Publications

1985
Chapter

Cost-Benefit Analysis Applied to Risks: Its Philosophy and Legitimacy

By: Dutch Leonard and Richard Zeckhauser

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management

Nine studies investigate when and why people may paradoxically prefer bad news—e.g., hoping for an objectively worse injury or a higher-risk diagnosis over explicitly better alternatives. Using a combination of field surveys and randomized experiments, the... View Details

May 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Three Gorges Dam (A), The

By: George C. Lodge and Cate Reavis

Describes the dilemma Martin Kamarck faced as president of the Export-Import Bank in whether to provide U.S. companies financing for China's Three Gorges Dam project. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Construction Industry; Energy Industry; China; United States

Article

Drive Innovation with Better Decision-Making

By: Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards and Taran Swan

Despite their embrace of agile methods, many firms striving to innovate are struggling to produce breakthrough ideas. A key culprit, according to the authors, is an outdated, inefficient approach to decision-making. Today’s discovery-driven innovation processes involve... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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January 2005 (Revised December 2005)
Case

KAMCO and the Cross-Border Securitization of Korean Non-Performing Loans

Covers the first international nonperforming loan securitization done in Korea. The CEO of KAMCO is trying to dispose of a portfolio of nonperforming commercial loans that the organization acquired from a number of banks. A group of investment bankers have proposed... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital Markets; Financing and Loans; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Financial Services Industry; South Korea

November 2007
Case

Antegren: A Beacon of Hope

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Thomas J. DeLong and Terence Heymann

The CEO of Biogen Idec faces a set of difficult decisions regarding a promising drug for Multiple Sclerosis that is headed for early approval by the FDA. The first in a series focuses on operational decisions triggered by the drive for early approval. Sparks discussion... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Leadership; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Health Testing and Trials; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Web

Business and Climate Change Course | HBS Online

creatively to develop business solutions that mitigate climate change Explore climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts’ scalability, costs, and benefits to inform View Details

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Is High School the Right Time to Teach Self-control? The Effect of Financial Education and Mathematics Courses on Savings Behavior

By: Shawn A. Cole and Gauri Kartini Shastry

Household financial behavior affects household welfare and the economy at large. Yet our understanding of how to improve financial decisions is limited. Recent literature and policy attention have focused on financial education, for example, in high school. We use... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Financial Management; Secondary Education; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Finance; Household

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September 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Teaching Note

Work Patterns at Ditto (TN) (A), (B), (C), and (D)

By: Leslie A. Perlow

Teaching Note to (9-404-055), (9-404-056), (9-404-057), and (9-404-058). View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions

08 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, August 8, 2017

trade and production for the Ministry of Agriculture, has won a WTO sugar decision for Brazil against the EU sugar policies. This case analyzes what this decision will mean to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Katherine B. Coffman

Katherine Coffman is the Piramal Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiations, Organizations & Markets unit. Before joining HBS, she was an assistant professor of economics at The Ohio State University and a visiting assistant professor of... View Details

October 2010
Article

Power Posing: Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance

By: Dana R. Carney, Amy J.C. Cuddy and Andy J. Yap

Humans and other animals express power through open, expansive postures and powerlessness through closed, constrictive postures. But can these postures actually cause power? As predicted, results revealed that posing in high-power (vs. low-power) nonverbal displays... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Nonverbal Communication; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Gender; Power and Influence

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April 2009
Case

SAP AG: Orchestrating the Ecosystem

By: Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

Business ecosystems require careful orchestration and strategic choices regarding make/buy/partner decisions and membership access. This case examines the strategic and technological issues related to managing SAP's thriving ecosystem of user communities, software... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Structure; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Technology Industry