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- All HBS Web
(1,725)
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- News (264)
- Research (1,159)
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- 2024
- Working Paper
What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences
By: Mark Egan, Alexander MacKay and Hanbin Yang
We present an empirical model of portfolio choice that allows for the nonparametric estimation of investors' (subjective) expectations and risk preferences. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 401(k) plans from 2009 through 2019, we explore heterogeneity in asset... View Details
Keywords: Stock Market Expectations; Demand Estimation; Retirement Planning; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); Finance; Investment Portfolio; Investment; Retirement; Behavioral Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States
Egan, Mark, Alexander MacKay, and Hanbin Yang. "What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-044, December 2021. (Revisions Requested at the Review of Financial Studies. Revised April 2024. Direct download. NBER Working Paper Series, No. 29604, December 2021)
- 2015
- Chapter
Framing the Game: How Brands' Relationships with Their Competitors Affect Consumer Preference
By: Neeru Paharia, Jill Avery and Anat Keinan
In this chapter, we explore how brands' relationships with their competitors affect consumers' preferences. Through a series of experiments, we show that the competitive context in which a brand operates can affect consumers' purchase interest and purchase frequency.... View Details
Keywords: Brand Management; CRM; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competition; Consumer Products Industry
Paharia, Neeru, Jill Avery, and Anat Keinan. "Framing the Game: How Brands' Relationships with Their Competitors Affect Consumer Preference." Chap. 2 in Strong Brands, Strong Relationships, edited by Susan Fournier, Michael Breazeale, and Jill Avery. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2015.
- 15 Jan 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
The Promise of Positive Optimal Taxation: A Generalized Theory Calibrated to Survey Evidence on Normative Preferences Explains Puzzling Features of Policy
Keywords: by Matthew Weinzierl
- 2022
- Chapter
Prioritarianism and Optimal Taxation
By: Matti Tuomala and Matthew Weinzierl
Prioritarianism has been at the center of the formal approach to optimal tax theory since its modern starting point in Mirrlees (1971), but most theorists’ use of it is motivated by tractability rather than explicit normative reasoning. We characterize analytically and... View Details
Keywords: Prioritarianism; Optimal Taxation; Utilitarianism; Redistribution; Inverse-optimum; Taxation; Theory; Policy
Tuomala, Matti, and Matthew Weinzierl. "Prioritarianism and Optimal Taxation." In Prioritarianism in Practice, edited by Matthew Adler and Ole Norheim. Cambridge University Press, 2022. (Also published in HBR Insights, December 2020.)
- 28 Jun 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Film Rentals and Procrastination: A Study of Intertemporal Reversals in Preferences and Intrapersonal Conflict
- 2020
- Working Paper
Prioritarianism and Optimal Taxation
By: Matti Tuomala and Matthew C. Weinzierl
Prioritarianism has been at the center of the formal approach to optimal tax theory since its modern starting point in Mirrlees (1971), but most theorists’ use of it is motivated by tractability rather than explicit normative reasoning. We characterize analytically and... View Details
Keywords: Prioritarianism; Optimal Taxation; Utilitarianism; Redistribution; Inverse-optimum; Taxation; Theory
Tuomala, Matti, and Matthew C. Weinzierl. "Prioritarianism and Optimal Taxation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, December 2020.
- July 2021
- Article
Structuring Local Environments to Avoid Diversity: Anxiety Drives Whites' Geographical and Institutional Self-Segregation Preferences
By: Eric Anicich, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Merrick Osborne and L. Taylor Phillips
The current research explores how local racial diversity affects Whites’ efforts to structure their local communities to avoid incidental intergroup contact. In two experimental studies (N=509; Studies 1a-b), we consider Whites’ choices to structure a fictional,... View Details
Keywords: Segregration; Structural/institutional Racism; Organizational Exclusion; Diversity; Race; Organizations; Local Range; Prejudice and Bias
Anicich, Eric, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Merrick Osborne, and L. Taylor Phillips. "Structuring Local Environments to Avoid Diversity: Anxiety Drives Whites' Geographical and Institutional Self-Segregation Preferences." Art. 104117. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 95 (July 2021).
