Publications

2012
Article

Signing at the Beginning Makes Ethics Salient and Decreases Dishonest Self-reports in Comparison to Signing at the End

By: L. Shu, N. Mazar, F. Gino, D. Ariely and M. Bazerman

Many written forms required by businesses and governments rely on honest reporting. Proof of honest intent is typically provided through signature at the end of the document, e.g., tax returns or insurance policy forms. Still, people sometimes cheat to advance their... View Details

Keywords: Nudge; Morality; Honesty; Self-report; Policy-making; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Reports; Policy

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18 Sep 2015
News

Why the U.S. Government Is Embracing Behavioral Science

31 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

American Idle: Workers Spend Too Much Time Waiting for Something to Do

Paul Bradbury American workers are usually a pretty busy bunch, yet their time spent idle costs employers an estimated $100 billion per year, according to a new study from Harvard Business School. “We suspected idle time might be more... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Dec 2017
HBS Seminar

Andrew Davis, Johnson, Cornell University

21 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Firms Use Non-Linear Incentive Schemes? Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Overconfidence

Keywords: by Ian Larkin & Stephen Leider

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Goh’s primary research interest is applying mathematical models to real-world problems in health care in order to inform, improve, and enhance medical decision making and health policy. His recent work in this domain focuses on developing new methods for... View Details

Keywords: Uncertainty; Optimization; Inventory Management; Health; Decision Making; Supply Chain

February 2002 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Activity-Based Management at W.S. Industries (B)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Jeremy Cott

Describes activity-based budgeting at W.S. Industries. Also describes target costing-led product redesign, and product, customer, and order profitability. View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Operations; Energy Industry; India

Educators

August 1994 (Revised May 2001)
Case

ITT Automotive: Global Manufacturing Strategy (1994)

By: Gary P. Pisano and Sharon L. Rossi

ITT Automotive is in the process of developing a new-generation antilock brake system (ABS), designated the MK-20. The case focuses on the level of automation to be used in the production of this new system, and whether all plants should use the same process... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Innovation Strategy; Production; Product Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Performance Productivity; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Belgium; Germany; United States

Educators

07 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Who Pays For Wildfire and Hurricane Damage? Everyone.

New Mexico homeowners might think their inland location buffers them from the financial toll of climate change, but they’re still paying for climate-related property damage occurring in coastal states. New research finds that homeowners in New Mexico and other states... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Insurance

21 May 2012
Research & Ideas

OSHA Inspections: Protecting Employees or Killing Jobs?

In order to get the biggest bang for taxpayers' bucks, OSHA typically inspects companies most likely to have problems, often following accidents and complaints, stacking the deck with companies that are worse than average. "Where there is... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Article

Third-party Punishment as a Costly Signal of Trustworthiness

By: Jillian J. Jordan, Moshe Hoffman, Paul Bloom and David G. Rand

Third-party punishment (TPP), in which unaffected observers punish selfishness, promotes cooperation by deterring defection. But why should individuals choose to bear the costs of punishing? We present a game theoretic model of TPP as a costly signal of... View Details

Keywords: Third-party Punishment; Trustworthiness; Behavior; Trust; Game Theory

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Fall 2018
Article

The Value of Fit Information in Online Retail: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

By: Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno

Online channels generate frictions when selling products with nondigital attributes, such as apparel. Customers may be reluctant to purchase products they have not been able to try on, and those customers who do purchase may return products when they do not fit as... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Information; Fit Uncertainty; Online Retail; Randomized Field Experiment; Virtual Fitting Room; Digital Retail; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Value; Performance Improvement; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

June 2021
Case

Modern Endowment Management: Paula Volent and the Bowdoin Endowment

By: Luis M. Viceira, Emily R. McComb and Dean Xu

This case examines modern endowment investment management through the lens of a leadership transition between Chief Investment Officers (CIOs). In March 2021, Paula Volent is about to step down as the CIO of the endowment of Bowdoin College after twenty-one years, and... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Investment Banking; Growth Management; Investment Return; Capital Markets; Interest Rates; Competition; Cost Management; Risk Management; Financial Liquidity; Performance Evaluation

Educators

19 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Zeynep Ton, MIT Sloan School of Management

19 Jun 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Accounting Information as Political Currency

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Sugata Roychowdhury; Accounting

11 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

Free Trade Needs Nurturing—and Other Lessons from History

and started World War I, and it all collapsed. As percentages of GDP, we didn’t return to those earlier levels of global capital flows until the 1990s. Global free trade is not the natural order of things. Globalization is a project, and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto; Aerospace; Chemical; Consumer Products; Electronics; Energy; Industrial Products; Manufacturing; Shipping; Transportation

May 2024
Supplement

Forest Park Capital (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

During the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, Betsy Harbison formed the search fund Forest Park Capital with the intention of purchasing a small business. The case conveys the details of Betsy’s final decision at the terminus of her search, between a software company... View Details

Keywords: Search Fund; Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition; Acquisition; Small Business; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Business Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Tourism Industry; Web Services Industry; North America; Missouri

2006
Article

Deposit Collectors

By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan and Wesley Yin

Informal lending and savings institutions exist around the world, and often include regular door-to-door deposit collection of cash. Some banks have adopted similar services in order to expand access to banking services in areas that lack physical branches. Using a... View Details