Publications

December 2011 (Revised September 2014)
Case

The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute

By: Mukti Khaire and Eleanor Kenyon

The Sundance case raises the question of how markets for innovative cultural products can be created and what the role of intermediaries in creative industries ought to be. The case describes the history of the Sundance Institute, which was founded by actor/director... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

Educators

March 2019
Article

Consuming Together (versus Separately) Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

By: Ximena Garcia-Rada, Lalin Anik and Dan Ariely

Across three studies, we investigate how consumers in romantic relationships make decisions when choosing an item to share with their partner. We show that consumers will forgo their preferred alternative for an option that is more aligned with the preferences of their... View Details

Keywords: Shared Consumption; Close Relationships; Conflicting Preferences; Spending; Decision Making; Relationships; Motivation and Incentives

November 2019
Case

Edita: Making Choices in Uncertain Times

By: Caroline M. Elkins, Juan Alcácer, Alpana Thapar and Youssef Abdel Aal

After 15 years of steady growth and expansion, Edita, a leading Egyptian snack producer, faced a series of challenges in the wake of the Arab Spring. In January 2011, the Egyptian Revolution sparked political and economic turmoil that reflected the waves of protest and... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Developing Countries and Economies; Economy; Business or Company Management; Price; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Expansion; Currency; Food and Beverage Industry; Egypt; Africa; Middle East

Educators

Article

Overcoming the Outcome Bias: Making Intentions Matter

By: Ovul Sezer, Ting Zhang, Francesca Gino and Max Bazerman

People often make the well-documented mistake of paying too much attention to the outcomes of others’ actions while neglecting information about the original intentions leading to those outcomes. In five experiments, we examine interventions aimed at reducing this... View Details

Keywords: Outcome Bias; Intentions; Joint Evaluation; Judgment; Separate Evaluation; Goals and Objectives; Prejudice and Bias; Judgments; Performance Evaluation; Outcome or Result

Article

Motivated Inferences of Price and Quality in Healthcare Decisions

By: Emily Prinsloo, Kate Barasz and Peter A. Ubel

Policy makers have increasingly advocated for healthcare price transparency, whereby prices are made salient before services are rendered. While such policies may empower consumers, they also bring price to the forefront of healthcare choices as never before, with yet... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Price Transparency; Health Care and Treatment; Price; Quality; Perception; Consumer Behavior; Decisions; Insurance

12 Feb 2017
News

Harvard Business School makes a case for diversity

July 2008
Exercise

Information Use by Managers in Decision Making: A Team Exercise

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Ann Cullen

The purpose of this exercise is to 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 information. In addition, the... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Decision Making; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Managerial Roles; Business Processes; Groups and Teams

2012
Book

Judgment Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams That Got Them Right

By: Thomas H. Davenport and Brook Manville

This book includes twelve detailed stories of organizations that have successfully tapped their data assets, diverse perspectives, and deep knowledge to build an organizational decision-making capability. The book introduces a model that utilizes the collective... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Judgment; Decision-making; Decisions; Organizational Structure; Business Processes

06 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

right members of a team and motivate that team to accomplish business goals. Efficient Decision Making. Measures skills and behaviors associated with the ability to make effective and efficient business... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Working Knowledge

19 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

What Makes Employees Trust (vs. Second-Guess) AI?

making decisions often decide to trust their anecdotal experience rather than AI’s interpretation of the data. The trouble is, sometimes decision makers think they understand... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Article

Making a Difference: Developing Actionable Knowledge for Practice and Theory

By: Michael Beer

There is a widely acknowledged gap between academic research and practice. While the field of organizational studies and development has had an impact on management practice in some organizations, it has had only a modest impact on widely accepted management practice... View Details

Keywords: Actionable Knowledge; Actionable Practice; Normal Science; Scholar-consultant; Management Practices and Processes; Theory; Innovation Leadership; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness