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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,155)
- People (3)
- News (200)
- Research (779)
- Events (5)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (244)
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- March 2018 (Revised March 2019)
- Technical Note
Control or Flexibility? Structured Empowerment Offers Both — Lessons from Retail & Service Chains
By: Tatiana Sandino
This note explains how several retail and service organizations use a practice described here as “structured empowerment” to balance control and flexibility as they grow. I define structured empowerment as a practice that grants employees both (a) the power to make... View Details
Keywords: Service Operations; Standards; Employees; Service Delivery; Decision Making; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; Service Industry
Sandino, Tatiana. "Control or Flexibility? Structured Empowerment Offers Both — Lessons from Retail & Service Chains." Harvard Business School Technical Note 118-082, March 2018. (Revised March 2019.)
- October 2017
- Article
Observability Increases the Demand for Commitment Devices
By: Christine L. Exley and Jeffrey K. Naecker
Previous research often interprets the choice to restrict one’s future opportunity set as evidence for sophisticated time inconsistency. We propose an additional mechanism that may contribute to the demand for commitment technology: the desire to signal to others. We... View Details
Exley, Christine L., and Jeffrey K. Naecker. "Observability Increases the Demand for Commitment Devices." Management Science 63, no. 10 (October 2017): 3262–3267.
- Article
Representative Democracy and the Implementation of Majority-Preferred Alternatives
In this paper, we contrast direct and representative democracy. In a direct democracy, individuals have the opportunity to vote over the alternatives in every choice problem the population faces. In a representative democracy, the population commits to a candidate ex... View Details
Coffman, Katherine Baldiga. "Representative Democracy and the Implementation of Majority-Preferred Alternatives." Social Choice and Welfare 46, no. 3 (March 2016): 477–494.
- December 1996 (Revised July 1997)
- Case
Parker's Biscuits, Inc.: Venturing into China
Carol Wittenberg's first major task as president of the Asia/Pacific business for Parker's Biscuits is to set up a joint venture to manufacture biscuits in China. The team that Wittenberg has put together to find a joint venture partner has narrowed the choice down to... View Details
Keywords: Joint Ventures; Decision Choices and Conditions; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China
Gray, Ann E. "Parker's Biscuits, Inc.: Venturing into China." Harvard Business School Case 697-056, December 1996. (Revised July 1997.)
- Research Summary
The Economics of Search
Utilizing data on web searches, we characterize the economics of search and estimate the path of diffusion for information, allowing us to specify how choice sets are actually formed among consumers and examine the impact of cybergeography vs. spatial geography. Joint... View Details
- Research Summary
Investment Management
Professor Chacko's research looks into the portfolio choice decisions of individuals and institutions. He is particularly concerned with optimal portfolio choice and consumption decisions in a dynamic framework. His work looks at how economic agents make these... View Details
- March 2019
- Technical Note
Control or Flexibility? Structured Empowerment Offers Both—Lessons from Retail & Service Chains (Abridged)
By: Tatiana Sandino
This note explains how several retail and service organizations use a practice described here as “structured empowerment” to balance control and flexibility as they grow. I define structured empowerment as a practice that grants employees both (a) the power to make... View Details
Keywords: Service Operations; Standards; Employees; Service Delivery; Decision Making; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; Service Industry
Sandino, Tatiana. "Control or Flexibility? Structured Empowerment Offers Both—Lessons from Retail & Service Chains (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Technical Note 119-088, March 2019.
- May 2021
- Article
Stability, Strategy-Proofness, and Cumulative Offer Mechanisms
By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers and Alexander Westkamp
We consider the setting of many-to-one matching with contracts, where firms may demand multiple contracts, but each worker desires at most one contract. We introduce three novel conditions—observable substitutability, observable size monotonicity, and... View Details
Keywords: Matching With Contracts; Stability; Strategy-proofness; Substitutability; Size Monotonicity; Cumulative Offer Mechanism; Marketplace Matching; Balance and Stability
Hatfield, John William, Scott Duke Kominers, and Alexander Westkamp. "Stability, Strategy-Proofness, and Cumulative Offer Mechanisms." Review of Economic Studies 88, no. 3 (May 2021): 1457–1502.
- 2015
- Working Paper
Stability, Strategy-Proofness, and Cumulative Offer Mechanisms
By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers and Alexander Westkamp
We consider the setting of many-to-one matching with contracts, where firms may
demand multiple contracts but each worker desires at most one contract. We introduce
three novel conditions—observable substitutability, observable size monotonicity,... View Details
Keywords: Matching With Contracts; Stability; Strategy-proofness; Substitutability; Size Monotonicity; Cumulative Offer Mechanism; Contracts; Market Design; Marketplace Matching; Balance and Stability
Hatfield, John William, Scott Duke Kominers, and Alexander Westkamp. "Stability, Strategy-Proofness, and Cumulative Offer Mechanisms." Working Paper, July 2015.
- Forthcoming
- Article
Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact
By: Michelle A. Kinch and Ryan W. Buell
Prior research in social psychology has shown that when people feel anxious, they seek advice from others. However, companies that operate in high-anxiety settings (like financial services, health care, and education) are increasingly deploying self-service... View Details
Keywords: Anxiety; Self-service; Empirical Operations; Behavioral Operations; Communication Technology; Behavior; Customer Focus and Relationships; Trust; Satisfaction; Financial Services Industry
Kinch, Michelle A., and Ryan W. Buell. "Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact." Management Science (forthcoming). (Pre-published online March 31, 2025.)
- July 1992
- Case
Laura Wollen and ARPCO, Inc.
Laura Wollen, a group marketing director for ARPCO, Inc., must decide whether to recommend a high performance product manager for a choice position overseas. The supervisor overseas resists the hire because of the candidate's race and Wollen fears that insisting will... View Details
Gentile, Mary C. "Laura Wollen and ARPCO, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 393-003, July 1992.
- January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
Bidding on Martha's Vineyard (A)
By: James Sebenius
To buy a desirable Martha's Vineyard property, Robert and Sally Franklin must craft a bidding strategy informed by their assessment of their competitor. The "A" case sets up the situation and bidding history to date, describes how they assessed their valuations and... View Details
Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Valuation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Property; Bids and Bidding; Real Estate Industry; Martha's Vineyard
Sebenius, James. "Bidding on Martha's Vineyard (A)." Harvard Business School Case 908-044, January 2008. (Revised March 2008.)
- 2021
- Article
The Virtues and Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities
By: Bharat Anand and David J. Collis
Dynamic capabilities have been identified as a key determinant of competitive advantage. This paper explores the foundations of dynamic capabilities, and the limits to their effectiveness, first theoretically and then through the case of Danaher, the most successful... View Details
Keywords: Dynamic Capabilities; Danaher; Resources; Theory Of The Firm; Value-based Strategy; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness; Competitive Advantage; Strategy
Anand, Bharat, and David J. Collis. "The Virtues and Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities." Strategic Management Review 2, no. 1 (2021): 47–78.
- 31 Mar 2022
- Op-Ed
Navigating the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ in Professional Services
drive costs down and benefit from specialization because of its high volume of activities. "With growth, the way a firm is managed has to change, and that change is not easy." Among law firms, Wachtell Lipton maintains a premium market position, an exciting work View Details
Keywords: by Ashish Nanda
- January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
- Supplement
Bidding on Martha's Vineyard (B)
By: James Sebenius
To buy a desirable Martha's Vineyard property, Robert and Sally Franklin must craft a bidding strategy informed by their assessment of their competitor. The "A" case sets up the situation and bidding history to date, describes how they assessed their valuations and... View Details
Sebenius, James. "Bidding on Martha's Vineyard (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 908-045, January 2008. (Revised March 2008.)
- June 2018
- Teaching Note
The Transformation of Microsoft
By: C. Fritz Foley and F. Katelynn Boland
Teaching Note for HBS No. 218-048. In early 2015, Amy Hood, CFO of Microsoft, and the rest of the senior leadership team faced a set of fundamental choices. The firm had opportunities to serve customers in ways that would be associated with higher growth but lower... View Details
- June 2014 (Revised April 2015)
- Case
OrthoChoice: Bundled Payments in the County of Stockholm (A)
By: Michael E. Porter, Clifford M. Marks and Zachary C. Landman
It was the waiting that drew the attention of the Stockholm County Council. In 2008, patients seeking a hip or knee replacement in Stockholm County faced wait times of up to two years of sometimes debilitating pain, intermittent missed work and income, and the trials... View Details
Keywords: Bundled Payment; Health Care Quality; Health Care; Sweden; Hip Replacement; Knee Replacement; Orthopedics; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Health; Health Industry; Sweden
Porter, Michael E., Clifford M. Marks, and Zachary C. Landman. "OrthoChoice: Bundled Payments in the County of Stockholm (A)." Harvard Business School Case 714-514, June 2014. (Revised April 2015.)
- June 2023 (Revised February 2024)
- Case
Betting on Green Steel
By: George Serafeim and Sofoklis Melissovas
'Betting on Green Steel' traces the innovative journey embarked upon by a group of MBA students who have set out to conceive a novel steelmaker that pioneers the production of green steel. The ensemble is confronted with a series of critical choices that will shape the... View Details
Keywords: Decarbonization; Sustainability Management; Technology; Industrialization; Climate Risk; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Technology Adoption; Climate Change; Innovation and Invention; Business Strategy; Family Business; Steel Industry; Middle East; India
Serafeim, George, and Sofoklis Melissovas. "Betting on Green Steel." Harvard Business School Case 123-101, June 2023. (Revised February 2024.)
- December 2011
- Article
Egalitarianism and International Investment
By: Jordan I. Siegel, Amir N. Licht and Shalom H. Schwartz
This study identifies the effect of a key cultural dimension—egalitarianism—on a set of international investment outcomes. Egalitarianism expresses a society's cultural orientation with respect to intolerance for abuses of market and political power. We show... View Details
Keywords: Egalitarianism; International Investment; Culture; Cultural Distance; Foreign Direct Investment; Informal Institutions; Social Institutions; Cross-listing; Investment; Equality and Inequality; Mergers and Acquisitions
Siegel, Jordan I., Amir N. Licht, and Shalom H. Schwartz. "Egalitarianism and International Investment." Journal of Financial Economics 102, no. 3 (December 2011). (This study identifies the effect of a key cultural dimension - egalitarianism - on a set of international investment outcomes. Egalitarianism expresses a society's cultural orientation with respect to intolerance for abuses of market and political power. We show egalitarianism to be based on exogenous factors including social fractionalization, religion, and war experience. Controlling for a large set of competing explanations, we find a robust influence of egalitarianism distance on cross-border investment flows of equity, debt, and mergers and acquisitions. An informal cultural institution largely determined a century or more ago, egalitarianism influences international investment via an associated set of consistent policy choices made in recent years. But even after controlling for these associated policy choices, egalitarianism continues to exercise a direct effect on cross-border investment flows, likely through its direct influence on managers' daily business conduct.)