Publications

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Research Summary

Precautionary Bidding in Auctions

Joint work with Peter Esö, MEDS Department, Kellogg School of Management

We analyze bidding behavior in auctions when risk-averse bidders bid for an object whose value is risky. We show... View Details

Research Summary

Economic Catastrophe Bonds

(with Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford)

The central insight of asset pricing is that a security's value depends on both its distribution of payoffs across economic states and state prices. In fixed income markets, many investors focus exclusively on estimates of... View Details

May 2, 2023
Editorial

Onboarding NextGens

By: Christina R. Wing and Rohit K. Gera

The process of onboarding the next generation into a family business can be both fulfilling and challenging. In many cases, the NextGen feel that they have been a part of the family business for their entire lives, and taking their place within the company feels... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Employees

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November 2022
Article

Impacts of Micromobility on Car Displacement with Evidence from a Natural Experiment and Geofencing Policy

By: Omar Isaac Asensio, Camila Apablaza, M. Cade Lawson, Edward W Chen and Savannah J Horner

Micromobility, such as electric scooters and electric bikes—an estimated US$300 billion global market by 2030—will accelerate electrification efforts and fundamentally change urban mobility patterns. However, the impacts of micromobility adoption on traffic congestion... View Details

Keywords: City; Policy; Transportation; Sustainable Cities

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June 2024
Article

Redistributive Allocation Mechanisms

By: Mohammad Akbarpour, Piotr Dworczak and Scott Duke Kominers

Many scarce public resources are allocated at below-market-clearing prices, and sometimes for free. Such "non-market" mechanisms sacrifice some surplus, yet they can potentially improve equity. We develop a model of mechanism design with redistributive concerns. Agents... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Welfare; Mathematical Methods; Market Design; Cost vs Benefits

SSRN

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October 2015
Teaching Note

Molycorp: Financing the Production of Rare Earth Minerals (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Molycorp, the western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth minerals, was in the middle of a $1 billion capital expenditure project in its effort to become a vertically integrated supplier of rare earth minerals, oxides, and metals. Yet it had just reported lower... View Details

May 2001 (Revised February 2005)
Case

KONE: The MonoSpace Launch in Germany

By: Das Narayandas and Gordon Swartz

Focuses on the launch of a new elevator product in Germany. In 1996, global construction slumps and low differentiation among competitive offerings has led to significant price competition and margin erosion in the elevator industry. In these circumstances, KONE, one... View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Product Launch; Product Development; Construction Industry; Germany

2021
Working Paper

Competitive Two-Part Tariffs

By: Jorge Tamayo and Guofu Tan

We study competitive two-part tariffs in a model of asymmetric duopoly firms that offer (vertically and horizontally) differentiated products. We show that the sign of the markup for each product depends on the average expected demand among all customers as well as the... View Details

Keywords: Product Differentiation; Two-part Tariffs; Marginal-cost Pricing; Cross-subsidization; Competition; Price

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October 2019
Case

Feeling Machines: Emotion AI at Affectiva

By: Shane Greenstein and John Masko

In 2016, Affectiva—a Boston-based emotion AI software company with a long track record of building emotion-sensing software for market research—had attempted to expand into new verticals by releasing a mobile software development kit (SDK) that downloaders could adapt... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Market Research; Business Model; Finance; Revenue; Decision Making; Risk and Uncertainty; Market Entry and Exit; Applications and Software; AI and Machine Learning; Information Technology Industry; Auto Industry; United States

June 1995
Case

Polaroid Corporation: European Distribution System

By: Janice H. Hammond and Afroze A Mohammed

Describes distribution operations in Polaroid Europe. In the late 1980s, Polaroid senior management in the United States proposed moving from a system of 12 decentralized warehouses to a centralized distribution system in which all inventory for European retailers... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Operations; Risk Management; Distribution Channels; Logistics; Transition; Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Industry Structures; Consumer Products Industry; Europe; European Union; United States

Business leaders are being urged to adopt a multistakeholder approach to governance in place of the shareholder-centered approach that has guided their work for several decades. But through hundreds of interviews with directors, executives, investors, governance... View Details

Research Summary

Working Papers

By: Dennis A. Yao

Lewis, Tracy R. and Dennis A. Yao. (2001, revised 2006). "Innovation, Knowledge Flow, and Worker... View Details

July 9, 2019
Article

Setting Better Sales Goals with Analytics

By: Doug J. Chung, Isabel Huber, Vinay Murthy, Varun Sunku and Marije Weber

Sales compensation is a critical lever in motivating a salesforce and driving growth in the business-to-business sector: Studies show that revising compensation in line with market trends can have a 50% greater impact on sales than advertisements have, for instance. A... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives

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2006
Article

Voluntary Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: Coordinating Duties of Rescue and Justice

By: Nien-he Hsieh

This paper examines the extent to which the voluntary adoption of codes of conduct by multinational corporations (MNCs) renders MNCs accountable for the performance of actions specified in a code of conduct. In particular, the paper examines the ways in which codes of... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures

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November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
Case

WESCO Distribution, Inc.

By: Das Narayandas

In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution; Sales; Balance and Stability; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry

September 1986
Case

BOC Group: Ohmeda (A)

The president of Ohmeda, a wholly owned company of the BOC Group, plans to grow the company's medical equipment sales from $95 million in 1985 to $158 million in five years by focusing on the sale of "high-tech" equipment. At the same time, the president expects to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Salesforce Management; Marketing Channels; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry