Behavioral Economics - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

Supervisor of Sandwiches? More Companies Inflate Titles to Avoid Extra Pay

economic spectrum are creating faux management jobs, pointing to wage cases filed by workers at tech and financial services giants. The team found a five-fold increase in manager titles like “directors of first impressions” (aka... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

04 Oct 2022
What Do You Think?

Have Managers Underestimated the Need for Face-to-Face Contact?

large crowds. Have the changes in the underlying behaviors affecting many industries become so ingrained in employees, consumers, and everyday life that they will not revert to what they were before? The evidence is mixed. One can argue... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

When Goal Setting Goes Bad

Maurice Schweitzer. Q: Are goals by themselves a problem, or is it the way we use them? A: When we can so easily predict the dysfunctional behavior that will ensue, I would argue that it is the goals themselves. Far too often, people want... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 5, 2007

critical action phase. We draw on the research on behavioral forecasting, ethical fading, and cognitive distortions to gain insight into the forces driving these faulty perceptions and, noting how these misperceptions can lead to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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Faculty - Creating Emerging Markets

Research Interests : diasporas , economic development , emerging markets , globalization , strategy Interviews Adib AlZamil Dr. R.S. Sodhi Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar Muhammad Musa Mohamed Jaffer Naina Lal Kidwai Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw... View Details

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Impact Stories - Impact Stories

Impact Stories Impact Stories Play Recognizing Market Failure and Options to Address It Professor Leemore Dafny Play The Economics of Science: Turning Ideas into Applications Professor Kyle Myers Play Implementing Innovation: How to... View Details

Joseph L. Bower

JOSEPH L. BOWER, Donald K. David Professor Emeritus, has been a leader in general management at Harvard Business School for 51 years. He also served on the faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School during its first decade. He has served in many administrative roles... View Details

Keywords: banking; chemical; electronics; financial services; home appliances; hotels ＆ motels; information technology industry; insurance industry; private equity (LBO funds); retailing

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RGE Report - Race, Gender & Equity

for board leaders. [...] Read more 14 May 2025 Rewiring the Workplace: Behavioral Economics and the Future of Inclusive Organizations Addressing systemic inequality is a complex, multifaceted, and often... View Details

21 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Excessive Executive Pay: What’s the Solution?

In the search for culprits in the global financial meltdown, bloated executive pay and the excessive risk-taking behavior it fueled stand out as prime suspects. Of the two, pay dominates the headlines and provokes the most public and... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

30 Jan 2013
Working Paper Summaries

These Are the Good Old Days: Foreign Entry and the Mexican Banking System

Keywords: by Stephen Haber & Aldo Musacchio; Banking

05 Mar 2009
What Do You Think?

How Frank or Deceptive Should Leaders Be?

leadership behaviors may depend on the "context" in which they are found. As a result, one might conclude as Mike Leahy did that " I am fascinated with the range of our readers' responses to something I thought was rather... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

04 Mar 2019
What Do You Think?

What’s the Antidote to Surveillance Capitalism?

control of human behavior by totalitarian government, replacing human hopes, emotions, and even relationships with an “inside out” dominance over human thought and behavior by an all-seeing entity called Big... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Advertising; Consumer Products

19 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

Why Are Web Sites So Confusing?

recommendation systems to suggest to each individual user products or content which might interest him/her, as inferred from their past behavior or the behavior of users with similar profiles. How much... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Bruno Jullien

01 Jun 1999
News

Allison Hughes

in the all-state band and orchestra. As a Harvard undergraduate, Hughes quickly rose to prominence in economics and government circles at the University as publisher of the Harvard Political Review and copresident of the Women in View Details

Keywords: Charlie Hogg

June 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Cunard Line Ltd.: Managing Integrated Marketing Communications

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Cunard, the world's oldest luxury line company, is confronted with several key issues involving its marketing and marketing communications strategy. One concerns the balance between image/positioning advertising and short-term-oriented promotional... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Structure; Identity; Balance and Stability; Shipping Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

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Faculty - Private Capital Project

Cambridge University. He served on the staff of the President’s Council of Economics Advisers in 1990-91. Laura Huang Associate Professor of Business Administration Laura Huang is an associate professor of business administration in the... View Details

28 Sep 2023
News

Screen Time

iStock/ST.art MBA 1982’s Section B had already formed a close-knit group that gathered often in the decades following their time at the School, when the pandemic appeared in the spring of 2020. Unable to enjoy one another’s company in person, the group didn’t miss a... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

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Curriculum - Business & Environment

polycrisis) are often addressed as technical, political and economic problems. It seems unlikely that we will avert disaster unless or until the world is swept by a massive cultural shift and a social movement that insists on urgent... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Consumers Punish Firms That Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19

By: Bhavya Mohan, Serena Hagerty and Michael Norton

Two experiments, including one incentive compatible study, examine the impact of cutting pay for executives versus employees in response to COVID-19 on consumer behavior. Study 1 explores the effect of announcing cuts or no cuts to CEO and employee pay, and shows that... View Details

Keywords: Employee Furloughs; CEO Pay Cuts; Pay Ratios; Purchase Intention; Health Pandemics; Employees; Wages; Executive Compensation; Consumer Behavior