Publications

Educators

September 2016 (Revised March 2020)
Teaching Note

Fasten: Challenging Uber and Lyft with a New Business Model

By: Feng Zhu

Fasten, a new ridesharing start-up in Boston, entered the scene in September 2015 hoping its unique vision of transparency for both driver and passenger and strategy to keep riders' fares low and charge drivers a flat $0.99 fee per ride, as opposed to the 20%–30%... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Transportation; Business Startups; Business Model; Transportation Industry; Boston

29 Sep 2015
First Look

September 29, 2015

feature information from one’s social network rather than personal reflections. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49748 Gradualism in Monetary-Policy: A Time Consistency... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Jan 2024
Book

More Than Memes: NFTs Could Be the Next Gen Deed for a Digital World

context—contribute to a global network around your favorite social cause. Moreover, like with the Bored Ape brand, while NFTs started out in the digital realm, they have quickly carried over to the physical world as well. This isn’t an... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Information Technology; Information Technology

23 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 23, 2008

explore the challenges of information collection and analysis. Students will, experientially, gain insights into how information is used and be exposed to a framework for identifying and evaluating... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2022
Article

OMG! My Boss Just Friended Me: How Evaluations of Colleagues' Disclosure, Gender, and Rank Shape Personal/Professional Boundary Blurring Online

By: Nancy Rothbard, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Ariane Ollier-Malaterre and Serenity Lee

We propose and test a relational boundary-blurring framework, examining how employees’ evaluations of colleagues’ characteristics drive their decisions to connect with colleagues as friends online. We use a multi-method approach across four studies to investigate how... View Details

Keywords: Self-disclosure; Relationships; Employees; Internet and the Web; Boundaries

Find at Harvard

June 2006 (Revised July 2009)
Case

MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Michael E. Porter and Spencer Wallace

Set in 2004, as Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) President Tom Sommer contemplates the future direction of a successful medical device cluster association. Focuses on the formation of cluster organizations and their roles and effectiveness,... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Industry Clusters; Nonprofit Organizations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Cooperation; Massachusetts

Educators

01 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making

technology side, they also have to think about the organizational side," she says. "Traditionally, technology is thought of as a tool that enables empowerment, but that's not always the case." Sadun discusses the issue in "The Distinct Effects of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

January 2025
Article

Reducing Prejudice with Counter-stereotypical AI

By: Erik Hermann, Julian De Freitas and Stefano Puntoni

Based on a review of relevant literature, we propose that the proliferation of AI with human-like and social features presents an unprecedented opportunity to address the underlying cognitive and affective drivers of prejudice. An approach informed by the psychology of... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; AI and Machine Learning; Interpersonal Communication; Social and Collaborative Networks

2024
Working Paper

Sharing Models to Interpret Data

By: Joshua Schwartzstein and Adi Sunderam

To understand new data, we share models or interpretations with others. This paper studies such exchanges of models in a community. The key assumption is that people adopt the interpretation in their community that best explains the data, given their prior beliefs. An... View Details

Keywords: Social Learning Theory; Theory; Social Issues; Cognition and Thinking; Social and Collaborative Networks; Attitudes

2008
Working Paper

The Architecture of Platforms: A Unified View

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard

The central role of "platform" products and services in mediating the activities of disaggregated "clusters" or "ecosystems" of firms has been widely recognized. But platforms and the systems in which they are embedded are very diverse. In particular, platforms may... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Industry Clusters; Infrastructure; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms

January–February 2020
Article

Competing in the Age of AI

By: Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

Today’s markets are being reshaped by a new kind of firm—one in which artificial intelligence (AI) runs the show. This cohort includes giants like Google, Facebook, and Alibaba, and growing businesses such as Wayfair and Ocado. Every time we use their services, the... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Algorithms; Technological Innovation; Business Model; Competition; Competitive Strategy; AI and Machine Learning

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

12 May 2021
Book

The Hard Truth About Being a CEO

they get there." Not only do CEOs struggle to learn how to run a company from a lonely role at the top, but they often quickly find that the network of coworkers they relied on for years are no longer faithful allies. “They don’t realize... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

26 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 26, 2006

expenditures for telecommunications and information technology. One option is to hand over management of its telecom and IT networks to its vendors. Explores the pros and cons of such an outsourcing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 6, 2007

and informal support networks to help them stay grounded and lead integrated lives. The authors argue that achieving business results over a sustained period of time is the ultimate mark of authentic... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

which can be large in some cases. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-054.pdf The Small World of Investing: Board Connections and Mutual Fund Returns Authors:Lauren Cohen, Andrea Frazzini, and Christopher Malloy Abstract This paper uses social View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Mar 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Optimal Deterrence when Judgment-Proof Agents Are Paid In Arrears—With an Application to Online Advertising Fraud

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman; Video Game; Web Services

2023
Working Paper

Spatial Mobility, Economic Opportunity, and Crime

By: Gaurav Khanna, Carlos Medina, Anant Nyshadham, Daniel Ramos-Menchelli, Jorge Tamayo and Audrey Tiew

Neighborhoods are strong determinants of both economic opportunity and criminal activity. Does improving connectedness between segregated and unequal parts of a city predominantly import opportunity or export crime? We use a spatial general equilibrium framework to... View Details

Keywords: Urban Transit Infrastructure; Crime; Spatial Equilibrium; Urban Development; Transportation Networks; Crime and Corruption; Transportation Industry; Medellín; Colombia; South America