Publications

2023
Working Paper

The Complexity of Economic Decisions

By: Xavier Gabaix and Thomas Graeber

We propose a theory of the complexity of economic decisions. Leveraging a macroeconomic framework of production functions, we conceptualize the mind as a cognitive economy, where a task’s complexity is determined by its composition of cognitive operations. Complexity... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Complexity; Perception; Consumer Behavior; Production

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June 2009
Article

How Concepts Affect Consumption

By: Dan Ariely and Michael I. Norton

Duke behavioral economist Ariely and Harvard Business School professor Norton explore how our consumption of concepts influences physical consumption, both positively and negatively. View Details

Keywords: Spending; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Power and Influence

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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

01 Dec 2010
News

Eight Join HBS Faculty

decision-making, social influence, and ethics. Gino’s work has been published in a number of journals and featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, and Psychology Today. A native of Italy, she earned her Ph.D. in economics and management... View Details

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

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

27 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Corporate Values and Employee Cynicism

may be able to show employees the ways in which they are trying to sustain the values, while also managing business realities. (iv) Create a sense of psychological safety. Employees need to feel that it is safe for them to express... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

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

Summer 2012
Article

Epistemic Contests and the Legitimacy of the World Trade Organization: The Brazil–USA Cotton Dispute and the Incremental Balancing of Interests

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

The World Trade Organization (WTO) features prominently in studies of international institutions, often cast either as a tool of rich-world domination over the poorer South or as a neutral mediator facilitating a tariff-free world of economic prosperity. This article... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Trade; Conflict and Resolution; Consumer Products Industry; Brazil; United States

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May 1986 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (A), The Creative Problem

Presents the first of two cases describing the struggle to solve creative problems on the Dry Idea antiperspirant brand introduced in 1978 by the Gillette Co. and its advertising agency (Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne). Provides company and industry background plus... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Advertising; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Educators

02 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

Do Online Dating Platforms Help Those Who Need Them Most?

Over the past decade, socially-focused websites have attracted hundreds of millions of users and changed the social fabric in fundamental ways. The likes of eHarmony and Match.com enable us meet new people. Platforms including Facebook, Path, and Zynga help us... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology

October 1992
Supplement

Eastman Kodak Co.: Perspectives on Outsourcing

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Perspective; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

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

2011
Working Paper

Observation Bias: The Impact of Demand Censoring on Newsvendor Level and Adjustment Behavior

By: David F. Drake

In an experimental newsvendor setting we investigate three phenomena: Level behavior — the decision-maker's average ordering tendency; adjustment behavior — the tendency to adjust period-to-period order quantities; and observation bias — the tendency to let the degree... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making; Prejudice and Bias; Profit

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

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Who Has the Power in the Music Industry?

music that consumers encounter? Those questions were debated at the "Digital Music: Recreating the Industry" panel on March 30 the at the Digital Initiative Summit at Harvard Business School. "It's interesting to think about the source of... View Details

Keywords: Re: Felix Oberholzer-Gee; Music

August 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 1

By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas

How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months—from Siebel's initial... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Competition; Applications and Software; Technology Industry

Educators

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