proprietary panel data on the distribution of bank deposits across all commercial banks in Pakistan over a 33-month period, I find that Islamic... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Commercial Banking; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Consumer Behavior; Emerging Markets; Religion; Banking Industry; Pakistan

Citation

14 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

What Does December's Drug-Approval Dash Mean for COVID-19 Vaccines?

But consumers can make that choice more thoughtfully understanding the risk and benefit. Number two, keep in mind that other drugs approved around this time likely got less mindshare from the FDA—the cancer... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Pharmaceutical; Health

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

of both their consumers and regulators. “Usually, with debt collection, the object is to dial for dollars—collect as much as you can in the first phone call, and then outsource the work to the legal system,” says Campbell, whose research... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services