Exploratory Learning Behaviors - Publications - Faculty & Research

26 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Two sides, same coin: How I left the Bay Area as an operator and returned as an investor

enough for me to rely on my experience as an operator; I needed to understand the other side: the world of venture capital. With this aspiration, I left startup mecca for HBS to learn about term sheets and cap table mechanics. While at... View Details

21 May 2025
Blog Post

Mentorship in Action: When an HBS Student Proposes a Project

leadership—including yours. If you're contacted by a student with a thoughtful proposal, know that your openness—even to an exploratory conversation—can help shape a valuable experience for both of you. Read on for one student’s story of... View Details

01 Sep 2012
News

Ideas in Action

were more likely to feel regret that they had spent their break working and studying. And not surprisingly, alumni with 40 years of hindsight were even more likely to feel pangs of regret about trips in which they didn’t indulge. “It was moving to View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons;Julia Hanna;Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

Working Paper

AI in Disguise—How AI-generated Ads' Visual Cues Shape Consumer Perception and Performance

By: Yannick Exner, Jochen Hartmann, Oded Netzer and Shunyuan Zhang

Generative AI’s recent advancements in creating content have offered vast potential to transform the advertising industry. This research investigates the impact of generative AI-enabled visual ad creation on real-world advertising effectiveness. For this purpose, we... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; AI and Machine Learning; Advertising; Consumer Behavior; Advertising Industry

Citation

SSRN

17 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Beyond Pajamas: Sizing Up the Pandemic Shopper

significantly as more consumers than ever started shopping online. As vaccines fuel hope about life after COVID-19, retailers are trying to learn more about the pandemic shopper. Are they different from the existing online users? Do they... View Details

Keywords: by Ayelet Israeli, Eva Ascarza, and Laura Castrillo; Retail

01 Sep 2011
News

Breaking Free from Fear of Change

perform perfectly. They focus myopically on success. That drive can lead to tremendous professional achievements. But as careers progress, continued success requires the ability to change and adapt to new conditions, to take the risk of trying something that requires a... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

18 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 18, 2007

http://www.stifterverband.de/site/php/medien.php?SID=&seite=Publikation&pubnr=140 Analyzing the Evolution of Large-Scale Software Systems Using Design Structure Matrices and Design Rule Theory: Two Exploratory Cases.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Customer Experts Lose Influence When Teams are Pressured

than learning from the experience, and revert to the "comfort zones" of behavior consistent with their roles on the team (that is, junior experts reduce contributions and more senior members become... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

Initiation to Graduation By: Raisch, Sebastian, and Michael Tushman Abstract—Large companies initiate many new businesses, but few of them reach scale. The ambidexterity literature describes how companies create exploratory businesses,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Community | Research Associates

as mentors to incoming RAs. The cohort model creates meaningful connections and a shared learning environment similar to those RAs may find in future doctoral studies. This experience, along with co-located workspaces and tailored... View Details

17 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is There Help for the Big Ticket Buyer?

territory, all of them are looking for guidance on how to make more rational consumption decisions. Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that I have strong opinions on these issues, many of them informed by research on... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman

01 Sep 2009
News

Consumer Finance Makes HBS Debut

our curriculum. Was HBS alone in not offering a consumer finance course? No. I surveyed the top twenty MBA programs in America and the top five in Europe. While some offer banking courses, and others offer behavioral courses, none had a... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance

17 Apr 2019
News

Give It to Me Straight

but also be really effective. I learned so much at Google about this. I want to tell you the story about getting criticism from my boss because I learned a lot from this moment. It was shortly after I joined... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

utilize such data are of considerable interest. Unfortunately, existing methods for analyzing the data in such systems ignore the open-ended exploratory nature of such systems that requires the assessment of multiple possible adverse... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

01 Jun 2014
News

Alumni and Faculty Books for June 2014

exercises, and practices that have helped managers gain the skills, courage, and confidence to lead. College Sports Traditions: Picking Up Butch, Silent Night, and Hundreds of Others by Stan Beck (PMD 64, 1992) and Jack Wilkinson (Scarecrow Press) Drucker & Me: What a... View Details

2025
Working Paper

Global Evidence on Gender Gaps and Generative AI

By: Nicholas G. Otis, Solène Delecourt, Katelynn Cranney and Rembrand Koning

Generative AI has the potential to transform productivity and reduce inequality, but only if adopted broadly. In this paper, we show that recently identified gender gaps in generative AI use are nearly universal. Synthesizing data from 18 studies covering more than... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Technology Adoption; Behavior

Citation

Read Now

01 Dec 2012
News

From Where We Stand

What can men learn from women leaders? What are the responsibilities of a leader today? What did you learn from the experience when you failed at something? What makes a good mentor? Whom do you admire in... View Details

Student-Profile

Mengjie "Magie" Cheng

Magie Cheng (she/her) worked for a social network company in their machine learning group and spent much of her time analyzing user behavior for a wide range of social networking applications. She became... View Details

22 Feb 2022
News

Q&A: The Post-Pandemic Path

associate dean for Faculty Development and Research and faculty director of the Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability Project. “The national unemployment rate early in the pandemic had jumped to over 13 percent; the standard prediction... View Details

Keywords: April White

05 Nov 2014
What Do You Think?

Are We Entering an Era of Neuromanagement?

question, behavioral science not based on those assumptions gained ascendance. At first, the contributions from behavioral science were based on laboratory tests, too many of them involving handy college... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Publications