Affordances - Publications - Faculty & Research

31 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 31, 2018

watches were being disrupted by high-quality and affordable American products. The Swiss had to figure out how to respond. No matter the outcome, the year 1876 would prove to be pivotal. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

27 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Family CEOs Spend Less Time at Work

whether the CEOs in their sample simply couldn't afford to delegate key duties to professionals who would be willing to work longer hours—and thus generate better results—than the CEOs themselves. Delegation is prohibitively expensive in... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

04 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

The Business of Global Poverty

unique ways that multinational corporations (MNCs) and local businesses are serving the previously invisible BOP market: Nestlé, with its "milk-district model" that encourages supporting businesses to spring up around its dairies in rural India; CEMEX's... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

community find an easy and affordable way to feed themselves, and it’s having a huge impact.” Alvarez, who spent 20 years in the retail food industry, looked for his own solutions to the food waste problem as chief executive of Stop &... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

04 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Think of it as Professors in Cars Having Coffee

designed to make sure the executive office doesn’t have too much power.” Ep 15: Brainstorming the Affordable Housing Dilemma Desai: “There is a very real, genuine market failure. I think the answer is the government provides housing... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education; Entertainment & Recreation

30 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Health Care Under a Research Microscope

Project Antares with colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health. The effort aims to create a system for devising commercial incentives that provide affordable public health initiatives, such as delivering medicines at very low... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Biotechnology

21 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Are Crummy Products Your Next Growth Opportunity?

Sony sold them to teenagers, a group that couldn't afford the nice-sounding, floor-standing radios their parents enjoyed. For them, a transistor would do just fine. Once the initial crummy product has kick-started a market, follow-on... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 Jul 2013
Op-Ed

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy: HBS Faculty Weigh In

Affordable Healthcare Act. Although the federal government offers a range of subsidies for healthcare policies obtained through these connectors, cities would still have to decide who should pay the remaining premiums on these policies.... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber, Robert C. Pozen, Eric D. Werker & Benjamin Kennedy; Auto

02 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Indulgence vs. Regret: Investing in Future Memories

afford to buy a $20,000 (and up) watch choose to do otherwise? "Marketers can convince consumers that buying their product is actually a farsighted behavior," Keinan says. "In that sense, consumers are investing in future... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

15 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Lessons Not Learned About Innovation

brick wall was erected to separate the two sides of the building. Time was wasted battling each other and even stealing each others' customers. So the message is you can't afford to build two cultures. Strong interpersonal connections... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

26 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Why Great Ideas Get Stuck in Universities

commercialization gap left by companies, “universities will have to be very careful that they don’t shift too far into doing the commercial work,” Roche says. “Because what academia has afforded for so many decades is the freedom to do... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Biotechnology; Health

07 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

would our world look like if we could have US levels of electricity available at affordable prices for every person on the planet for 1,000 years?" Lassiter says. "We should be working on nuclear like there is no tomorrow. We should do... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

20 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Here’s How Businessman Trump Is Likely to Approach the Presidency

get significant tax breaks under a Trump administration, to give more of their supply chain contracts to U.S.-based small businesses. In addition, National Federation of Independent Business surveys show that access to affordable health... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese

19 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Your Customers: Use Them or Lose Them

half a percentage point on your account to have what is truly exceptional service? When the bank put branches in Manhattan two years ago, Commerce Bank grew faster there than anywhere else, she said. Other banks can't afford to stay open... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

02 Aug 2004
What Do You Think?

For Greater Transparency, Is Section 404 an Effective Response?

of the article. Richard Eckel opined that "A basic misconception is that Section 404 increases transparency afforded to stakeholders... What 404 does is require that corporate leadership demonstrate that the processes used to produce... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

05 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

Five questions for Regina E. Herzlinger

provide health insurance, but who cannot afford it, will find new, lower-cost consumer-driven health care policies, such as those offered by California's Wellpoint, that help them achieve their goal. Employees in defined-contribution... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

19 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 19

Sustainability Goals. BWC was a set of internal award recognizing products that effectively addressed one of five world challenges: energy and climate change, sustainable water supply, decent affordable housing, personal health, and food... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Altruistic Capital: Harnessing Your Employees’ Intrinsic Goodwill

can't afford to motivate their staff with monetary bonuses. Moreover, a growing body of research indicates that corporate workers are very motivated by nonmonetary incentives, such as positive recognition from their peers. (See, for... View Details