Publications

2008
Working Paper

Etiquette and Process Puzzles of Negotiating Business in China: A Questionnaire

By: James K. Sebenius and Cheng (Jason) Qian

Cultural differences can affect negotiations in many ways, from influencing the basic motivations and perceptions of the players to guiding the surface aspects, such as etiquette, protocol, and process, of business interactions. Navigating the challenges of these... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance; Questionnaires; Negotiation Process; Behavior; China

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Program

Foundations of Private Equity and Venture Capital

industry models, from venture capital to growth equity to buyouts, as well as the key issues related to investment criteria, management strategies, and decision-making processes. For executives with significant experience in the private... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance

Web

Placement - Doctoral

Business Dissertation: Three Essays on Cost-benefit Trade-offs in Individual and Organizational Decision-Making Advisors: Michael I. Norton , Leslie K. John , Elizabeth Keenan , and Joachim Vosgerau 2022 Serena Hagerty Marketing, 2022... View Details

Program

The HR-Executive Suite Connection

Summary Top companies manage their human capital as strategically as their financial capital—and bring their human resources leaders into the strategic decision-making process. This HR leadership program prepares you to apply your human... View Details

March 2018
Article

How Context Affects Choice

By: Raphael Thomadsen, Robert P. Rooderkerk, On Amir, Neeraj Arora, Bryan Bollinger, Karsten Hansen, Leslie John, Wendy Liu, Aner Sela, Vishal Singh, K. Sudhir and Wendy Wood

Due to its origins in the literature on judgment and decision-making, context effects in marketing are construed exclusively in terms of how choices deviate from utility maximization principles as a function of how choices are presented (e.g., framing, sequence,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Situation or Environment; Consumer Behavior

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November 2014
Article

Evidence on Self-Stereotyping and the Contribution of Ideas

By: Katherine Baldiga Coffman

We use a lab experiment to explore the factors that predict an individual's decision to contribute her idea to a group. We find that contribution decisions depend upon the interaction of gender and the gender stereotype associated with the decision-making domain:... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizations; Gender

There is a growing belief that scalable and low-cost AI assistance can improve firm decision-making and economic performance. However, running a business involves a myriad of open-ended problems, making it hard to generalize from recent studies showing that generative... View Details

Program

Designing and Executing Corporate Revitalization

have significant strategic decision-making responsibility, including CEOs, CFOs, other C-suite executives, division heads, business unit heads, and leaders/senior contributors on strategy teams, as well as general counsels or board... View Details

02 Apr 2024
What Do You Think?

What's Enough to Make Us Happy?

That’s not a bad yardstick for decision-making in the happiness business. Most of us would probably agree that “what’s enough” should be a bit of a stretch but achievable. For example, for many years my spouse and I shared an objective of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Michael I. Norton

Michael I. Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He holds a B.A. in Psychology and English from Williams College and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Princeton University. Prior to joining HBS, Professor... View Details

Keywords: advertising; consumer products; e-commerce industry; marketing industry; nonprofit industry

02 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The Flattening Firm and Product Market Competition: The Effect of Trade Liberalization

Keywords: by Maria Guadalupe & Julie M. Wulf

December 2020 (Revised December 2022)
Case

The Dance of Dharma: On the Difficulty of Being Good

By: Arthur I. Segel and Tyler M. Richard

When deciding how to be good and act well, we often seek outside help. Many of our oldest and most frequently consulted sources of ethical guidance are our religious traditions. Just as one might consult a thoughtful friend, countless people seek direction from their... View Details

Keywords: Hinduism; Ethics; Religion; Values and Beliefs; Decision Making

Educators

December 2015 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Woolf Farming and the California Water Crisis

By: Forest Reinhardt, David Bell, Natalie Kindred, Mary Shelman and Laura Winig

This case highlights the tough choices, competing interests, and decision-making mechanisms involved in California's management of its severe drought, entering its fifth year in 2015. Stuart Woolf, CEO of Woolf Farming, a grower and processor of almonds, tomatoes, and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Natural Disasters; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Economics; Weather; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California

Educators

Max H. Bazerman is Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His recent books... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; management consulting; pharmaceuticals

Leslie K. John

Leslie K. John is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Currently, she teaches on the topics of Negotiation, Marketing and Behavioral Economics in various Executive Education courses, including in the Program for Leadership Development.... View Details

Keywords: diet services; health care; internet; marketing industry

Program

Aligning Strategy and Sales

challenges and career decisions Who Should Attend Executive decision-makers who are responsible for defining, communicating, hiring, managing, budgeting for, and measuring a company's go-to-market strategy and sales efforts, such as:... View Details

January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Course Overview Note

Managing Customers for Growth: Course Overview for Students

By: Eva Ascarza

Managing Customers for Growth (MCG) is a 14-session elective course for second-year MBA students at Harvard Business School. It is designed for business professionals engaged in roles centered on customer-driven growth activities. The course explores the dynamics of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Making; Analytics and Data Science; Growth Management; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry; Travel Industry

January 2024
Article

Investing with the Government: A Field Experiment in China

By: Emanuele Colonnelli, Bo Li and Ernest Liu

We study the demand for government participation in China’s venture capital and private equity market. We conduct a large-scale, non-deceptive field experiment in collaboration with the leading industry service provider, through which we survey both capital investors... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; China

Article

Value of New Performance Information in Healthcare: Evidence from Japan

By: Susanna Gallani, Takehisa Kajiwara and Ranjani Krishnan

Mandatory measurement and disclosure of outcome measures are commonly used policy tools in healthcare. The effectiveness of such disclosures relies on the extent to which the new information produced by the mandatory system is internalized by the healthcare... View Details

Keywords: Value Of Information; Feedback; Patient Satisfaction; Healthcare; Health Care and Treatment; Satisfaction; Information; Measurement and Metrics; Performance Improvement