Publications

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27 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Gen AI Marketing: How Some 'Gibberish' Code Can Give Products an Edge

humans but do influence the behavior of LLMs. Marketers could use such machine-learning techniques to determine the best strategic text strings to include in their product information pages for desired results in almost real time, the... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology

16 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

Adam Smith, Behavioral Economist?

let them withdraw their own money until a certain amount or date has been reached. It gives their control over to the bank to help them overcome short-term impulses to spend. The product had a large and significant effect on clients' total savings, helping clients to... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

30 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

The Upside of Highlighting a Product's Downsides

further and highlighting their products’ shortcomings, companies might save consumers that step and help them buy with confidence. And, with time, hiding a product’s downsides might eventually become its own operating risk. “If... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

October 18, 2021
Article

How to Reframe What Work Means to You

By: Hubert Joly

Our society often conceives of work as something we must endure so we can afford to do something else. The former CEO of Best Buy explains why this view has led to a crisis of engagement among leaders and employees alike, and offers a different model that he introduced... View Details

Keywords: Work; Meaning In Life; Employment; Attitudes; Perspective; Mission and Purpose

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24 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Developing Your Next CEO for the Family Business

built a manufacturing company for Manitowoc Cranes as an Outsider CEO before buying that company and selling it, then being recruited by his family’s fifth generation hot sauce maker, McIlhenny Company. These family members have the right... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Auto

November 2019
Article

The Relevance of Broker Networks for Information Diffusion in the Stock Market

By: Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni, Amir Kermani and Carlo Sommavilla

This paper shows that the network of relationships between brokers and institutional investors shapes information diffusion in the stock market. We exploit trade-level data to show that central brokers gather information by executing informed trades, which is then... View Details

Keywords: Broker Networks; Institutional Investors; Asset Prices; Business and Shareholder Relations; Institutional Investing; Information; Knowledge Dissemination; Financial Markets; Asset Pricing

April 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Urbi and the City Licensee Managers

By: John D. Macomber and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

A leading low income housing builder in Mexico decides which prospective new local partner best extends its advantages in managing twin production lines of homes and clients. URBI has built substantial competitive advantage in the technology and culture that matches... View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Government and Politics; Housing; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Market Entry and Exit; Production; Supply Chain; Organizational Culture; Franchise Ownership; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Advantage; Real Estate Industry; China; India; Mexico; United States

Educators

30 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Market Makers Bid for Success

goods for sale on any one site can be distributed to all the other sites in our network for bidding. So, as a marketplace operator, you get your own marketplace, you get your own brand. But you also get the benefits, whether you buy or... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Web Services; Technology

December 2016
Article

Health Care Needs Real Competition

By: Leemore S. Dafny and Thomas H. Lee

The U.S. health care system is inefficient, unreliable, and crushingly expensive. There is no shortage of proposed solutions, but central to the best of them is the idea that health care needs more competition. In other sectors, competition improves quality and... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States

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November 2004 (Revised September 2019)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004

By: John R. Wells, Gabriel Ellsworth and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2004, the $16.8 billion U.S. health club industry continued its strong record of growth. There were almost 27,000 health clubs in the United States, up from 6,700 two decades earlier, and these clubs claimed 41 million members, over 14% of the U.S. population.... View Details

Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Customers; Demographics; Age; Income; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Retention; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Operations; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Hardware; Health Industry; United States

Educators

2015
Book

What Great Service Leaders Know and Do: Creating Breakthroughs in Service Firms

By: James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Based on decades of collective field experiences, the authors present anecdotal evidence in support of eight things that great service leaders know and do. Great service leaders know that (1) leading a breakthrough service is different, and they take steps to ensure... View Details

Keywords: Management; Leadership; Service Operations; Service Delivery

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

associated with the incumbent attracting and retaining more profitable customers over time. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=39914 Build It, Buy It Or Both? Rethinking the Sourcing of Advertising... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

When the Internet Runs Out of IP Addresses

plan? How much time would this buy us? A: A market-based approach offers a real benefit to those who still need more IPv4 addresses after ordinary supplies run out. Rather than being told that no more IPv4 space is available, on any terms... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Telecommunications

June 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Muddy Waters vs. eHealth: The Debate of a 'Lifetime'

By: Jonas Heese and Cristo Liautaud

In May 2020, an analyst was assessing eHealth’s performance. eHealth was an online / tele-sales broker of health insurance products. The stock had recently hit all-time highs, closing at a peak of $146 on March 4, 2020. But now, May 4, 2020, eHealth traded at $103. The... View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Health; Insurance; Online Technology; Insurance Industry

Educators