- 2021
- Working Paper
Time Dependence and Preference: Implications for Compensation Structure and Shift Scheduling
By: Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim and Byoung G. Park
This study jointly examines agents’ time dependence—period effects within instantaneous utility—and time preference—behavior on discounting future utility. The study considers the start- and end-of-period effects for time dependence and exponential and hyperbolic... View Details
Keywords: Time Preferences; Present Bias; Hyperbolic Discounting; Compensation; Dynamic Structural Models; Identification; Time Management; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Performance; Compensation and Benefits
Chung, Doug J., Byungyeon Kim, and Byoung G. Park. "Time Dependence and Preference: Implications for Compensation Structure and Shift Scheduling." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-121, April 2021.
- Article
Experience Theory, or How Desserts Are Like Losses
By: Jolie M. Martin, Martin Reimann and Michael I. Norton
While many experiments have explored risk preferences for money, few have systematically assessed risk preferences for everyday experiences. We propose a conceptual model and provide convergent evidence from seven experiments that, in contrast to a typical “zero”... View Details
Keywords: Experiences; Monetary Gambles; Risk Preferences; Experience Theory; Risk and Uncertainty; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions
Martin, Jolie M., Martin Reimann, and Michael I. Norton. "Experience Theory, or How Desserts Are Like Losses." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 145, no. 11 (November 2016): 1460–1472.
- Article
The Not-So-Common-Wealth of Australia: Evidence for a Cross-Cultural Desire for a More Equal Distribution of Wealth.
By: Michael I. Norton, David T. Neal, Cassandra L. Govan, Dan Ariely and Elise Holland
Recent evidence suggests that Americans underestimate wealth inequality in the United States and favor a more equal wealth distribution (Norton & Ariely, 2011). Does this pattern reflect ideological dynamics unique to the United States, or is the phenomenon evident in... View Details
Norton, Michael I., David T. Neal, Cassandra L. Govan, Dan Ariely, and Elise Holland. "The Not-So-Common-Wealth of Australia: Evidence for a Cross-Cultural Desire for a More Equal Distribution of Wealth." Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 14, no. 1 (December 2014): 339–351.
- 2015
- Working Paper
Do People Who Care About Others Cooperate More? Experimental Evidence from Relative Incentive Pay
By: Pablo Hernandez, Dylan B. Minor and Dana Sisak
We experimentally study ways in which the social preferences of individuals and groups affect performance when faced with relative incentives. We also identify the mediating role that communication and leadership play in generating these effects. We find... View Details
Keywords: Social Preferences; Relative Performance; Collusion; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Attitudes; Performance
Hernandez, Pablo, Dylan B. Minor, and Dana Sisak. "Do People Who Care About Others Cooperate More? Experimental Evidence from Relative Incentive Pay." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-040, October 2015.
- August 2018
- Article
The Effect of Graphic Warnings on Sugary-Drink Purchasing
By: Grant Donnelly, Laura Y. Zatz, Daniel Svirsky and Leslie John
Governments have proposed text warning labels to decrease consumption of sugary drinks – a contributor to chronic diseases like diabetes. However, they may be less effective than more evocative, graphic warning labels. We field-tested the effectiveness of graphic... View Details
Keywords: Policy Making; Preferences; Food; Health; Policy; Information; Labels; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making; Performance Effectiveness
Donnelly, Grant, Laura Y. Zatz, Daniel Svirsky, and Leslie John. "The Effect of Graphic Warnings on Sugary-Drink Purchasing." Psychological Science 29, no. 8 (August 2018): 1321–1333.
- February 2018
- Article
Laboratory Evidence on the Effects of Sponsorship on the Competitive Preferences of Men and Women
By: Nancy R. Baldiga and Katherine Baldiga Coffman
Sponsorship programs have been proposed as one way to promote female advancement in competitive career fields. A sponsor is someone who advocates for a protégé, and in doing so, takes a stake in her success. We use a laboratory experiment to explore two channels... View Details
Keywords: Economics; Behavior And Behavioral Decision Making; Laboratory Experiment; Competition; Organizations; Gender; Behavior
Baldiga, Nancy R., and Katherine Baldiga Coffman. "Laboratory Evidence on the Effects of Sponsorship on the Competitive Preferences of Men and Women." Management Science 64, no. 2 (February 2018): 888–901.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Balancing Engagement and Polarization: Multi-Objective Alignment of News Content Using LLMs
By: Mengjie Cheng, Elie Ofek and Hema Yoganarasimhan
We study how media firms can use LLMs to generate news content that aligns with multiple objectives—making content more engaging while maintaining a preferred level of polarization/slant consistent with the firm’s editorial policy. Using news articles from The New York... View Details
Keywords: Large Language Models; Content Creation; Media; Polarization; Generative Ai; Direct Preference Optimization; AI and Machine Learning; News; Perspective; Digital Marketing; Policy; Media and Broadcasting Industry
Cheng, Mengjie, Elie Ofek, and Hema Yoganarasimhan. "Balancing Engagement and Polarization: Multi-Objective Alignment of News Content Using LLMs." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-051, April 2025.
