Publications

11 Aug 2014
HBS Case

The Business of Behavioral Economics

specializing in the burgeoning field of behavioral economics. "Standard economic theory suggests that as long as people understand the full consequences of their actions, they tend to act in their self interest," says John. "If they want... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Health

Article

Behavioral Hazard in Health Insurance

By: Katherine Baicker, Sendhil Mullainathan and Joshua Schwartzstein

A fundamental implication of standard moral hazard models is overuse of low-value medical care because copays are lower than costs. In these models, the demand curve alone can be used to make welfare statements, a fact relied on by much empirical work. There is ample... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Consumer Behavior; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance Industry

December 2020
Article

Consumer Reactance to Promotional Favors

By: Marco Bertini and Aylin Aydinli

Promotional favors are an increasingly popular but seldom researched form of price promotion where the receipt of the saving by consumers depends on an action on their part that is nonmonetary in nature, such as completing a questionnaire, posting a review, or making a... View Details

Keywords: Promotional Favors; Conditional Discounts; Psychological Reactance; Price Promotions; Pricing; Marketing; Price; Consumer Behavior

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05 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting with Consumers Using Deep Metaphors

problems. Lindsay Zaltman: I have been exploring new ways to leverage the power of deep metaphors in other research methods. For instance, I have been developing an applied ethnographic approach that allows us to see how deep metaphors influence the View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products

06 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Cheers to the American Consumer

litany of reasons why America spawns so many entrepreneurs. There is barely an acknowledgment of what Amar Bhide (HBS MBA '79) has appealingly termed "the venturesome consumer." Yet this willingness to adopt new products, new processes and new services more... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

19 Sep 2019
News

Predicting Human Behaviors

Above: Sid Misra (MBA 2013) cofounder, Perceptive Automata (Len Rubenstein; courtesy of Perceptive Automata) Amid the hubbub of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest technology tradeshow, Sid Misra (MBA 2013)... View Details

Keywords: April White

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Santana studies consumer judgment and decision making within the domain of behavioral pricing and the subjective value of money. With respect to behavioral pricing, her current projects are focused on how consumers think, feel, and behave in response to... View Details

Keywords: Judgment And Decision Making; Behavioral Pricing; Consumer Behavior

2018
Article

Overcoming Barriers to Time-Saving: Reminders of Future Busyness Encourage Consumers to Buy Time

By: A. V. Whillans, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton

Spending money on time-saving purchases improves happiness. Yet, people often fail to spend their money in this way. Because most people believe that the future will be less busy than the present, they may underweight the value of these purchases. We examine the impact... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Choice; Sharing Economy; Opportunity Cost; Time-as Money; Well-being; Time Management; Happiness; Perception; Behavior

28 Oct 2009
Lessons from the Classroom

HBS Begins Teaching Consumer Finance

MBA programs in America and the top five in Europe. While some offer banking courses, and others offer behavioral courses, none had a course that was specifically about consumer finance. Here at HBS, we have... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Financial Services; Education

March 2006
Course Overview Note

Consumer Marketing: Rethinking the Core

By: Youngme E. Moon

Outlines the structure and content of an advanced MBA course entitled Consumer Marketing: Rethinking the Core. The course, which is part of the second-year curriculum at the Harvard Business School, focuses on a reexamination of several fundamental marketing paradigms... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Behavior

November 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Background Note

Why Consumers Don't Buy: The Psychology of New Product Adoption

By: John T. Gourville

Looks at the consumer psychology of new product adoption. Identifies a key reason why consumers do not adopt innovations as quickly as developers think they should--an irrational resistance to behavioral change. Identifies strategies for firms to manage and overcome... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Social Psychology

2011
Article

The Consumer Psychology of Mail-in Rebates

By: John T. Gourville and Dilip Soman

Consumers who buy a product intending to use an accompanying mail-in rebate often do not redeem the rebate. To explain this behavior, we argue that consumers use an anchoring and adjustment approach to predicting the likelihood of redeeming a rebate. In keeping with... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Sales; Motivation and Incentives

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Article

Consumer Behavior, Retailer Power and Performance in Consumer Goods Industries

By: M. E. Porter

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Performance; Goods and Commodities; Supply and Industry; Consumer Products Industry

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January 2005 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Zipcar: Influencing Customer Behavior

By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

At Zipcar, customers share the use of cars and, as a result, rely on each other for their service experience. Customers are required to keep the car clean and the gas tank full and to return the car on time. Told from the perspective of two customers: Sal Fishman, who... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Governance Controls; Behavior; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Consumer Behavior; Leasing; Transportation Industry; Service Industry; United States

March 1997
Background Note

Note on Customer Behavior

By: Gerald Zaltman

A review of selected key concepts that are useful for understanding customers. The importance of understanding customers is also discussed, along with a short description of new frontiers in the study of customer behavior. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge; Marketing; Consumer Behavior

March 2023
Article

Giving-by-proxy Triggers Subsequent Charitable Behavior

By: Samantha Kassirer, Jillian J. Jordan and Maryam Kouchaki

How can we foster habits of charitable giving? Here, we investigate the potential power of giving-by-proxy experiences, drawing inspiration from a growing trend in marketing and corporate social responsibility contexts in which organizations make charitable... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Behavior