Publications

2014
Article

Models of Caring, or Acting as if One Cared, About the Welfare of Others

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This paper surveys the theoretical literature in which people are modeled as taking other people's payoffs into account either because this affects their utility directly or because they wish to impress others with their social-mindedness. Key experimental results that... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

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31 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

One Quarter of Entrepreneurs in the United States Are Immigrants

Debates over the pluses and minuses of immigrant entrepreneurs on the American economy are white hot, but one thing seems stubbornly lacking from... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

2008
Book

On Competition

By: M. E. Porter

Competition is one of society's most powerful forces for making things better in many ﬁelds of human endeavor. The study of competition and the creation of value, in their full richness, have preoccupied me for several decades. Competition is pervasive, whether it... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Practice; Competitive Strategy; Theory; Value Creation

07 Sep 2019
Op-Ed

Even for Non-Believers, These Are the Next Steps on Climate Change

It was a dramatic contrast on our screens last week. As Hurricane Dorian unleashed nature’s fury on the Bahamas and danced with a wide swath of View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber

2020
Working Paper

An Executive Order Worth $100 Billion: The Impact of an Immigration Ban's Announcement on Fortune 500 Firms' Valuation

By: Dany Bahar, Prithwiraj Choudhury and Britta Glennon

On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) that suspended new work visas, barring nearly 200,000 foreign workers and their dependents from entering the United States and preventing American companies from hiring skilled immigrants using H-1B or L1... View Details

Keywords: Visa; Foreign Workers; Fortune 500; Immigration; Policy; System Shocks; Business Ventures; Valuation

SSRN

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May–June 1996
Article

Ruling the Net

By: D. L. Spar and Jeffrey J. Bussgang

The Internet promises a radical new world of business. But for many companies, it has yet to deliver. Although doing business in cyberspace may be novel and exhilarating, it can also be frustrating, confusing, and even unprofitable. Debora Spar and Jeffrey Bussgang... View Details

Keywords: Information Services; Online Technology

2018
Article

Insight into Gender Differences in STEM: Evidence from Peer Reviews in an Engineering Class

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Bruce Ankenman and Seyed Iravani

As the service industry moves toward self-service, peer feedback serves a critical role in this shift for educational services. Peer feedback is a process by which students provide feedback to each other. One of its major benefits is that it enables students to become... View Details

Keywords: Peer Review; Peer Feedback; STEM Education; Anonymity; Education; Gender; Education Industry

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30 Jun 2022
HBS Case

Peloton Changed the Exercise Game. Can the Company Push Through the Pain?

classes left us energized, refreshed, stronger, and ready to take on anything,” Foley explained in Peloton’s 2019 registration filing with the Securities and Exchange... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Media & Broadcasting; Health; Bicycle

December 2022 (Revised May 2024)
Background Note

Brief Note on Staggered Boards

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

This background note discusses the evolution, use, and prevalence of staggered boards. By comparison with unitary boards whose members are all elected annually for one-year terms, staggered boards are divided into subsets of directors, with one subset up for election... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business History; Trends; Decision Choices and Conditions; United States

29 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Entrepreneurial Venture: A Conversation

changing corporate world beset by reorganization, downsizing, and recession. Of that group, the Bulletin asked four members of the class to share some of their views View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

February 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Porsche: The Cayenne Launch

By: John Deighton, Jill Avery and Jeffrey Fear

Can an online discussion forum supply insight into the evolution of brand meaning? In 2003 Porsche launched a sport utility vehicle, dividing Porsche purists from newcomers to the brand. Vocal members of online and offline Porsche communities ridiculed the Cayenne SUV... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Social and Collaborative Networks; Auto Industry

November 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

West Virginia: Finding the Right Path Forward

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl, Christine Keung and Reggie Smith

Once at the center of the American economy, the state of West Virginia had seen decades of decline as its coal industry fell on hard times. With beautiful but challenging topography, a proud but shrinking population, and a new scourge of the opioid epidemic, the... View Details

Keywords: Population Health; Geographic Location; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Problems and Challenges; Social Issues; West Virginia

February 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Case

The Estate Tax Debate

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Katrina Flanagan and Valerie Galinskaya

Per dollar of revenue, no tax policy generates more sound and fury than the taxation of estates. To supporters, the tax is a break on the concentration of wealth and power and an easy way to fund redistribution. To opponents, the tax is an unjust punishment of the... View Details

Keywords: Atkinson-Stiglitz; Optimal Capital Taxation; Bequest Motives; Taxation; Family and Family Relationships; Property

May 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Marks & Spencer: The Phoenix Rises

By: Joseph L. Bower

The great U.K. retailer fell on hard times in 1998. In 2001, a new CEO was recruited who appears to have succeeded in turning around this world-renown company. This case examines the steps he took (strategic, structural, and recruiting key people) and highlights a... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Recruitment; Leadership Development; Crisis Management; Supply and Industry; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Segmentation; Retail Industry

Research Summary

Ruling the Waves: Business and Politics along the Technological Frontier

By: Debora L. Spar

There are certain periods of time when technological innovation pushes at the frontiers of government and law; when technology undermines state authority and opens massive loopholes for entreneneurs to exploit. During these critical junctures, rules disappear and... View Details

March 1984 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Decline of the Dollar, The: 1978

Describes the U.S. experience with floating exchange rates between 1973 and 1978, focusing on the rapid decline of the dollar in the summer of 1978. Illustrates the major determinants of the exchange rates and the role of government intervention in the foreign exchange... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Government and Politics; Macroeconomics; United States

Article

Power to the People

By: Eric D. Werker

Every nongovernmental organization has a mission statement. For example, CARE, one of the world's largest and best-funded NGOs, explains its mission as serving "individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Food; Service Operations; Inflation and Deflation; Experience and Expertise; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Knowledge; Poverty; Agribusiness; Diversity; Non-Governmental Organizations; Innovation and Invention; India

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Real Estate: The Most Imperfect Asset

As a driver of both the overall economy and of individual wealth, real estate is pretty hard to beat. As Harvard Business School professor Arthur Segel says, real estate is the largest asset View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Construction; Real Estate

March 2022 (Revised April 2022)
Teaching Note

Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market

By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 721-439. Within 15 years, CEO Daniel Ek had led Spotify from an ambitious startup to a multi-billion dollar company that had transformed the music industry. As part of Spotify’s next phase of growth, the platform would invest heavily in... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Divisions; Customer Relationship Management; Revenue; Music Industry