- October 2023
- Article
Matching Mechanisms for Refugee Resettlement
By: David Delacrétaz, Scott Duke Kominers and Alexander Teytelboym
Current refugee resettlement processes account for neither the preferences of refugees nor the priorities of hosting communities. We introduce a new framework for matching with multidimensional knapsack constraints that captures the (possibly multidimensional) sizes of... View Details
Keywords: Refugee Resettlement; Matching; Matching Markets; Matching Platform; Matching With Contracts; Algorithms; Refugees; Market Design
Delacrétaz, David, Scott Duke Kominers, and Alexander Teytelboym. "Matching Mechanisms for Refugee Resettlement." American Economic Review 113, no. 10 (October 2023): 2689–2717.
- 2009
- Chapter
Altruistic Utility Functions for Joint Decisions
By: David E. Bell and Ralph L. Keeney
All of us make decisions that are not entirely self-centered; we voluntarily anticipate what we think to be the preferences of others and incorporate them into our decision making. We do this, not because of legal requirements or social norms, but because we are... View Details
Bell, David E., and Ralph L. Keeney. "Altruistic Utility Functions for Joint Decisions." In The Mathematics of Preference, Choice and Order, edited by Steven Brams, William V. Gehrlein, and Fred S. Roberts, 27–38. Studies in Choice and Welfare. Springer, 2009.
- October 2014
- Article
The Promise of Positive Optimal Taxation: Normative Diversity and a Role for Equal Sacrifice
A prominent assumption in modern optimal tax research is that the objective of taxation is Utilitarian. I present new survey evidence that most people disagree with this assumption, preferring tax policies based at least in part on a classic alternative objective: the... View Details
Weinzierl, Matthew. "The Promise of Positive Optimal Taxation: Normative Diversity and a Role for Equal Sacrifice." Journal of Public Economics 118 (October 2014): 128–142. (Also NBER Working Paper Series, No. 18599.)
- August 2014
- Technical Note
Conjoint Analysis: A Do it Yourself Guide
By: Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia
Conjoint Analysis has become one of the most commonly used quantitative market research methods. It has been successfully employed across a wide variety of industries to quantify consumer preferences for products and services. This technical note is intended to provide... View Details
Keywords: Market Research; Conjoint Analysis; Consumer Preferences; Segmentation; Product Development; Demand Measurement; Demand and Consumers; Analysis; Markets
Ofek, Elie, and Olivier Toubia. "Conjoint Analysis: A Do it Yourself Guide." Harvard Business School Technical Note 515-024, August 2014.
- January 2017
- Article
Should You Sleep on It? The Effects of Overnight Sleep on Subjective Preference-based Choice
By: Uma R. Karmarkar, Baba Shiv and Rebecca M.C. Spencer
Conventional wisdom and studies of unconscious processing suggest that sleeping on a choice may improve decision-making. Though sleep has been shown to benefit several cognitive tasks, including problem solving, its impact on everyday choices remains unclear. Here we... View Details
Keywords: Decision Making; Choice; Sleep; Choice Sets; Confidence; Consumer Psychology; Consumer Preferences; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior
Karmarkar, Uma R., Baba Shiv, and Rebecca M.C. Spencer. "Should You Sleep on It? The Effects of Overnight Sleep on Subjective Preference-based Choice." Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 30, no. 1 (January 2017): 70–79.
- October 1990 (Revised July 1991)
- Case
Zenith: Marketing Research for High Definition Television (HDTV)
Managers at Zenith must decide what marketing research, if any, needs to be done now in order to assess market potential and consumer preference for a technological innovation, high definition television (HDTV) that is yet to be introduced. The case describes various... View Details
Keywords: Technological Innovation; Research; Marketing; Television Entertainment; Electronics Industry
Sultan, Fareena. "Zenith: Marketing Research for High Definition Television (HDTV)." Harvard Business School Case 591-025, October 1990. (Revised July 1991.)