Publications

January 2008
Article

Venture Capital Investment Cycles: The Impact of Public Markets

By: Paul Gompers, Anna Kovner, Josh Lerner and David Scharfstein

It is well documented that the venture capital industry is highly volatile and that much of this volatility is associated with shifting valuations and activity in public equity markets. This paper examines how changes in public market signals affected venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Market Cycles; Venture Capital; Investment; Experience and Expertise; Public Equity; Volatility; Financial Services Industry

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November 1989 (Revised August 1994)
Supplement

Du Pont's Titanium Dioxide Business (D)

Provides students the opportunity to track industry evolution over time, to explore the role that signaling may play in such evolution, and to construct and validate industry scenarios. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Supply and Industry; Chemical Industry

June 2017
Article

Conspicuous Consumption of Time: When Busyness and Lack of Leisure Time Become a Status Symbol

By: Silvia Bellezza, Neeru Paharia and Anat Keinan

While research on conspicuous consumption has typically analyzed how people spend money on products that signal status, we investigate conspicuous consumption in relation to time. We argue that a busy and overworked lifestyle, rather than a leisurely lifestyle, has... View Details

Keywords: Status and Position; Perspective; North America; Europe

December 1996
Case

Du Pont's Titanium Dioxide Business (F)

Provides students with the opportunity to track industry evolution over time, to explore the role that signaling may play in such evolution, and to construct and validate industry scenarios. View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Chemical Industry

Educators

2022
Working Paper

Consumer Reviews and Regulation: Evidence from NYC Restaurants

By: Chiara Farronato and Georgios Zervas

We investigate the informativeness of hygiene signals in online reviews, and their effect on consumer choice and restaurant hygiene. We first extract signals of hygiene from Yelp. Among all dimensions that regulators monitor through mandated restaurant inspections, we... View Details

Keywords: Restaurants; Reviews; Hygiene; Yelp; Regulation; Food; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Consumer Behavior

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Research Summary

I give therefore I have: Philanthropy and Prosperity

We suggest and document a surprising means by which people can feel wealthier: giving their money away. We suggest that just as acts of conspicuous generosity signal wealth and power to others, they trigger feelings of subjective wealth and power in the giver--despite... View Details

17 Dec 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Observability Increases the Demand for Commitment Devices

Keywords: by Christine Exley & Jeffrey Naecker

June 1990
Supplement

Komatsu in 1986

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the impact of a rising Yen on Komatsu's pricing strategy. Komatsu management seems to be signalling the need for price increases. Asks what Cat's new CEO, George Schaefer, should do in response. View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Price; Leadership; Management; Strategy

Research Summary

Overview

Annie is interested in the effects of digitization and increased material abundance on consumption behaviors and the signals consumption decisions send to others. Annie studies topics including minimalism, digital payments in social relationships, scarcity, and... View Details

Forthcoming
Article

FinTech Lending and Cashless Payments

By: Pulak Ghosh, Boris Vallée and Yao Zeng

Borrower's use of cashless payments both improves their access to capital from FinTech lenders and predicts a lower probability of default. These relationships are stronger for cashless technologies providing more precise information, and for outflows. Cashless payment... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Lending; Payments; Data Sharing; Financing and Loans; Information Technology; Banks and Banking; Business Model

January 2012
Article

Paying to Be Nice: Consistency and Costly Prosocial Behavior

By: Ayelet Gneezy, Alex Imas, Amber Brown, Leif D. Nelson and Michael I. Norton

Building on previous research in economics and psychology, we propose that the costliness of initial prosocial behavior positively influences whether that behavior leads to consistent future behaviors. We suggest that costly prosocial behaviors serve as a signal of... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Perception; Performance Consistency; Identity

2008
Article

Governance and Merger Accounting: Evidence from Stock Price Reactions to Purchase versus Pooling

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

This paper examines the effect of corporate governance on investor reactions to accounting choice in the context of accounting for business combinations. Using a sample of 324 recent stock swap acquisitions I find that, contrary to practitioners' belief that capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Markets; Stocks; Price; Corporate Governance

SSRN

December 2023
Article

Save More Today or Tomorrow: The Role of Urgency in Precommitment Design

By: Joseph Reiff, Hengchen Dai, John Beshears, Katherine L. Milkman and Shlomo Benartzi

To encourage farsighted behaviors, past research suggests that marketers may be wise to invite consumers to pre-commit to adopt them “later.” However, the authors propose that people will draw different inferences from different types of pre-commitment offers, and that... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions

Article

Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game That They Are Now Losing

By: Michael I. Norton and Samuel R. Sommers

Although some have heralded recent political and cultural developments as signaling the arrival of a post-racial era in America, several legal and social controversies regarding "reverse racism" highlight Whites' increasing concern about anti-White bias. We show that... View Details

Keywords: Racism; Zero-sum Game; Bias; Affirmative Action; Prejudice and Bias; Race; Social Issues; United States

October 2008 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Airbus A380—Turbulence Ahead

By: Ananth Raman, William Schmidt and Vishal Gaur

Multiple delays of the Airbus A380 have shocked analysts and investors alike. What are the causes of these delays and how should investors respond to the signals they may be sending about the company's outlook? View Details

Keywords: Investment; Product Development; Outcome or Result; Performance Expectations; Air Transportation Industry

Educators

2008
Book

Predictable Surprises

By: Max Bazerman and Michael D. Watkins

Most events that catch us by surprise are both predictable and preventable, but we consistently miss (or ignore) the warning signs. This book shows why such "predictable surprises" put us all at risk, and shows how we can understand, anticipate, and prevent them before... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Behavior

August 1996
Article

When Do Joint Ventures Create Value?

By: Ashish Nanda and P. Mohanram

Firms enter into joint ventures when their performance is deteriorating. Parent firms earn significant positive returns around announcements. However, at joint venture level, market value weighted return is insignificant. The stock market reacts negatively to ventures... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Financial Markets; Value

2023
Working Paper

Sending Signals: Strategic Displays of Warmth and Competence

By: Bushra S. Guenoun and Julian J. Zlatev

Using a combination of exploratory and confirmatory approaches, this research examines how people signal important information about themselves to others. We first train machine learning models to assess the use of warmth and competence impression management... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Personal Characteristics; Perception; Interpersonal Communication

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January 1983 (Revised February 1988)
Case

Hospital Corp. of America (B)

By: W. Carl Kester

Focuses on HCAs financing options for reaching its target capital structure. The options include new equity conversion of convertible debentures, a debt-for-equity swap, the sale of assets, and fixed-rate debt. Students must address the problem of market timing and... View Details

Keywords: Assets; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Equity; Debt Securities; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Health Industry; United States

Educators