Publications

February 1999 (Revised October 2009)
Background Note

Debt v. Equity: Definitions and Consequences

By: Henry B. Reiling and Mark Pollard

Explores the location of the somewhat imprecise line between debt and equity. Identifies the primary business contexts that give rise to problems, the alternative tax consequences attending the debt versus equity determination, and the most prominent tests used to... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Interest Rates; Taxation; Business and Government Relations; Public Administration Industry

Educators

May 1986
Supplement

Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video

Presents an audiovisual account of the bake-off competition between Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne (BBDO) and a second advertising agency: Ames. The videotape is divided into two parts: 1) interviews with bake-off participants from Gillette and BBDO, and 2)... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Consumer Products Industry

April 1996 (Revised March 2008)
Exercise

Exercises on Tradeoffs and Conflicting Objectives

Presents two methodologies for making decisions in the face of conflicting objectives, pricing out, and additive scoring systems. This material is followed by four exercises designed to develop and test understanding of the basic methodology. The exercises include an... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions

09 Apr 2012
News

Has Mason lost it?

Research Summary

The Asymmetric Effect of Discount Retraction on Subsequent Choice

This paper examines the subsequent impact of a temporary price discount on brand preference after the promotion is retracted. Theorizing that price salience has an impact on price sensitivity, we propose that the effects of retracting a discount depend on the promoted... View Details

March–April 2017
Article

What's the Value of a Like?: Social Media Endorsements Don't Work the Way You Might Think

By: Leslie John, Daniel Mochon, Oliver Emrich and Janet Schwartz

Brands spend billions of dollars a year on lavish efforts to establish and maintain a social media presence. But do those campaigns actually increase revenue? New research provides an answer to this question, which has vexed marketers ever since social media burst upon... View Details

Keywords: Social and Collaborative Networks; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Social Media

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2013
Chapter

Capturing History: The Case of the Federal Radio Commission in 1927

By: David Moss and Jonathan Lackow

In the study of regulation (and political economy more generally), there is a danger that historical inferences from theory may infect historical tests of theory. It is imperative, therefore, that historical tests always involve a vigorous search not only for... View Details

Keywords: Capture; History By Inference; Economic Theory Of Regulation; Federal Radio Commission; Theory; Economics; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

2011
Working Paper

The Dark Side of Creativity: Original Thinkers Can Be More Dishonest

By: Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely

Creativity is a common aspiration for individuals, organizations, and societies. Here, however, we test whether creativity increases dishonesty. We propose that a creative personality and creativity primes promote individuals' motivation to think outside the box and... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Behavior; Creativity; Motivation and Incentives; Personal Characteristics

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March–April 2020
Article

Building A Culture of Experimentation

By: Stefan Thomke

Why don’t organizations test more? After examining this question for several years, I can tell you that the central reason is culture. As companies try to scale up their experimentation capacity, they often find that the obstacles are not tools and technology but... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Culture; Innovation; Online; Customer Experience; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Internet and the Web; Attitudes; Decision Making; Change; Leadership

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2012
Working Paper

Risky Business: The Impact of Property Rights on Investment and Revenue in the Film Industry

By: Venkat Kuppuswamy and Carliss Y. Baldwin

Our paper tests a key prediction of property rights theory, specifically, that agents will respond to marginal incentives embedded in property rights when making non-contractible, revenue-enhancing investments (Grossman and Hart, 1986; Hart and Moore, 1990). Using rich... View Details

Keywords: Property Rights; Property; Rights; Investment; Contracts; Revenue; Motivation and Incentives; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

SSRN

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Research Summary

What Really Works: Fundamental Drivers of Corporate Performance

By: Nitin Nohria

Based on a systematic examination of over 200 management practices that have been hypothesized to influence corporate performance, we identify eight management practices that appear to be the most robust drivers of long term corporate success. We are now trying to... View Details

February 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Neurotrack and the Alzheimer's Puzzle

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Liz Kind and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Elli Kaplan founded Neurotrack in 2012 with a breakthrough noninvasive cognitive diagnostics test that will detect Alzheimer's disease in its earliest pre-symptomatic stages. While the company has gained great traction in the three years since it was started, with no... View Details

Keywords: Alzheimer's Disease; Diagnostics; Healthcare; Entrepreneurship; Health Disorders; Science-Based Business; Business Model; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

Educators

October 1990
Case

Beauregard Textile Co.

By: Francis Aguilar

The sales manager and controller have to decide on a price for a textile that lost significant market share as a result of a recent price increase. Information on manufacturing costs and on the pricing behavior of Beauregard and its only competitor are available for... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Inflation and Deflation; Consumer Behavior; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Educators