Publications

2018
Working Paper

Show or Tell? Improving Agent Decision Making in a Tanzanian Mobile Money Field Experiment

By: Jason Acimovic, Chris Parker, David F. Drake and Karthik Balasubramanian

When workers make operational decisions, the firm's global knowledge and the workers’ domain-specific knowledge complement each other. Oftentimes workers have the final decision-making power. Two key decisions a firm makes when designing systems to support these... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Decision Making; Training; Performance Improvement; Money; Mobile Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Services Industry

SSRN

05 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Impacts of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Donald Ngwe, Kris J. Ferreira, and Thales Teixeira; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Consumer Products

2017
Working Paper

Are You a Guest Here? Field Experiments on Racial Discrimination in Customer Service

By: Alexandra C. Feldberg and Tami Kim

June 2022
Article

Conservatism Gets Funded? A Field Experiment on the Role of Negative Information in Novel Project Evaluation

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Misha Teplitskiy, Gary Gray, Hardeep Ranu, Michael Menietti, Eva C. Guinan and Karim R. Lakhani

The evaluation and selection of novel projects lies at the heart of scientific and technological innovation, and yet there are persistent concerns about bias, such as conservatism. This paper investigates the role that the format of evaluation, specifically information... View Details

Keywords: Project Evaluation; Innovation; Knowledge Frontier; Information Sharing; Negativity Bias; Projects; Innovation and Invention; Information; Knowledge Sharing

May 2024
Article

Design of Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Field Experiments and Structural Analysis

By: Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Serguei Netessine, Ioanna Popescu and Rowan P. Clarke

A significant proportion of the world's population has no access to grid-based electricity and so relies on off-grid lighting solutions. Rechargeable lamp technology is gaining popularity as an alternative off-grid lighting model in developing countries. In this paper,... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Developing Countries and Economies; Consumer Behavior; Poverty; Logistics; Business Model; Utilities Industry

11 Apr 2016
Video

HBS Immersive Field Courses (IFCs)

20 Jun 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Show or Tell? Improving Agent Decision Making in a Tanzanian Mobile Money Field Experiment

Keywords: by Jason Acimovic, Chris Parker, David F. Drake, and Karthik Balasubramanian; Banking; Financial Services

01 Dec 2016
News

@Soldiers Field

(photo by Neal Hamberg) (photo by Neal Hamberg) Blue skies and sunshine welcomed over 2,000 alumni and guests to fall reunions, where the many offerings included a case discussion of “Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center” with Professor Rohit Deshpandé, a tour of... View Details

20 Aug 2013
News

More Kerouac Than Corporate: Harvard MBA Road Trip Coaches Businesses Across America

Keywords: MBAs; FIELD; field experience; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade; Health and Personal Care Stores; Retail Trade

01 Jun 2016
News

@Soldiers Field

Photo courtesy of BollyX Photo courtesy of BollyX (click to open in new tab) BollyX cofounder Minal Mehta (MBA 2011) led members of the HBS community in a high-intensity, Bollywood-inspired cardio workout. The dance-fitness program, which won last year’s New Venture... View Details

01 Mar 2015
News

@Soldiers Field

turnaround. Hilfiger also shared the story of his first company, which went bankrupt in 1977—an experience he referred to as “my MBA.” Some 500 members of the HBS community attended a candlelight vigil on Spangler Lawn organized by the... View Details

Article

The Mixed Effects of Online Diversity Training

By: Edward H. Chang, Katherine L. Milkman, Dena M. Gromet, Robert W. Rebele, Cade Massey, Angela L. Duckworth and Adam M. Grant

We present results from a large (n = 3,016) field experiment at a global organization testing whether a brief science-based online diversity training can change attitudes and behaviors toward women in the workplace. Our preregistered field experiment included an... View Details

Keywords: Diversity Training; Bias; Field Experiment; Training; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias

2016
Working Paper

The Effect of Financial Performance Measurement on Customer Satisfaction: A Field Experiment in China

By: Daniel A. Brown

2017
Other Unpublished Work

Show or Tell?: Behavioral Inventory Response to an East African Mobile Money Field Experiment

By: Jason Acimovic, Chris Parker, David F. Drake and Karthik Balasubramanian

25 Jan 2017
Working Paper Summaries

The Effects of Quota Frequency on Sales Force Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

November–December 2020
Article

Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency

By: Bhavya Mohan, Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John

Firms do not typically disclose information on their costs to produce a good to consumers. However, we provide evidence of when and why doing so can increase consumers’ purchase interest. Specifically, building on the psychology of disclosure and trust, we posit that... View Details

Keywords: Cost Transparency; Disclosure; Field Experiment; Cost; Trust; Consumer Behavior

SSRN

2023
Working Paper

Life After Death: A Field Experiment with Small Businesses on Information Frictions, Stigma, and Bankruptcy

By: Shai Benjamin Bernstein, Emanuele Colonnelli, Mitchell Hoffman and Benjamin Iverson

In a randomized control trial (RCT) with U.S. small businesses, we document that a large share of firms are not well-informed about bankruptcy. Many assume that bankruptcy necessarily entails the death of a business and do not know about Chapter 11 bankruptcy, where... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Knowledge Dissemination; Outcome or Result

27 Mar 2014
Video

How Do People Experience You

Article

Beyond the Target Customer: Social Effects in CRM Campaigns

By: Eva Ascarza, Peter Ebbes, Oded Netzer and Matthew Danielson

Customer relationship management (CRM) campaigns have traditionally focused on maximizing the profitability of the targeted customers. The authors demonstrate that in business settings characterized by network externalities, a CRM campaign that is aimed at changing the... View Details

Keywords: Social Effects; Field Experiment; Mobile; Customer Relationship Management; Network Effects; Consumer Behavior