Publications

04 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 4, 2007

Working PapersThe "Fees Savings" Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta Authors:Michael I. Norton and Leonard Lee Abstract Many consumers have had the experience of entering discount membership clubs to make a few... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 27

Publisher's link: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/Wurgler_Paper_78db6340-ae41-4630-8e25-d990b547171b.pdf January 2015 Psychological Science The Moral Virtue of Authenticity: How Inauthenticity Produces Feelings of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2017 (Revised April 2018)
Background Note

Introduction to Incentive-based Sales Compensation Systems

By: Willy Shih

This background note explains the structure of incentive-based sales compensation systems. View Details

Keywords: Sales Compensation; Sales Force Compensation; Sales Force Management; Sales; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

2008
Article

Entrepreneurial Ventures and Whole-body Donations: A Regional Perspective from the United States

By: Michel Anteby and Mikell Hyman

Human cadavers are crucial to medical science. While the debate on how to secure sufficient cadavers has focused primarily on donors' behaviors, procuring organizations' roles in increasing donations remain less explored. The United States offers a unique setting in... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Behavior; Programs; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Ventures; Health Testing and Trials; Demand and Consumers; Supply Chain; For-Profit Firms; Organizations; Training; United States

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19 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Charitable Organizations Can Thwart Excuses for Not Giving

motivations for prosocial behavior, such as volunteering and charitable giving. These insights are important not only for nonprofits trying to motivate donors to give, but also for almost any company that wants to convince consumers the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

December 2007 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Xanadu on Broadway

By: Anita Elberse

Can one of Hollywood's biggest flops magically turn into a Broadway hit? Xanadu, an adaptation of a 1980 Olivia Newton-John roller-disco film described by one critic as "the epic failure to end all epic failures," opened on Broadway in July 2007. Producer Rob Ahrens,... View Details

Keywords: Theater Entertainment; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Demand and Consumers; Risk and Uncertainty; Creativity; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

03 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 3, 2009

Publication: Il Sole 24 Ore S.p.A., in press Abstract A collection of papers on ethics, translated into Italian. Social Decision Making: Social Dilemmas, Social Values, and Ethical Judgments Editors: R. M. Kramer, A. E. Tenbrunsel, and M. H. Bazerman Publication: View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

HubSpot: Lower Churn through Greater CHI

By: F. Asis Martinez Jerez, Thomas Steenburgh, Jill Avery and Lisa Brem

HubSpot, a web marketing startup is under pressure from VCs to rapidly acquire new customers and to maintain a low level of customer churn. In the case, students explore the drivers of customer churn and uncover opportunities to increase customer retention across the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Consumer Behavior; Happiness; Consulting Industry

05 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 5, 2018

creativity, its measurement, its investigation, its development, and its importance to society. The authors are the 24 psychological scientists who are most frequently cited in the four major textbooks on creativity, and they can thus be... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

labels (vs. text warning labels, calorie labels, and no labels), provided insight into psychological mechanisms driving effectiveness, and assessed consumer sentiment. Study 1 indicated that graphic warning... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 1981 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Corning Glass Works: The Z-Glass Project

By: Kim B. Clark

Considers decisions facing the leader of a manufacturing staff project team assigned to a plant where yields have deteriorated sharply. The process is complex: the plant organization is not cooperative and there are deep disagreements about what is wrong and how to fix... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Production; Problems and Challenges; Conflict Management; Performance Productivity; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Groups and Teams; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Research Summary

Overview

I am a field researcher studying the relational nature of work. Organizations are inherently social institutions and provide myriad opportunities for relationship formation. My work begins with the simple insight that all relationships are not equal: interpersonal... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Motivation; Feedback; Personal Development; Needs; Organizational Design; Performance Productivity; Social and Collaborative Networks; Networks; Groups and Teams; Family and Family Relationships; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

April 2012
Case

Introducing iSnack 2.0: The New Vegemite

By: Anat Keinan, Francis Farrelly and Michael Beverland

Vegemite is an iconic Australian breakfast spread and is often seen as a quintessential Australian product. This case focuses on Kraft's decision to revitalize brand performance through the introduction of a brand extension. Drawing on extensive social media analysis... View Details

Keywords: Food; Product Launch; Conflict and Resolution; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

September 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

Teaching Note for HBS No. 919-013. Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and... View Details

December 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and across industry. Unlike many other social media apps, on which users typically present idealized portraits of themselves, on Fishbowl,... View Details

16 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 16

Social Psychology Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal By: Aknin, Lara B., Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Justine... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Affinity Labs: Valuing Customer Growth

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. That month, Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster, which he had sold... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology