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(718)
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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(718)
- News (33)
- Research (637)
- Events (2)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (358)
- 07 Apr 2022
- Research & Ideas
Giving Back: Consumers Care More About How Companies Donate Than How Much
profits over one week. The psychology of giving Consumers might be making these choices for several reasons, even beyond judgments of generosity, Keenan says. For example, people shopping for brands that... View Details
Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds
- Article
Inviting Consumers to Downsize Fast-Food Portions Significantly Reduces Calorie Consumption
By: Janet Schwartz, Jason Riis, Brian Elbel and Dan Ariely
Policies that mandate calorie labeling in fast-food and chain restaurants have had little or no observable impact on calorie consumption to date. In three field experiments, we tested an alternative approach: activating consumers' self-control by having servers ask... View Details
Keywords: Food; Labels; Consumer Behavior; Interpersonal Communication; Motivation and Incentives; Health Industry; Food and Beverage Industry
Schwartz, Janet, Jason Riis, Brian Elbel, and Dan Ariely. "Inviting Consumers to Downsize Fast-Food Portions Significantly Reduces Calorie Consumption." Health Affairs 31, no. 2 (February 2012): 2399–2407.
- December 2008
- Article
Remedying Hyperopia: The Effects of Self-Control Regret on Consumer Behavior
By: Anat Keinan and Ran Kivetz
Keinan, Anat, and Ran Kivetz. "Remedying Hyperopia: The Effects of Self-Control Regret on Consumer Behavior." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 45, no. 6 (December 2008).
- 24 Aug 2016
- Research & Ideas
Behavioral Economists Can Make You a Healthier Consumer and Smarter Marketer
behavioral science, specifically, behavioral economics, tries to understand consumers as they actually behave and promote changes in their decision making around those biases. Harvard Business School Associate Professor Leslie John... View Details
Keywords: by Amelia Kunhardt
- Article
A Brand's Eye View of Response Segmentation in Consumer Choice Behavior
By: Randolph E. Bucklin, Sunil Gupta and Sangman Han
Bucklin, Randolph E., Sunil Gupta, and Sangman Han. "A Brand's Eye View of Response Segmentation in Consumer Choice Behavior." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 32, no. 1 (February 1995): 66–74.
- 2019
- Book
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
By: Shoshana Zuboff
In this masterwork of original thinking and research, Shoshana Zuboff provides startling insights into the phenomenon that she has named surveillance capitalism. The stakes could not be higher: a global architecture of behavior modification threatens human nature in... View Details
Keywords: Consumer Profiling; Consumer Behavior; Forecasting and Prediction; Information Technology; Power and Influence; Ethics; Society; Transformation
Zuboff, Shoshana. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. New York: PublicAffairs, 2019.
- 2002
- Article
Personalization and Personality: Some Effects of Customizing Message Style Based on Consumer Personality
By: Youngme Moon
Moon, Youngme. "Personalization and Personality: Some Effects of Customizing Message Style Based on Consumer Personality." Journal of Consumer Psychology 12, no. 4 (2002): 313–326.
- winter 2001
- Article
Interpreting Consumer Perceptions of Advertising: An Application of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique
By: Robin A. Coulter, Gerald Zaltman and Keith S. Coulter
Coulter, Robin A., Gerald Zaltman, and Keith S. Coulter. "Interpreting Consumer Perceptions of Advertising: An Application of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique." Journal of Advertising (winter 2001).
- 2023
- Working Paper
The Impact of Unionization on Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality: Evidence from Starbucks
By: Isamar Troncoso, Minkyung Kim, Ishita Chakraborty and SooHyun Kim
The US has seen a rise in union movements, but their effects on service industry marketing outcomes like customer satisfaction and perceptions of service quality remain understudied. In this paper, we empirically study the impact on customer satisfaction and... View Details
Keywords: Labor Unions; Customer Satisfaction; Perception; Public Opinion; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry
Troncoso, Isamar, Minkyung Kim, Ishita Chakraborty, and SooHyun Kim. "The Impact of Unionization on Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality: Evidence from Starbucks." Working Paper, 2023.
- October 2019 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance
By: Michael Chu, Brian Trelstad and John Masko
In 2009, Dan Meyer and Richard Palmer, two veterans of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, founded Nehemiah Manufacturing to build FMCG brands while providing jobs to Cincinnati, Ohio’s beleaguered urban core. Two years later, the pair made their first... View Details
Keywords: Fast Moving Consumer Goods; Social Entrepreneurship; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employment; Human Capital; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Social Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Prejudice and Bias; City; Urban Scope; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Ohio; United States
Chu, Michael, Brian Trelstad, and John Masko. "Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance." Harvard Business School Case 320-008, October 2019. (Revised August 2022.)
- Article
Believe Me, I Have No Idea What I Am Talking About: The Effects of Source Certainty on Consumer Involvement and Persuasion
By: Uma R. Karmarkar and Zakary L. Tormala
This research explores the effect of source certainty-that is, the level of certainty expressed by a message source-on persuasion. The authors propose an incongruity hypothesis, suggesting that source certainty effects depend on perceived source expertise. In three... View Details
Keywords: Research; Experience and Expertise; Risk and Uncertainty; Consumer Behavior; Performance Expectations; Interests; Power and Influence
Karmarkar, Uma R., and Zakary L. Tormala. "Believe Me, I Have No Idea What I Am Talking About: The Effects of Source Certainty on Consumer Involvement and Persuasion." Journal of Consumer Research 36, no. 6 (April 2010): 1033–1049.
- August 2009
- Article
Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer
By: John Beshears and Katherine L. Milkman
We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by comparing the purchases online grocery customers make when redeeming $10-off coupons with the purchases they make without coupons. Controlling for customer fixed effects and other variables, we... View Details
Keywords: Mental Accounting; Windfalls; Marginal Propensity To Consume; Coupons; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Accounting; Cognition and Thinking; Retail Industry
Beshears, John, and Katherine L. Milkman. "Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 71, no. 2 (August 2009): 384–394.
- Article
Social Dimension of Consumer Distinctiveness: The Influence of Social Status on Group Identity and Advertising Persuasion
By: Sonya Grier and Rohit Deshpandé
Grier, Sonya, and Rohit Deshpandé. "Social Dimension of Consumer Distinctiveness: The Influence of Social Status on Group Identity and Advertising Persuasion." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 38, no. 2 (May 2001): 216–224.
- June 2019
- Article
Brokers vs. Retail Investors: Conflicting Interests and Dominated Products
By: Mark Egan
I study how brokers distort household investment decisions. Using a novel convertible bond dataset, I find that consumers often purchase dominated bonds—cheap and expensive versions of otherwise identical bonds coexist in the market. The empirical evidence suggests... View Details
Keywords: Brokers; Fiduciary Standard; Consumer Finance; Structured Products; Household; Investment; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Conflict of Interests
Egan, Mark. "Brokers vs. Retail Investors: Conflicting Interests and Dominated Products." Journal of Finance 74, no. 3 (June 2019): 1217–1260.
- September 2024 (Revised May 2025)
- Case
Carrie Wang: Choosing Between the Family Firm and the Family Spirit
By: Lauren Cohen, Fei Wu and Sophia Pan
Carrie Wang, Investment Head of the Wang’s single-family office, contemplated her next career steps. As one of the first businessmen who had risen from China’s industrial rise, her father had grown his wealth to a considerable level, eventually requesting that his... View Details
Keywords: Family Office; Interests Of Consumers; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Financial Markets; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Private Equity; Customer Relationship Management; Interests; Reputation; Work-Life Balance; Real Estate Industry; China
- 2024
- Working Paper
The Value of Silence: The Effect of UMG’s Licensing Dispute with TikTok on Music Demand
By: Mengjie (Magie) Cheng, Elie Ofek and Hema Yoganarasimhan
Social media platforms like TikTok have transformed how music is discovered, consumed, and
monetized. This study examines the implications of the dispute between TikTok and Universal Music
Group (UMG), which resulted in UMG excluding its music from TikTok from... View Details
Keywords: Demand And Consumers; Monetization; Social Media; Revenue; Conflict and Resolution; Music Industry
Cheng, Mengjie (Magie), Elie Ofek, and Hema Yoganarasimhan. "The Value of Silence: The Effect of UMG’s Licensing Dispute with TikTok on Music Demand." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-014, July 2024. (Revised October 2024.)
- October 2021
- Article
Fintech Borrowers: Lax Screening or Cream-Skimming?
By: Marco Di Maggio and Vincent Yao
Personal credit is the fastest-growing segment of the consumer credit market, mainly driven by fintech lenders' staggering expansion. We study this market using a unique individual-level data, which covers most of the top fintech and traditional lenders, and provides... View Details
Keywords: Fintech; Lending; Consumer Finance; Credit History; Self-control; Present Bias; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Credit; Behavior
Di Maggio, Marco, and Vincent Yao. "Fintech Borrowers: Lax Screening or Cream-Skimming?" Review of Financial Studies 34, no. 10 (October 2021): 4565–4618. (LEAD ARTICLE and EDITOR'S CHOICE.)
- June 2012
- Class Lecture
Why You're Not Buying Venezuelan Chocolate: The Provenance Paradox
By: Rohit Deshpandé
A product's country of origin establishes its authenticity. This is the provenance paradox. Consumers associate certain geographies with the best products: French wine, Italian sports cars, Swiss watches. Competing products from other countries - especially developing... View Details
Keywords: Global Business; Branding; Strategic Planning; Strategic Positioning; Emergent Countries; Consumer Perception; Developing Markets; Brands and Branding; Geographic Location; Globalized Markets and Industries; Perception; Emerging Markets; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Venezuela
Deshpandé, Rohit. "Why You're Not Buying Venezuelan Chocolate: The Provenance Paradox ." Harvard Business School Class Lecture 512-703, June 2012.
- Research Summary
Overview
By: John Beshears
In his research, Professor Beshears shows how managers can influence the behavior of customers and employees by changing the decision-making environment to call attention to a decision, to use psychological framing to shape assessments of options, or to help... View Details
AI Adoption Barriers: "Why People Resist Embracing AI"
IdeaCast Podcast Interview: The Consumer Psychology of Adopting AI View Details