Publications

April 1994
Background Note

Notes on Factor Analysis

By: Alvin J. Silk

March 1994 (Revised April 1994)
Background Note

Notes on Thurstone Scaling

By: Alvin J. Silk

August 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

American Airlines' Value Pricing (A)

By: Alvin J. Silk

In April 1992, American Airlines launched "Value Pricing" -- a radical simplification of the complex pricing structure that had evolved over more than a decade following deregulation of the U.S. domestic airline industry. American expected that the new pricing... View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Performance Expectations; Value Creation; Aerospace Industry

February 1990 (Revised August 1990)
Background Note

Questionnaire Design and Development

By: Alvin J. Silk

An introduction to the design of questionnaires administered in surveys undertaken in management and social science research. Outlines a multistep process for developing a questionnaire. View Details

Keywords: Questionnaires

30 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 30

theorists differ as to whether exploitation undermines or enhances exploration. The debate reflects a gap—the missing theoretical mechanism by which organizations break free of old routines and discover new ones. We propose that the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 1999
Background Note

Note on Statistical Tests for a Randomized Matched Pair Experimental Design, A

By: Alvin J. Silk

Concerns understanding the conditions under which an experimental design that employs matching and randomization may result in gains in precision as compared to a design that utilizes randomization and independent samples--i.e., no matching. An empirical example is... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Performance Efficiency; Mathematical Methods

January 1996
Background Note

Brand Valuation Methodology: A Simple Example

By: Alvin J. Silk

Provides a simple illustration of a methodology for making a financial evaluation of a brand. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Brands and Branding; Valuation

January 1994 (Revised March 2000)
Background Note

Notes on Reliability and Attitude Measurement

By: Alvin J. Silk

Keywords: Attitudes; Performance Consistency

01 Oct 2000
News

Faculty Retirements

a Ph.D. (1968) in economics, finance, and accounting from the University of Chicago. Alvin J. Silk Alvin Silk, the Lincoln Filene Professor of... View Details

13 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 13

http://hbr.org/product/what-makes-analysts-say-buy/an/F1211B-PDF-ENG The Internalization of Advertising Services: An Inter-Industry Analysis Authors:Sharon Horsky, Steven C. Michael, and Alvin J. View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1994
Case

BayFunds

By: Alvin J. Silk, Lisa Klein Pearo and Jamie Harper

In June, 1994, the Senior Vice President of BayBank's Investment Management Group is preparing a strategic plan for her organization's line of mutual funds. Sixteen months earlier, BayBank, Massachusetts's leading retail bank, had entered the mutual fund business by... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Investment Funds; Product Marketing; Integration; Financial Services Industry

01 Mar 2005
News

Faculty Research Online

directly to consumers. Do physicians take notice? Professor Emeritus Alvin Silk and Harvard’s Joel Weissman discuss a recent study. The Changing Roles of Doctors and Patients Richard Bohmer, a physician as... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

24 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 24, 2009

for Implementing Planned Organizational Change Authors:Julie Battilana, M.J. Gilmartin, A.-C., Pache, M. Sengul, and J. Alexander Periodical:Leadership Quarterly (forthcoming) Abstract This paper bridges the leadership and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September–October 2021
Article

Internalization of Advertising Services: Testing a Theory of the Firm

By: Alvin J. Silk, Birger Wernerfelt and Shuyi Yu

In 1956, a group of trade associations representing publishers and independent advertising agencies signed a consent decree aimed at ending a set of trade practices that for half a century effectively precluded advertisers from owning and operating in-house agencies.... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Specialization; Theory Of The Firm; Advertising Agencies; Advertising; Organizational Structure; Theory

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19 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 19, 2006

Working PapersAnomalies in Estimates of Cross-Price Elasticities for Marketing Mix Models: Theory and Empirical Test Authors:Andre Bonfrer, Ernest R. Berndt, and Alvin Silk Abstract We investigate the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September–October 2019
Article

How Purchase Probability Scales Can Shed Light on Consumer Purchase Intentions

By: Rene Befurt and Alvin J. Silk

Market researchers generally, and survey experts specifically, study consumers to learn about their behavior: What are consumers’ opinions, attitudes, thoughts, and actions at the various stages of the buying process? Especially in litigation cases, these and other... View Details

Keywords: Purchase Intentions; Buying Process; Consumer Behavior; Surveys

November 1994 (Revised September 1996)
Case

RiceSelect

By: Alvin J. Silk and Mary Shelman

In August 1994, Robin Andrews, President of RiceTec, Inc., faces a critical decision that will affect his firm's future: what policy should RiceTec follow for supplying grocery retailers with private label merchandise? RiceTec, a small privately owned firm engaged in... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Private Ownership; Research and Development; Conflict Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry