Publications

Read Now

19 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Empathy: The Brand Equity of Retail

There's a famous line from the movie The Godfather, which is often repeated in corporate settings: "This is business, not personal." Ironically, though, that statement is actually bad business advice. During the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing (COER)... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-052.pdf Psychological Influence in Negotiation: An Introduction Long Overdue Authors:Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman Abstract This paper discusses the causes and consequences of the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Feb 2006
HBS Case

Oprah: A Case Study Comes Alive

of Winfrey and Harpo was bigger than Koehn's original vision. "I realized two years into the case-writing process that it's about more than serving a particular set of consumer needs of a given moment." "It is also a story... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

2010
Article

The Strategic Use of Brand Biographies

By: Jill Avery, Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Juliet Schor

We introduce the concept of a brand biography to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author a dynamic, historical account of the events that have shaped the brand over time. Using a particular type of brand biography, "the underdog," we empirically... View Details

11 Aug 2014
HBS Case

The Business of Behavioral Economics

You've done everything—endured diets, purged your freezer of Ben & Jerry's, and educated yourself on fat, sugar, and calories. Yet, you can't manage to lose weight. What's wrong with you? According to standard economic theory, which gives humans (perhaps too much)... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Health

February 2020
Article

Why Prosocial Referral Incentives Work: The Interplay of Reputational Benefits and Action Costs

By: Rachel Gershon, Cynthia Cryder and Leslie K. John

While selfish incentives typically outperform prosocial incentives, in the context of customer referral rewards, prosocial incentives can be more effective. Companies frequently offer “selfish” (i.e., sender-benefiting) referral incentives, offering customers financial... View Details

Keywords: Incentives; Prosocial Behavior; Judgment And Decision-making; Referral Rewards; Motivation and Incentives; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making

Read Now

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons Customers Might Resist Windows 8

for Microsoft. Alas, when it comes to embracing the latest technology, consumer hardware and corporate software are as different as apples and orang well, as different as Apples and corporate software. "Software is the method by... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

March 2006
Background Note

Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations

By: Frances X. Frei and Amy C. Edmondson

Explores ways in which service firms can influence the behavior of their customers. Drawing from research on employee motivation and applying it to customer motivation, the note describes two levels of managerial control: instrumental control, which shapes behavior... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Governance Controls; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Service Industry

Educators

24 Jun 2013
Research & Ideas

Is Your iPhone Turning You Into a Wimp?

monitor? The answer may determine whether you'll play the wimp or the hero in your next office meeting. The body posture inherent in operating everyday gadgets affects not only your back, but your demeanor, reports a new experimental study entitled iPosture: The Size... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

01 Sep 2005
News

Predictable Surprises

Administration at HBS and is also formally affiliated with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Psychology Department, Center on the Environment, and Program on Negotiation. Predictable Surprises (HBS Press) was published in 2004. You... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

July 2022
Teaching Note

Arçelik (A), (B): From a Dealer Network to an Omnichannel Experience

By: Ayelet Israeli, Fares Khrais and Menna Hassan

Arçelik Turkey, the country’s market leader in household appliances, was at an omnichannel crossroads in January 2020. Arçelik was a B2B player utilizing a dealership network with an umbrella of brands and had one of the largest brick-and-mortar store networks in... View Details

27 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Following Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care

Roughly one in 66 women has a better chance of leaving the hospital alive if their doctor is also a woman. Behavioral Economists Can Make You a Healthier Consumer and Smarter Marketer Psychological... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

19 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Privacy Protection Notices Turn Off Shoppers

By now, it’s an expected right-of-passage. As you enter credit card information for an online purchase, up pops two familiar words: “Privacy Notice.” Does seeing those words make you more confident about the transaction, knowing that the company will safeguard your... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

July – August 2010
Article

Vision Statement: Mapping the Social Internet

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Tommy McCall

Fresh data on internet user behaviors around the globe show an East-West divide. View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Emerging Markets; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet

04 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 4

Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior Psychological Safety: The History, Renaissance, and Future of an Interpersonal Construct By: Edmondson, Amy C., and Zhike Lei Abstract—Psychological... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Oct 2015
First Look

October 6, 2015

University Press The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology By: Norton, Michael I., Derek D. Rucker, and Cait Lamberton, eds. Abstract—Why do consumers make the purchases... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

E-Commerce Unplugged

Companies that spent decades understanding consumer-buying psychology traditionally assumed that specific products could satisfy discrete consumer needs. Now, they will need to define View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria & Marty Leestma

25 Aug 2015
News

Sunset in the East?

the medium term, to this government manipulation other than investor psychology? —Jim Daley (MBA 1986) KIRBY: Investor psychology probably is the biggest risk, but another is an overreliance on hard infrastructure investments (roads,... View Details

Keywords: Administration of Economic Programs; Government; Real Estate; Health, Social Assistance

March 2011
Article

Do Sell-Side Stock Analysts Exhibit Escalation of Commitment?

By: John Beshears and Katherine L. Milkman

This paper presents evidence that when an analyst makes an out-of-consensus forecast of a company's quarterly earnings that turns out to be incorrect, she escalates her commitment to maintaining an out-of-consensus view on the company. Relative to an analyst who was... View Details

Keywords: Escalation Of Commitment; Stock Market; Updating; Behavioral Economics; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Consumer Behavior; Financial Markets; Forecasting and Prediction