Publications

September 2018
Article

Religious Shoppers Spend Less Money

By: Didem Kurt, J. Jeffrey Inman and Francesca Gino

Although religion is a central aspect of life for many people across the globe, there is scant research on how religion affects people’s non-religious routines. In the present research, we identify a frequent consumption activity that is influenced by religiosity:... View Details

Keywords: Religion; Spending; Consumer Behavior; Values and Beliefs

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December 2018
Article

Reserve Design: Unintended Consequences and the Demise of Boston's Walk Zones

By: Umut Dur, Scott Duke Kominers, Parag A. Pathak and Tayfun Sönmez

Admissions policies often use reserves to grant certain applicants higher priority for some (but not all) available seats. Boston’s school choice system, for example, reserved half of each school’s seats for local neighborhood applicants while leaving the other half... View Details

Keywords: Neighborhoods; Equal Access; School Choice; Affirmative Action; Desegregation; Marketplace Matching; Fairness; Local Range; Education; Policy

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Read Now

February 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

P.T. Barnum: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the life of P.T. Barnum, widely considered to the be the father of modern advertising and marketing. Barnum showed his genius for business early, selling lottery tickets and confections from his father’s store. He went on to found a famous museum of... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Personal Characteristics; Marketing; Success; Values and Beliefs; Mission and Purpose; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; Europe

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

How to Put Meaning Back into Leading

have been engaging in research examining the linkage between meaning and economic life. Through informal discussions, we came to understand that while our methods were different, we were each absorbed in trying to answer similar questions. Among them are: How can... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Nov 2014
What Do You Think?

Are We Entering an Era of Neuromanagement?

our choice(s) in life." Henry Kwok commented, "The field of neuroscience and brain scanning will only get more advanced, and thus we can expect better reading However, the job of managing and leading will be evolving in a fast changing business environment... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

28 Jul 2015
Blog Post

Nairobi Love: Heading Home

test! I am working in Nairobi with Botho Ltd, an Africa focused market insight, strategic management and investment advisory firm to identify a more profitable and sustainable growth path for them. I am certain that after graduation I... View Details

01 Jun 2002
News

Faculty Debates Lessons from Enron's Collapse

and Robert Simons. The lively and informative presentations were punctuated by questions from faculty eager to share their own insights or to challenge colleagues' assumptions. The group worked together to assemble the pieces of the Enron puzzle. How could a company... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Enron; faculty; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

May 1999
Background Note

Note on Behavioral Pricing

By: John T. Gourville

The note introduces the behavioral or psychological aspects of consumer price acceptance. Begins by reviewing the traditional economic approach to product pricing and consumer price acceptance--namely, that consumers should be willing to purchase anytime a product's... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Fairness; Price; Marketing Strategy; Behavior; Perspective; Public Opinion

Web

Leadership Execution and Action Planning (LEAP) - Course Catalog

architecture. Scaling a business, particularly into new geographical markets or product categories, involves addressing cultural, administrative, and economic tradeoffs. Successful leadership in these scenarios requires managers who are... View Details

21 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 21, 2015

developing leading positions in key markets via localized retailing strategies. Delhaize was committed to offering its customers superior value while maintaining high social, environmental, and ethical... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Aug 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Built for Global Competition from the Start

Thanks to the Internet, entrepreneurs are no longer confined to a local geography when building a new business—the world can be their market from day one. But building a startup as a global business requires managers with skills and... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Education

September 2010
Case

Aaron's: Household Goods for the U.S. Base of the Pyramid

By: Michael Chu and Charles Augustus Smithgall IV

With $2.5 billion system-wide revenues, Aaron's, a major rent-to-own supplier to the U.S. base of the pyramid, continues to grow in the recession, but CEO R.C. Loudermilk, Jr. wonders how long the company can sustain the fast growth rate of its past. Founded in 1955,... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; For-Profit Firms; Renting or Rental; Financial Crisis; Demand and Consumers; Social Enterprise; Income; Goods and Commodities; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; United States

05 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 5

PublicationsPreference Signaling in Matching Markets Authors:Peter A. Coles, Alexey Kushnir, and Muriel Niederle Publication:American Economic Journal: Microeconomics (forthcoming) Abstract Many labor View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2012
Article

Pricing to Create Shared Value

By: Marco Bertini and John T. Gourville

Many companies are in competition with their customers to extract as much value as possible from every transaction. Pricing is their weapon of choice, and consumers fight back by rooting out and disseminating pricing policies that seem unfair. The problem is that... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Marketing Strategy; Price; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Value Creation; Fairness