Publications

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August 2020
Article

Workplace Knowledge Flows

By: Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert and Christopher Stanton

We conducted a field experiment in a sales firm to test whether improving knowledge flows between coworkers affects productivity. Our design allows us to compare different management practices and to isolate whether frictions to knowledge transmission primarily reside... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Interpersonal Communication; Employees; Performance Productivity; Sales; Motivation and Incentives

2018
Working Paper

The State of Open Source Server Software

By: Shane Greenstein and Klaus Ackermann

The study assembles new data to construct a census of worldwide web server use across the globe. We document a large concentration of investment in the United States, and a wide dispersion across scores of countries. We find tens of billions of dollars of unmeasured... View Details

Keywords: Internet; Open Source; Internet and the Web; Policy; Open Source Distribution; Internet and the Web; Global Range

2014
Other Unpublished Work

Nudging Physicians to Pursue Careers in Underserved Areas: A Case for Behavioral Economics

By: Joseph Lopez, Mona Singh, Nava Ashraf and Joel Weissman

Currently, more than 60 million Americans live in "Health Professional Shortage Areas." Unless policymakers can encourage more physicians to practice in medically under-resourced areas, an increased number of uninsured individuals newly able to obtain health insurance... View Details

Keywords: Access To Care; Health Economics; Health Reform; Minority Health; Disparities; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

Article

The Social Utility of Feature Creep

By: Debora V. Thompson and Michael I. Norton

Previous research shows that consumers frequently choose products with too many features that they later find difficult to use. Our research shows that this seemingly suboptimal behavior may in fact confer benefits when factoring in the social context of consumption.... View Details

Keywords: Impression Management; Social Influence; Conspicuous Consumption; Signaling; Product Features; Consumer Behavior; Information Technology; Experience and Expertise; Status and Position

13 Feb 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 13, 2018

Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53934 forthcoming Management Science Incentives for Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Reputations By: Exley, Christine L. Abstract—Do monetary incentives encourage... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Program

Building a Legacy

managers, or top family business leaders Also appropriate for family members with a range of financial acumen—from expert to novice Not appropriate for investors who are not representing a family's interests Attendance by multiple company representatives or family... View Details

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

produces results. Sanders insists on uniformity, even a strict dress code, to encourage team unity. Earrings are prohibited. Uniforms must fit well. Socks must be black. “Patterns of undisciplined behavior often come out at the most... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

Program

Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation

and innovate again and again. This lab-style leadership program immerses you in every stage of the innovation process. You'll roll up your sleeves and experience first-hand what it really takes to build the culture and capabilities required to View Details

October 2024
Case

Ranger Energy Services: Bridging Public & Private Markets

By: Joseph Pacelli, Ravi Ramniklal Gondalia and James Weber

In August of 2017, CSL Capital, a private equity fund founded and operated by Charlie Leykum (HBS ’04), was deciding to take one of its portfolio companies, Ranger Energy Services, public. Founded in 2014, Ranger Energy was an oilfield service company providing... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Private Equity; Business Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry; United States

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September 2022
Article

The Limits of Inconspicuous Incentives

By: Leslie K. John, Hayley Blunden, Katherine Milkman, Luca Foschini and Bradford Tuckfield

Managers and policymakers regularly rely on incentives to encourage valued behaviors. While incentives are often successful, there are also notable and surprising examples of their ineffectiveness. Why? We propose a contributing factor may be that they are not... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Behavior

Article

Returnable Reciprocity: Returnable Gifts Are More Effective than Unreturnable Gifts at Promoting Virtuous Behaviors

By: J.J. Zlatev and Rogers, T.

Increasing virtuous behaviors, such as initiating healthy habits, is an important goal for policymakers and social scientists. To promote compliance with requests to perform virtuous behaviors, we study “returnable reciprocity.” Whereas traditional reciprocity involves... View Details

Keywords: Nudges; Reciprocity; Want-should Conflicts; Wellness; Health; Behavior; Change; Well-being

Article

Are Cost Advantages from a Modern Indian Hospital Transferable to the United States?

By: R. S. Kaplan, F. Erhun, V.G. Narayanan, B. Mistry and K. Brayton, et al

We use time-driven activity-based costing to estimate the cost of personnel and space for an elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery at two U.S. hospitals, Intermountain and Baylor Heart, and Narayana Health (NH), in India. All three hospitals use modern... View Details

Keywords: Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Health Care and Treatment; Cost; Organizational Structure; Performance Efficiency; India; United States

Article

What We Can Learn from Five Naturalistic Field Experiments that Failed to Shift Commuter Behaviour

By: Ariella S. Kristal and A.V. Whillans

Across five field experiments with employees of a large organization (n = 68,915), we examined whether standard behavioural interventions (“nudges”) successfully reduced single-occupancy vehicle commutes. In Studies 1 and 2, we sent letters and emails with nudges... View Details

Keywords: Commuting; Field Experiments; Nudges; Behavior; Change

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2011
Book

Success with Science: The Winners' Guide to High School Research

By: Shiv Gaglani, Maria Elena De Obaldia, Scott Duke Kominers, Dayan Li and Carol Y. Suh

Do you want to develop useful skills, gain admission to top colleges, win scholarship money, excel at science competitions, and explore career options all while having fun? By reading this book and using the advice within it, you will learn how to formulate a research... View Details

Keywords: Science; Research

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June 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

I Paid a Bribe (Dot) Com

By: Karthik Ramanna and Rachna Tahilyani

Anti-corruption web platform "ipaidabribe.com" leverages the transparency and anonymity of the Internet to encourage private citizens in India who have been the victims of corruption to self-report details of bribes paid, including the bribe amount, the name of the... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Service Industry; India