Publications

30 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Repugnant Markets and How They Get That Way

is straight repugnance. But it also seems to be associated with crime and disease. So objections to prostitution are based on a combination of repugnance and other factors. The nice thing about dwarf... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

02 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Careers: Cloud Kitchens Are Now Serving

The restaurant industry is one of those most devastated by COVID-19, and social distancing will continue to make many small restaurants unviable. Reduced revenue flows will never cover the rent. But not all... View Details

Keywords: by Lena Ye and Geoffrey Jones; Food & Beverage

May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Traces the history of IKEA's response to a TV report that its Indian carpet suppliers were using child labor. Describes IKEA's growth, including the importance of a sourcing strategy based on its close relationships with suppliers in developing countries. Details the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Moral Sensibility; Policy; Employment; Contracts; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Natural Environment; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Issues

12 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

Entrepreneurship and Multinationals Drive Globalization

Excerpt Second, I wanted to demonstrate the relative importance of business compared to governments and other institutional actors in building global capitalism. In both the historical and View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Pharmaceutical

2022
Article

How to Choose a Default

By: John Beshears, Richard T. Mason and Shlomo Benartzi

We have developed a model for setting a default when a population is choosing among ordered choices—that is, ones listed in ascending or descending order. A company, for instance, might want to set a default contribution rate that will increase employees’ average... View Details

Keywords: Nudge; Choice Architecture; Behavioral Economics; Behavioral Science; Default; Savings; Decision Choices and Conditions; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives

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July 2015
Background Note

The State of U.S. Public Health: Challenges and Trends

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Howard Koh and Pamela Yatsko

The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity." For many Americans, the World Health Organization's definition of true health seems unattainable, given... View Details

Keywords: Public Health; Public Sector; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States

January 2010 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices

Greenbriar Growth Partners (GGP), a venture capital (VC) firm, has been an investor in Microsurgery Devices (MSD) for four-plus years and has come into conflict with the company's founder. Should the Board's nominating committee re-nominate the VC investor, and should... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Initial Public Offering; Governing and Advisory Boards; Conflict of Interests; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

20 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 20

background stories of organizations, Win-Win Corporations is an inspiring read into what makes companies great. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52757 forthcoming Journal of Financial Economics... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2013
Article

Non-Audit Services and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from 1978–1980

By: Kevin Koh, Shiva Rajgopal and Suraj Srinivasan

We provide evidence for the long-standing concern on auditor conflicts of interest from providing non-audit services (NAS) to audit clients by using rarely explored NAS fee data from 1978 to 1980. Using this earlier setting, we find cross-sectional evidence of improved... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Financial Reporting; Accounting Audits; Knowledge Dissemination; Quality; Corporate Disclosure; Motivation and Incentives

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March 2011
Article

Do Sell-Side Stock Analysts Exhibit Escalation of Commitment?

By: John Beshears and Katherine L. Milkman

This paper presents evidence that when an analyst makes an out-of-consensus forecast of a company's quarterly earnings that turns out to be incorrect, she escalates her commitment to maintaining an out-of-consensus view on the company. Relative to an analyst who was... View Details

Keywords: Escalation Of Commitment; Stock Market; Updating; Behavioral Economics; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Consumer Behavior; Financial Markets; Forecasting and Prediction

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05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

economic development. Spreading prosperity through the gappon business model It is less Shibusawa’s track record as a serial entrepreneur than his views on the purpose of business that have attracted renewed interest. The Confucian... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

July 2013
Article

Voice Pitch and the Labor Market Success of Male Chief Executive Officers

By: Christopher Parsons, W. Mayew and M. Venkatachalam

A deep voice is evolutionarily advantageous for males, but does it confer benefit in competition for leadership positions? We study ecologically valid speech from 792 male public-company Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and find that CEOs with deeper voices manage... View Details

Keywords: Success; Leadership Style; Personal Characteristics; Management Teams

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07 May 2020
Research & Ideas

The One Good Thing Caused by COVID-19: Innovation

distancing. New patterns of consumer and worker behavior and expectations have emerged during the first weeks of the crisis. COVID-19 represents a tremendous economic shock... View Details

Keywords: by Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

forthcoming IMF Economic Review Debt Redemption and Reserve Accumulation By: Alfaro, Laura, and Fabio Kanczuk Abstract—In the past decade, foreign participation in... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

13 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

Cash and the Woman-Owned Business

particularly large gender disparity was reported between male and female executives. For example, in 1999, only 5 percent of women executives were then earning $80,000 or more, but 23 percent of male... View Details

Keywords: by Candida Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia G. Greene & Myra M. Hart

18 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift

challenging task in any country, but it is more difficult in some environments than others, particularly those plagued by high levels of corruption. The effects of corruption are insidious and they go well beyond requests for bribes View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

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