Signals - Publications - Faculty & Research

08 Jun 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Twenty-first Century Skill: Trading Carbon Credits

generate as much uncertainty in future prices, so it's easier to recognize what the return will be on an individual investment." At the beginning of the exercise students are in the dark. No one knows what an appropriate permit price is, but they try to get View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

19 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 19, 2017

populations, one expects such attitudes to be sacrosanct and nearly inalterable, perhaps for generations to come. On the other hand, even these attitudes may be informed by social cues that interpret violence in different ways and that View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

08 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Negotiate “Yes” Across Cultural Boundaries

proposal and negotiating strategy seemed to signal a possibly corrupt deal among elites. This inadvertently triggered the involvement of the Honduran Congress, labor unions, political parties, potential business competitors, indigenous... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

How Relationships are Building Biotech

work with Gulati, "The simple fact that these executives chose to leave large, established pharmaceutical/healthcare companies to join young biotechnology firms may also signal the firms' quality" to the investment community.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Mallory Stark

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

Up: Is Voluntary Self-Reporting a Signal of Effective Self-Policing? Authors: Michael W. Toffel and Jodi L. Short Abstract Administrative agencies are increasingly establishing voluntary self-reporting programs both as an investigative... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 2, 2007

findings are consistent with capital markets interpreting the choice of purchase accounting as a signal of management's confidence in the likelihood of a successful merger. This signal is particularly... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

extreme politicking from the legacy energy, transportation, farming, and environmental lobbies. "It's time for politicians, regulators, and voters to give markets—and the price signals that they send to producers, consumers, and... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

07 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: Sept. 7

Abstract Two sets of studies illustrate the comparative nature of disclosure behavior. The first set investigates how divulgence is affected by signals about others' readiness to divulge. Study 1A shows a "herding" effect, such... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Cheers to the American Consumer

more than most. What they own, how they dress, what they do. In other words, their consumption behavior becomes an important signaling device to attract efficiently the right set of new friends and acquaintances. It's not so much a matter... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

07 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Banning Big-box Stores Can Hurt Local Retailers

census data on retail stores located in England, Sadun found that stricter planning restrictions against big-box stores actually coincided with independent retailers closing down or hiring fewer workers, a signal their business was... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

11 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Does Democracy Need a Marketing Manager?

propositions represents a market test and signal of what consumers want. Q: Consumer marketing appears to be drifting away from mass market advertising to more targeted approaches made possible by the digital world. Is political marketing... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

VCs Survey Post-Bubble Opportunities

Venture investing has picked up from the post-dot-bomb era of a few years ago—but does the comeback signal good times ahead or a mini bubble of misguided exuberance? To provoke discussion, HBS professor Bill Sahlman threw down the... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Hanna; Financial Services

17 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Advice for the New CEO: Talk to Your Employees Early and Often

strategy, find ways to overcome it, because employees cannot live in the dark.” Choose people to serve as “information brokers.” They can share updates and provide a sense of stability during the transition. “You cannot rely on just your top people because they are... View Details

Keywords: by Ami Albernaz

20 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Activist CEOs Are Rising Up—and Their Customers Are Listening

When former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced earlier this year he was thinking about running for president of the United States, it wasn’t a new idea. Past CEOs seeking the White House have included Carly Fiorina, Ross Perot, Herman Cain, Steve Forbes, Mitt... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

22 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Name Your Price. Really.

customers, and recommended new coffees based on their preferences, signaling a communal norm. When asked what they would pay for the coffee, pro-social participants increased the amount they paid under the second condition but only by 13... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

06 Nov 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, November 6, 2018

most recently reported. Using the complete history of regular quarterly and annual filings by U.S. corporations from 1995 to 2014, we show that when firms make an active change in their reporting practices, this conveys an important View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

22 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

How to Build a Better Board

minds, there are times when we really wonder if they are 'getting it.'" Therefore, the warning signal to all of us, not just in the United States and the U.K., but also around the world, is that there is a very common problem of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

02 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part One]

largely government had little role. But eventually the cumulative negative effects of the bad policies became overwhelming. By the mid-1980s, the evidence was quite clear that Japan was in trouble. We just didn't see the signals until the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

16 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 16, 2008

level the informational playing field. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-033.pdf Signaling Firm Performance through Financial Statement Presentation: An Analysis Using Special Items Authors:Edward J. Riedl and Suraj... View Details

17 Jan 2007
Op-Ed

Learning from Private-Equity Boards

class-action suit against the corporation) had adopted the salient structural characteristics and processes of experienced private-equity boards, I believe that many of the red flags signaling Enron's economic woes and ethical drift would... View Details

Keywords: by Malcolm Salter; Financial Services

Publications