Relative Thinking - Publications - Faculty & Research

05 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Seesaws and Social Security Benefits Indexing

07 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The Debate over Taxing Foreign Profits

so different from those found in other countries. Sean Silverthorne: Why has this issue on taxing foreign profit become so central? Mihir Desai: I think there are several reasons for these developments. First, the integrated, global... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

02 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

Do Online Dating Platforms Help Those Who Need Them Most?

showed that older, shorter, and relatively overweight men tended to view more profiles than their younger, taller, slimmer counterparts. With the female sample, tall women were the ones who tended to view the most profiles. (In the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology

08 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

Black Employees Not Only Earn Less, But Deal with Bad Bosses and Poor Conditions

positive work culture, and a healthy work-life balance. “When we think about racial gaps in the United States, we tend to mostly measure relative income levels.” At a time when many companies are looking to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

29 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

eyewear, Maseratis, and EA Sports video games. Soon, opportunities to film documentaries for Netflix and Disney+ followed. “Beckham has managed to keep his brand at a very steady level,” Elberse says. “Usually, it tapers off relatively... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

16 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 16, 2010

source of the recent financial crisis. It may be more accurate, however, to say that a deregulatory mindset was an important source of the crisis—a mindset that, to a very significant extent, grew out of profound changes in academic View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 22, 2007

J. Gomes, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, and Luis M. Viceira Abstract Governments are known for procrastinating when it comes to resolving painful policy problems. Whatever the political motives for waiting to decide, procrastination distorts economic decisions View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 May 2011
Research & Ideas

What Loyalty? High-End Customers are First to Flee

competition." But as new research from Harvard Business School demonstrates, the customers you think are your best and most loyal are likely to be the first to cast you aside when a challenger to your service superiority barges into... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

24 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 24, 2018

2018 Independently published Unlocked: Keys to Improve Your Thinking By: Zaltman, Gerald Abstract—What’s the best way to change your life? Change how you think, says marketing guru Gerald Zaltman. While most of us are accustomed to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

14 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing

was hired in lieu of a bagel or doughnut because it was relatively tidy and appetite-quenching, and because trying to suck a thick liquid through a thin straw gave customers something to do with their boring commute. Understanding the job... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Service; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

marginal thinking led him down an inconceivable path. In hindsight, it all started with one small step: a relatively small error. But he didn't want to admit to it. Instead, he covered it up by hiding the... View Details

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

eligible; "not valid on major holidays" raises the question of which days are "major." We've been surprised to see such imprecise wording on vouchers, and we think merchants and voucher services can do better.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

26 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way to Go to Market

supplier thinks about ways to get the product/service out to the customer. If the company achieves its sales goals, it lulls the company into the assumption that the channels must be right. For all you know an alternate channel might have... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

31 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why the Largest Minority Group Faces the Most Hate—and How to Push Back

the relative rank of a group in any given community. A minority group ranked as the largest experiences the most discrimination, followed by the second-largest group, and so on, explains Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Marco... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

17 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Teaming in the Twenty-First Century

Even as academic journals and business sections of bookstores fill up with titles devoted to teams, teamwork, and team players, Harvard Business School Professor Amy C. Edmondson wonders if many might be barking up the wrong tree. "I've begun to View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

03 Oct 2023
Research Event

Build the Life You Want: Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey Share Happiness Tips

coauthor of the new book Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, for an intimate, powerful conversation that touches on: the mistake people make in thinking that money, power, and fame will bring them happiness;... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Staff

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

(A) By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer June 2025 | Case | Faculty Research On January 27, 2025, the head of a relatively small hedge fund named Late Apex Partners sent a highly critical letter to the board of directors of Vail... View Details

22 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

“Too Big To Fail”: Reining In Large Financial Firms

restructure, sell, or liquidate a failing company. Bottom line, no firm should be too big to fail. At the same time, the majority of financial firms that pose no systemic risk should face relatively light regulation, ensuring their... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

05 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 5, 2007

quality of the search service offered to consumers is more likely to be degraded (i.e. the probability that consumers find their favorite store in the first round of search is less than 1) when the intermediary derives higher revenues from consumers shopping at the... View Details