Publications

January 2014
Article

Fashioning an Industry: Socio-cognitive Processes in the Construction of Worth of a New Industry

By: Mukti Khaire

This study of the high-end fashion industry in India examines the process of construction of the worth of a new industry. Analyses of data from multiple sources revealed that framing by early entrepreneurs and the socio-cognitive processes that resulted from the... View Details

Keywords: Fashion And Creative Industries; Fashion Industry

04 Apr 2023
Blog Post

African American Student Union Spotlight on Tech

managing multiple stakeholders by listening to their needs and seeking optimal solutions to complex problems. At HBS, I use my ability to understand stakeholder needs and solve problems inside and outside... View Details

December 2015
Background Note

Incentive Systems

By: Brian J. Hall

This note serves as a supplement to any course on incentive design within organizations. The note focuses on the principal difficulties in designing incentive systems, including the tradeoff between objective and subjective performance metrics, how to design incentive... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Evaluation; Strategy

28 Apr 2023
Blog Post

From Harvard Business School to Spotify: Four Lessons in My Journey to Land My Dream Job

Rodolfo A. Diaz Cabello (MBA 2021) reflects on how his experiences at Harvard Business School supported his path to building new products at Spotify. In October 2022 I joined Spotify as a Senior Product Manager leading a team that introduces younger View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Srikant M. Datar

Professor Datar has several research and course development interests. His initial areas of research interest were in cost management and management control, strategy implementation and governance. Over the last few years his areas of interest are management education,... View Details

15 Jun 2016
News

Why Harvard Business School teaches students about whaling

July 1990
Case

Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (B)

By: Kim B. Clark and Brent D. Barnett

Ceramics Process Systems (CPS) is an advanced ceramics company facing problems with lead time in product/process development, and late delivery of prototype parts to its customers. Engineering is confronted with difficult technical problems and multiple objectives... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Business Processes; Management Practices and Processes; Supply Chain Management; Machinery and Machining; Goals and Objectives; Resource Allocation; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Manufacturing Industry

Career Coach

Deborah Resnick

consultant with McKinsey & Company, former Director of Professional Development for McKinsey's Midwest offices, and a current consultant and facilitator of leadership training at multiple tech companies, Deborah is a calibrated... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products; Retail

November–December 2018
Article

Online Network Revenue Management Using Thompson Sampling

By: Kris J. Ferreira, David Simchi-Levi and He Wang

We consider a network revenue management problem where an online retailer aims to maximize revenue from multiple products with limited inventory constraints. As common in practice, the retailer does not know the consumer's purchase probability at each price and must... View Details

Keywords: Online Marketing; Revenue Management; Revenue; Management; Marketing; Internet and the Web; Price; Mathematical Methods

Read Now

March 2002
Background Note

Incentive Strategy Within Organizations

By: Brian J. Hall

This case serves as a supplement to any course on incentive design and implementation. The analysis first locates incentive strategy within the larger structure of organizations and markets and then helps to define the central components and difficulties of incentive... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Performance Evaluation; Strategy; Situation or Environment; Problems and Challenges

08 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 8

generally unappreciated. Download the paper: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1511274 Opening Up or Shutting Down? The Effects of Multiple Identities on Problem Solving Author: Lakshmi... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Summer 2014
Article

When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda

We present a theory for why it might be rational for a platform to limit the number of applications available on it. Our model is based on the observation that even if users prefer application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there... View Details

Keywords: Platform Governance; Direct Network Effects; Indirect Network Effects; Complements; Tragedy Of The Commons; Equilibrium Selection; Coordination; Foresight; Strategy; Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Balance and Stability; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Network Effects

SSRN

We study resource allocation problems that involve multiple self-interested parties and a central decision maker. We introduce and study the price of fairness, which is the... View Details

January 2004 (Revised July 2006)
Background Note

Incentives within Organizations

By: Brian J. Hall

Serves as a brief introduction to incentive design and implementation. The analysis first locates incentive strategy within the larger structure of organizations and markets and then helps to define the central components and difficulties of incentive design. Focuses... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Motivation and Incentives

07 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Looking to Leave a Mark? Memorable Leaders Don't Just Spout Statistics, They Tell Stories

It doesn’t matter if you’re crafting a pitch for tech investors, consumers, or election-season voters. If you want your target audience to remember your message the next day, tell a story. That’s one of the findings of a new study by... View Details

January – February 2011
Article

The Price of Fairness

By: Dimitris Bertsimas, Vivek F. Farias and Nikolaos Trichakis

In this paper we study resource allocation problems that involve multiple self-interested parties or players and a central decision maker. We introduce and study the price of fairness, which is the relative system efficiency loss under a "fair" allocation assuming that... View Details

Keywords: Price; Fairness

April 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Sanjeev Kapoor: The Recipe for Success

By: Boris Groysberg and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

India's most recognized celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor has been an integral part of the country's food industry since 1993. As a celebrity chef, Kapoor enjoyed a 17-year run of his hit TV cooking show “Khana Khazana,” published more than 100 cookbook titles in multiple... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Ventures; Change; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Food; Leadership; Management; Markets; Media; Organizations; Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Relationships; Technology; Food and Beverage Industry; India; South Asia