Publications

28 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

How Racial Bias Taints Customer Service: Evidence from 6,000 Hotels

nothing to improve here.’ But what our results are showing is that we need to go beyond that because, even if they are responding to everyone, it doesn't mean that everyone is getting treated equally.” Advice for detecting bias... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

February 2024
Course Overview Note

The Anatomy of Fraud

By: Jonas Heese

Corporate fraud remains a serious problem. Learning how to detect and prevent it, and make better investment decisions, has broad applicability for private and public market investors, as well as for people joining or running companies. This course note describes a... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Investment; Accounting; Business or Company Management

Article

Fast Subset Scan for Multivariate Spatial Biosurveillance

By: Daniel B. Neill, Edward McFowland III and Huanian Zheng

We extend the recently proposed ‘fast subset scan’ framework from univariate to multivariate data, enabling computationally efficient detection of irregular space-time clusters even when the numbers of spatial locations and data streams are large. These fast algorithms... View Details

October 2008
Article

Risk Frameworks and Biomonitoring: Distributed Regulation of Synthetic Chemicals in Humans

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

The ability to detect and measure the presence of synthetic chemicals at trace levels in humans coupled to increased environmental NGO mobilization concerning chemical exposure has challenged risk and regulatory frameworks built up over the past quarter-century. This... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Risk Management; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Non-Governmental Organizations; United States

2008
Working Paper

The Artful Dodger: Answering the Wrong Question the Right Way

By: Todd Rogers and Michael I. Norton

What happens when people try to "dodge" a question they would rather not answer by answering a different question? In four online studies using paid participants, we show that listeners can fail to detect dodges when speakers answer similar—but objectively... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Judgments; Perception

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Article

Deception and Its Detection: Effects of Monetary Incentives and Personal Relationship History

By: Lyn M. Van Swol, Deepak Malhotra and Michael T. Braun

The study examined detection of deception in unsanctioned, consequential lies between either friends or strangers using an ultimatum game. The sender was given an amount of money to divide with the receiver. The receiver did not know the precise amount the sender had... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Money; Ethics; Relationships

December 1980 (Revised February 1998)
Case

Burger King Corp.

By: W. Earl Sasser and David C. Rikert

Describes the operating system of a Burger King unit. The case does not have a decision focus; it is designed for use with McDonald's Corp. Students are asked to compare the operating systems of these two fast food hamburger chains. Careful analysis will detect the... View Details

Keywords: Food; System; Operations; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

2023
Working Paper

Auditing Predictive Models for Intersectional Biases

By: Kate S. Boxer, Edward McFowland III and Daniel B. Neill

Predictive models that satisfy group fairness criteria in aggregate for members of a protected class, but do not guarantee subgroup fairness, could produce biased predictions for individuals at the intersection of two or more protected classes. To address this risk, we... View Details

Keywords: Predictive Models; Bias; AI and Machine Learning

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Article

The Artful Dodger: Answering the Wrong Question the Right Way

By: Todd Rogers and Michael I. Norton

What happens when speakers try to "dodge" a question they would rather not answer by answering a different question? In 4 studies, we show that listeners can fail to detect dodges when speakers answer similar-but objectively incorrect-questions (the "artful dodge"), a... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Goals and Objectives

December 1980 (Revised February 1998)
Case

McDonald's Corp. (Condensed)

By: W. Earl Sasser and David C. Rikert

Describes the operating system of McDonald's, the world's most successful fast food chain. The case does not have a decision focus; it is designed for use with Burger King Corp. Students are asked to compare the operating systems of these two fast food hamburger... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2006 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Managing National Intelligence (A): Before 9/11

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Michael Roberto and Erika Ferlins

Examines the management of national intelligence prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Describes the actions taken by a variety of government agencies, including the FBI, the CIA, the FAA, and the Department of Defense, to detect and deter such attacks. View Details

Keywords: War; National Security; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Crisis Management; Management Systems; Public Administration Industry; United States

11 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Neuroeconomics: Eyes, Brain, Business

robots, or sock puppets. But there is a point at which an object looks almost human, yet not quite human enough, and the result is disturbing. It's called the uncanny valley. And for Christine Looser, it's the starting point for a line of research aimed at discovering... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

September 1986 (Revised February 1991)
Case

Graves Industries, Inc. (C): Consumer Hardware Division

Describes events occurring over a three-year period in a division of Graves Industries. The division is being squeezed for profit, and managers in the division get involved in some fraudulent financial reporting schemes involving revenues and capitalization of... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Financial Reporting

May 2015
Article

Admitting Mistakes: Home Country Effect on the Reliability of Restatement Reporting

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Aida Sijamic Wahid and Gwen Yu

We study the frequency of restatements by foreign firms listed on U.S. exchanges. We find that the restatement rate of U.S. listed foreign firms is significantly lower than that of comparable U.S. firms and that the difference depends on the firm's home country... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Restatements; Home Country Enforcement; Earnings Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Law; Financial Reporting; Financial Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

SSRN

November 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Background Note

Note on Insider Trading Liability

By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Provides a general description and overview of U.S. law on insider trading, including the basic theories of liability, the responsibilities of securities firm managers to prevent and detect insider trading, and the potential penalties for insider trading. A rewritten... View Details

Keywords: Insider Trading; Legal Liability; Ethics; Crime and Corruption; Finance

2014
Article

Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off

By: Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin and Michael I. Norton

While a great deal of research has shown that people with more money are somewhat happier than people with less money, our research demonstrates that how people spend their money also matters for their happiness. In particular, both correlational and... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Well-being; Happiness; Money; Spending; Welfare; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

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January 2005 (Revised March 2005)
Case

WorldCom, Inc.: Two Views

By: David F. Hawkins

Financial analysis is one way to detect WorldCom's fraudulent accounting. This case presents two perspectives of WorldCom: the company as viewed by security analysts and the inside view of the accounting fraud. Also looks at the company's acquisition accounting to... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Crime and Corruption; Accounting

April 2004 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Accounting Fraud at WorldCom

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David Kiron

The principal players in WorldCom's accounting fraud included CFO Scott Sullivan, the General Accounting and Internal Audit departments, external auditor Arthur Andersen, and the board of directors. The case provides sufficient detail to allow for a full discussion of... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Financial Reporting; Organizational Culture; Corporate Governance; Accounting Audits

January 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Edwin W. Parkinson III

Molecular Insight has developed a novel biopharmaceutical to detect heart attacks. The company's unique approach to intellectual property protection uses the Hatch Waxman Act and the Orphan Drug Act. The company is struggling to raise $7 million in Series B financing.... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry