Publications

February 2002 (Revised April 2011)
Case

The Future of Hybrid Electric Vehicles

By: John T. Gourville, Alice Tzou and David Lane

Set in 2002, this case looks at the potential for hybrid electric vehicles in the United States. Looks at the pressures on the automotive industry to produce a commercially viable, environmentally friendly vehicle and the consumer behavior surrounding purchase of those... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Environmental Sustainability; Technology Adoption; Auto Industry; United States

February 2019
Article

The Market for Financial Adviser Misconduct

By: Mark Egan, Gregor Matvos and Amit Seru

We construct a novel database containing the universe of financial advisers in the United States from 2005 to 2015, representing approximately 10% of employment of the finance and insurance sector. We provide the first large-scale study that documents the economy-wide... View Details

Keywords: Financial Advisors; Brokers; Consumer Finance; Financial Misconduct And Fraud; FINRA; Financial Institutions; Crime and Corruption; Organizational Culture; Personal Finance; Financial Services Industry

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August 2014
Technical Note

Conjoint Analysis: A Do it Yourself Guide

By: Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia

Conjoint Analysis has become one of the most commonly used quantitative market research methods. It has been successfully employed across a wide variety of industries to quantify consumer preferences for products and services. This technical note is intended to provide... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Conjoint Analysis; Consumer Preferences; Segmentation; Product Development; Demand Measurement; Demand and Consumers; Analysis; Markets

18 Sep 2012
News

The Architecture of Innovation: The Economics of Creative Organizations

November 2023
Article

A Quantity-Driven Theory of Term Premia and Exchange Rates

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson, Jeremy C. Stein and Adi Sunderam

We develop a model in which specialized bond investors must absorb shocks to the supply and demand for long-term bonds in two currencies. Since long-term bonds and foreign exchange are both exposed to unexpected movements in short-term interest rates, a shift in the... View Details

Keywords: Term Premium; Exchange Rate; Currency Exchange Rate; Bonds

05 Jan 2016
Working Paper Summaries

The Integrity of Private Third-party Compliance Monitoring

Keywords: by Michael W. Toffel & Jodi L. Short; Manufacturing; Public Administration; Accounting; Service

November 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Goodyear and the Threat of Government Tire Grading

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis A. Yao and Elizabeth Raabe

In the spring of 1977, Goodyear CEO Charles J. Pilliod Jr. was looking at an internal report on government and legal events relevant to the tire industry. Two items caught his attention. First, he noticed that an industry suit to block the government's proposed system... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Lawsuits and Litigation; Auto Industry; Rubber Industry; United States

December 2023
Article

Save More Today or Tomorrow: The Role of Urgency in Precommitment Design

By: Joseph Reiff, Hengchen Dai, John Beshears, Katherine L. Milkman and Shlomo Benartzi

To encourage farsighted behaviors, past research suggests that marketers may be wise to invite consumers to pre-commit to adopt them “later.” However, the authors propose that people will draw different inferences from different types of pre-commitment offers, and that... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions

Fall 2024
Article

The Problem of Good Conduct Among Financial Advisers

By: Mark Egan, Gregor Matvos and Amit Seru

Households in the United States often rely on financial advisers for investment and savings decisions, yet there is a widespread perception that many advisers are dishonest. This distrust is not unwarranted: approximately one in fifteen advisers has a history of... View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Behavioral Finance; Trust; Financial Services Industry

Read Now

01 Jul 2019
Video

MBA Class of 2020 Student Voices

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

you have a major industry that still has lots to reveal. We asked Jones to discuss his research and his new book. Sean Silverthorne: What inspired your interest in the beauty business and its history? Geoffrey Jones: My initial View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

04 Feb 2025
HBS Seminar

Anocha Aribarg, University of Michigan

05 Jul 2023
Cold Call Podcast

How Unilever Is Preparing for the Future of Work

Keywords: Re: William R. Kerr; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

22 Oct 2014
HBS Seminar

Koleman Strumpf, University of Kansas School of Business

August 2013
Article

The Timing of Pay

By: Christopher Parsons and E. Van Wesep

There exists large and persistent variation in not only how, but when employees are paid, a fact unexplained by existing theory. This paper develops a simple model of optimal pay timing for firms. When workers have self-control problems, they under-save... View Details

Keywords: Payday Lending; Hyperbolic Discounting; Self-control Problems; Pay Frequency; Payday Loan Legislation; Paycheck Frequency; Time Inconsistency; Wages; Behavior; Employee Relationship Management

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May 16, 2016
Article

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

By: Dina Gerdeman and John A. Quelch

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s ongoing struggle to win customers back months after a contaminated food crisis highlights the challenges companies face with keeping food safe.

Chipotle has seen its shares tumble and recently reported its first-ever quarterly loss... View Details