Publications

19 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Privacy Protection Notices Turn Off Shoppers

By now, it’s an expected right-of-passage. As you enter credit card information for an online purchase, up pops two familiar words: “Privacy Notice.” Does seeing those words make you more confident about the transaction, knowing that the company will safeguard your... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

10 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Why We Blab Our Intimate Secrets on Facebook

relatively neutral "Survey of Student Behaviors." The questions were exactly the same in every case. Yet participants in the "unprofessional" condition were almost twice (1.98 times) as likely to admit to having engaged in the various View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

17 Dec 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Does Apple Anchor a Shopping Mall? The Effect of the Technology Stores on the Formation of Market Structure

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Kyoungwon Seo, and Reo Song; Retail; Technology

23 Oct 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Opportunistic Returns and Dynamic Pricing: Empirical Evidence from Online Retailing in Emerging Markets

Keywords: by Chaithanya Bandi, Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe, and Zhiji Xu; Service

June 2024 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light

By: Jill Avery and Celine Chammas

On April 1, 2023, social media content creator and influencer Dylan Mulvaney recorded a promotional post. It featured a video of herself drinking from a can of Bud Light beer, offering a virtual toast to her followers. Alongside the video, she posted a photograph of a... View Details

Keywords: Brand Crises; Brand Management; Influencer Marketing; Boycott; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Social Media; Advertising; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

July 2021
Article

Energy Efficiency and Electricity Reliability

By: Eliana Carranza and Robyn C. Meeks

Overloaded electrical systems are a major source of unreliable power. Using a randomized saturation design, we estimate the impact of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) on electricity reliability and household electricity consumption in the Kyrgyz Republic. Greater... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Technology Adoption; Green Technology; Consumer Behavior; Utilities Industry; Kyrgyzstan

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December 2012 (Revised July 2015)
Supplement

Nalli Silk Sarees (B)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Namrata Arora and Vidhya Muthuram

Presents the company's perspective using an interview format. Ramnath K. Nalli, vice chairman of Nalli Silk Sarees Private Limited, and his daughter, Lavanya Nalli (HBS MBA 2011), the fifth generation entrepreneur to be involved in the family business, discuss customer... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Consumer Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Apparel and Accessories Industry

10 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Managing Churn to Maximize Profits

Keywords: by Aurélie Lemmens & Sunil Gupta; Retail

17 Jan 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Expectations, Network Effects and Platform Pricing

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Hanna Hałaburda; Entertainment & Recreation

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Information Dispersion and Auction Prices

Keywords: by Pai-Ling Yin; Technology; Web Services

September–October 2017
Article

The Surprising Power of Online Experiments: Getting the Most Out of A/B and Other Controlled Tests

By: Ron Kohavi and Stefan Thomke

In the fast-moving digital world, even experts have a hard time assessing new ideas. Case in point: At Bing, a small headline change an employee proposed was deemed a low priority and shelved for months until one engineer decided to do a quick online controlled... View Details

Keywords: Experiments; A/B Testing; Research; Consumer Behavior

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March 2024
Case

Expanding the Bicester Collection to New York

By: Boris Vallee, Kirby Brand, Kristina Brown, Julie McCrimlisk, Chloe Sztabnik and Arthur Segel

Secretariat, if anyone remembers, won the triple crown at the Belmont Race Track on Long Island, located at the nexus of La Guardia, JFK Airports, the Long Island Railroad and multiple major highways. Belmont Race Track is now being rebuilt along with an adjacent UBS... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Urban Development; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; Retail Industry; New York (state, US)

September 2018
Article

Religious Shoppers Spend Less Money

By: Didem Kurt, J. Jeffrey Inman and Francesca Gino

Although religion is a central aspect of life for many people across the globe, there is scant research on how religion affects people’s non-religious routines. In the present research, we identify a frequent consumption activity that is influenced by religiosity:... View Details

Keywords: Religion; Spending; Consumer Behavior; Values and Beliefs

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28 Sep 2020
Working Paper Summaries

What Can Economics Say About Alzheimer's Disease?

Keywords: by Amitabh Chandra, Courtney Coile, and Corina Mommaerts; Health; Pharmaceutical

23 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Status: When and Why It Matters

Consumers pay handsomely for products that are considered the best of the best in their league, whether they are the fastest cars, the fanciest handbags, or the finest wines. But for what, exactly, are they paying a premium? The superior... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

December 2022 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Applegate Farms

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Consumer Behavior; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Brands and Branding; Integration; Strategy; Change Management; Change; Organizational Structure; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States