Consumption - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Jun 2004
News

Luxe Redux

refreshing their product lines and extending their brand to more affordable items. Pressure to innovate is intense, says HBS professor Nancy F. Koehn, a business historian and author of Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers’ Trust from Wedgwood to Dell. “People... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; luxury; Retail Trade

15 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 15, 2018

forthcoming American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings Using Online Prices for Measuring Real Consumption Across Countries By: Cavallo, Alberto, Erwin Diewert, Robert C. Feenstra, Robert Inklaar, and Marcel P. Timmer Abstract—We... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Alumni Spotlight: Career Advice from Alums Working in Climate

to improve resource efficiency, creating and discovering new game-changing planet-friendly raw ingredients, reducing waste across the value chain, and designing compelling brands to educate consumers and shift consumption behaviors. Or... View Details

Keywords: Energy / Cleantech

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

consumption fluctuations faced by individuals, households, and firms. Yet much of this promise remains unrealized. In this paper, we study the adoption of an innovative rainfall insurance product designed to compensate low-income Indian... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Sep 2024
Blog Post

Syngenta Tomato Vision

when creating a new type of tomato with the right product-market fit. Syngenta also works closely with retailers and growers to develop new products to ensure it is not only meeting the needs of consumers, but also for the growers (for example, minimizing energy View Details

04 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 4, 2018

periodically. We also document a benefit of consuming calls by finding that the consumption of calls is associated with more informed trading decisions. Overall, our investigation illuminates the actual View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Sep 2006
News

One-on-One with Carter Roberts

how over the next thirty years the world is going to go through a bottleneck because of population and consumption growth. If we don’t make commitments now to conserve endangered places, they won’t be here thirty years from now. But... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson

02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

not going to compete by building a car manufacturing supply chain, a telephony network or a big retail footprint. We are going to use that available infrastructure to our advantage. These startups are like fleas on the backs of dinosaurs too big to do much about it."... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

12 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Private Sector, Public Good

example of IBM reducing electricity consumption significantly between 1990 and 2012 and saving $477 million in the process. The role of academics in this process, she said, is the traditional one: to think clearly, see what is true, not... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

18 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Who Controls Water?

Although much of the globe is awash in it, the allocation of water for human consumption is anything but easy. As the planet's population grows, urbanizes, and is subjected to climate change, many experts foresee a global water crisis... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Agriculture & Agribusiness

19 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Handicapping the Best Countries for Business

(Italy), demographic and entrepreneurial problems (Japan), or excessive consumption and debt problems (USA). Q: One of the surprises I had in reading the book was your bullishness on Russia. Why the optimism? A: I am bullish on Russia... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

17 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Let Customers Call the Shots

concept to well-behaved consumption markets such as soft drinks. Consumer empowerment won't work there; empowering systems are most needed in situations where demands are fragmented and versatile. As these systems improve and succeed,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

06 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 6, 2007

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-046.pdf Cases & Course MaterialsBroadcast Television in the Broadband World Harvard Business School Note 707-486 What strategies have the top four (NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX) broadcast television networks tested in response to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 7

application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there are direct network effects, users prefer to consume the same applications to benefit from consumption complementarities. We show that the combination... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Tax Reform is on the Front Burner Again. Here’s Why You Should Care

consumption tax. The destination-based cash flow tax that was proposed in the summer was effectively that in disguise. I wasn't a terrible fan of that implementation of it, but I think there's something to be said for switching to that... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

25 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 25

that converts benefits reform first into changes to retirees' consumption paths and then into a net effect on social welfare. I calibrate that framework using recently produced data on Social Security beneficiaries by lifetime income... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

12 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 12

wearing gym clothes rather than an elegant outfit or wearing red sneakers in a professional setting. Nonconforming behaviors, as costly and visible signals, can act as a particular form of conspicuous consumption and lead to positive... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 May 2013
Research & Ideas

From McRibs to Maseratis: The Power of Scarcity Marketing

access to our favorite things will make us keep appreciating them); Buy Time (focusing on time over money yields wiser purchases); Pay Now, Consume Later (delayed consumption leads to increased enjoyment); and Invest in Others (spending... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael I. Norton

07 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Whatever Happened to Caveat Emptor?

conducted in France and Germany to a comparative study of all of the advanced industrialized countries. My goal is to analyze the historical evolution of consumption in the advanced industrialized economies. Specifically, what role have... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

01 Mar 2019
News

Alumni and Faculty Books for March 2019

sense of fulfillment and purpose. Her first law or principle is that stories matter. We are all living in the story of scarcity—the story that tells us we don’t have enough. We want more and more, perpetuating a vicious cycle of View Details

Publications