Learning By Thinking - Publications - Faculty & Research

17 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

‘Chick Beer’ for Women? Why Gender Marketing Repels More Than Sells

considered if the company hadn’t hyped their gender, according to a study by Harvard Business School. Why do these gender appeals alienate the very audience they aim to attract? People resist being categorized—or made to feel like they... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

18 Nov 2009
HBS Case

Customer Feedback Not on elBulli’s Menu

six months that elBulli, his restaurant, is open. The world is beating a path to Chef Ferran Adrià's door, but why? "Creativity comes first; then comes the customer," he has said. So what can HBS students learn about marketing... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

10 Oct 2016
Book

Why White-Collar Criminals Commit Their Crimes

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

02 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

Why COVID-19 Probably Killed More People Than We Realize

leaders need to be brave and not afraid of criticism." The research team didn’t study data in 2021, so it’s unclear whether government officials are continuing to underreport COVID deaths. But Rouen hopes leaders have learned View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

25 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence

abilities, likely from a very young age,” Coffman says. “Until we can change these stereotypes, it’s essential to think about how we can better inoculate individuals from biases induced by stereotypes,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

06 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Behavioral Finance—Benefiting from Irrational Investors

new shares you suddenly own of a company that you never intended to buy in the first place? Logic suggests that you would be likely to sell those shares. But research by Associate Professor Malcolm Baker, Professor Joshua Coval, and... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

09 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Starbucks’ Lessons for Premium Brands

Starbucks' announcement that it will close 600 stores in the United States is a long-overdue admission that there are limits to growth. In February 2007, a leaked internal memo written by founder Howard Schultz showed that he recognized... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail

14 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

The Network Effect: Why Companies Should Care About Employees’ LinkedIn Connections

become more central to the network by one decile group (for example, from the thirtieth percentile to the fortieth percentile) increase their research and development spending by 5 percent and their patent... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

20 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Stories and Research Papers of 2018

from Anywhere or Co-locate? Autonomy versus Learning Effects at the United States Patent Office This study of a real firm presents robust econometric evidence that "work from anywhere" organizational policies can have positive... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

11 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Strategy Execution and the Balanced Scorecard

Companies often manage strategy in fits and starts. Though executives may formulate an excellent strategy, it easily fades from memory as the organization tackles day-to-day operations issues, doing what HBS professor Robert S. Kaplan calls "fighting fires."... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

07 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Effective Leaders Share the Spotlight with Their Teams

impact on both employees and companies, new research shows. In fact, managers who elevate others like Bradway did are more likely to hold on to valued employees, according to a study by Yuan Zou, assistant professor of business... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

01–04 Jun 2023
Reunions

2023 HBS Spring Reunions

We look forward to welcoming you back for your reunion! This is a special opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make valuable new connections; enhance your career and life with the latest thinking on critical topics; and feel reinvigorated, inspired, and... View Details

05 May 2003
What Do You Think?

Is This a Golden Era for Marketing Productivity?

percent of new products fail within five years ... To the extent that a few, well-chosen customers might provide valuable insights into what would improve the quality of life, Professor Zaltman's ideas might be just what marketing has been looking for..." A more... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Work, Family, Private Life: Why Not All Three?

different ways by the time they get into junior high school. For girls, it's especially important to emphasize the importance of team skills, mathematics, science—"which are often not viewed as feminine pursuits and somehow get off... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

30 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash

assistant professor Maria Roche and colleagues. Essentially, the authors write, payment killed the “intrinsic joy” developers felt, a motivation akin to scientists making a big discovery. “So often, money is the quick fix. Or you think it... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

turbulence, Sucher says. “There’s a tendency to think that our rules, or any way that we interpret the law, is universal,” she says. “It’s just not true.” 2. Reduce costs without cutting people Layoffs can be effective in certain... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

05 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

How Hormones Foretell Whether People Will Cheat

and maintenance of unethical behaviors." It probably doesn't help that many businesses try to thwart potential fraud by threatening employees with severe consequences—increasing stress and thus elevating cortisol. "If you View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

09 May 2024
Research & Ideas

Called Back to the Office? How You Benefit from Ideas You Didn't Know You Were Missing

biology, physics, economics, and nanotechnology, among others. As part of that effort, Duede and team had surveyed authors of papers in their dataset in 2018, asking them to rate the degree to which their scientific thinking was... View Details