Publications

02 Mar 2011
News

HBS Faculty on Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa

13 Sep 2018
HBS Seminar

Ashley Swanson, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania

"Using Models to Persuade"

We present a framework where "model persuaders" influence receivers’ beliefs by proposing models that organize past data to make predictions. Receivers are assumed to find models more compelling when they better explain the data, fixing receivers’ prior beliefs.... View Details

Impact of Online Consumer Reviews on Sales: The Moderating Role of Product and Consumer Characteristics

This article examines how product and consumer characteristics moderate the influence of online consumer reviews on product sales using data from the video game industry. The findings indicate that online reviews are more influential for less popular games and... View Details

2025
Working Paper

Prices and Concentration: A U-shape? Theory and Evidence from Renewables

By: Michele Fioretti, Junnan He and Jorge Tamayo

We show that when firms compete via supply functions, transferring high-cost capacity to the largest, most efficient firm—thereby diversifying its production technologies while increasing concentration—can lower prices by prompting the leader to expand output and... View Details

Keywords: Diversified Production Technologies; Concentration Levels; Market Power; Supply Function Equilibrium; Hydropower; Energy Transition; Renewable Energy; Price; Competition; Supply and Industry; Energy Industry; Colombia

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July–August 2020
Article

Sarcasm, Self-Deprecation, and Inside Jokes: A User's Guide to Humor at Work

By: Brad Bitterly and Alison Wood Brooks

Humor is widely considered essential in personal relationships, but in leaders, it’s seen as an ancillary behavior. Though some leaders use humor instinctively, many more could wield it purposefully. Humor helps build interpersonal trust and high-quality work... View Details

Keywords: Managing People; Humor; Leadership; Relationships

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August 2019
Supplement

Legal Time - Confidential Information for the Defense Attorney (Drew Davis)

By: Christine L. Exley, Katherine B. Coffman and Joshua Schwartzstein

Legal Time is a two-party dynamic negotiation simulation. Students take the role of either the prosecution or the defense in a case that centers on a client who has been accused of spear-heading a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This conflict-resolution scenario gives... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Resolution; Time Stress; Negotiation; Conflict and Resolution; Fairness; Learning

15 Oct 2019
News

Fighting Poverty With Field Experiments: the Nobel Laureates’ Revolution

May 1990 (Revised April 1995)
Teaching Note

Karen Green, Teaching Note

By: Linda A. Hill

The video depicts Karen Green, a manager in her early thirties, on a company retreat. She is being considered for a project manager position, a promotion she does not receive. During the retreat, the circumstances that influenced the decision become evident. The... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Power and Influence

05 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

Lessons in Decision-Making: Confident People Aren't Always Correct (Except When They Are)

right combination of weights to maximize the load without breaking it. A coin flipping task that demonstrates the “gambler’s fallacy,” the faulty tendency to think that previous events influence a future random event. A bidding task to... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

17 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 17, 2006

influence facility managers' decisions. As a result, managers of facilities that are subjected to comparable institutional pressures adopt distinct sets of management practices that appease different external constituents. Using an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2015 (Revised November 2016)
Background Note

'World-Class' Universities: Rankings and Reputation in Global Higher Education

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

Discussions of "world-class" universities have become an academic cottage industry in the 21st century, and definitions of the term are complex and at times contradictory. This background note traces the origins of university ranking systems and their evolution from a... View Details

Keywords: Rankings; University Faculty; University Curriculum; University Administration; Higher Education; Education Industry

February 2006 (Revised December 2009)
Case

Pixamo-Inc., AG, or OOO?

Andrew Prihodko is forming a new venture, Pixamo, the next generation of online photo management and sharing sites. Pixamo's alpha site has generated over 1,000 users and a lot of information about registration and usage patterns. Prihodko must address a number of... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Globalized Firms and Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Web Services Industry; Delaware; Switzerland; Ukraine

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12 Apr 2013
News

It’s just the gravy

2021
Working Paper

T-Shaped Managers—One Size Does Not Fit All: Exploratory Study from the Military

By: Hise O. Gibson

People are an organization’s most important resource. Managers who are collaborative and innovative ensure that organizations remain competitive. This type of manager has been referred to as a T-shaped manager. “T” given that the vertical portion represents the depth... View Details

Keywords: T-shaped Management; Leader Development; Talent Management; Leadership Style; Leadership Development; Management Skills; Talent and Talent Management

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July 2011
Case

Teach Plus: Mobilizing a New Generation of Teacher Leaders

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case profiles the evolution of Teach Plus, a non-profit organization founded on the premise that in order for public schools to continuously improve urban student achievement, teaching must become a career that motivates and retains effective early career... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Making; Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Teaching; Cambridge; Boston

November 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Janet Yellen and the Bernanke Fed

By: Matthew Weinzierl and Katrina Flanagan

The unelected Federal Reserve Chairman exerts exceptional influence over the U.S., in fact global, economy. As Janet Yellen prepared to take over the position, she would look back on Chairman Bernanke's tenure during the Great Recession. During that time, Bernanke was... View Details

Keywords: Monetary Policy; Nominal Rigidity And Aggregate Demand/Aggregate Supply; Phillips Curve; Taylor Rule; Central Bank Independence; Central Banking; Money; Policy; Financial Crisis; Power and Influence; Banking Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

February 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

James Madison, the 'Federal Negative,' and the Making of the U.S. Constitution

By: David Moss and Marc Campasano

On June 8th, 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, delegates from across the United States began discussing a curious proposal to expand federal power over the states. James Madison of Virginia had suggested that the new constitution include a... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Law; Government and Politics; Power and Influence; History; South Carolina; Philadelphia; United States