Alternatives - Publications - Faculty & Research

23 May 2016
Research & Ideas

A Little Understanding Motivates Copyright Abusers to Pay Up

convert inadvertent users to future customers, especially when there are potentially multiple alternative suppliers. Were there alternatives to explicit legal threats that could be used to increase... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Media & Broadcasting; Publishing

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Building Bridges: New Dimensions in Negotiation

what set of no-deal alternatives face the participants. Its most familiar element involves what each party will do if there is no deal — in other words, "the best alternative to negotiated... View Details

Keywords: by Anita M. Harris

15 May 2019
Research Event

The Unconventional Capitalism That Shapes Business History

Steiner, who in 1913 founded Anthroposophy—a “science of the spirit,” provides further evidence on alternative capitalisms to the American capitalism of today. Steiner and his followers created a new way of doing business based on... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones; Education

03 Sep 2014
What Do You Think?

Who Should Choose Your Boss?

conclude that business leadership would be wise to push past pride and the false sense of self importance, and include within the decision making process those in the enterprise who know the actual nuts and bolts of the business." Several respondents described... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Food & Beverage

25 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

How Disruptive Innovation is Remaking the University

beleaguered legislatures have begun to resist costs that consistently rise faster than those of other goods and services. With the advent of high-quality online learning, there are new, less expensive institutional alternatives to... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen & Henry J. Eyring; Education

02 Jun 2011
What Do You Think?

Is it Time for a National Bankruptcy?

nation's debt? they are the ones who chose the representatives." As an alternative to insolvency, forgiveness of debt combined with other measures had appeal for several respondents. Yadeed Lobo, while entertaining the idea of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

13 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Rescuing Products with Stealth Positioning

What's striking about this stealth strategy is that Apple didn't affiliate the product with a specific alternative category. It simply suggested that it was not a PC—a strategy that not only disassociates the Mini from other low-priced,... View Details

Keywords: by Youngme Moon

09 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Stock Options Are Not All Created Equal

on the form of the plan, and they rarely examine the available alternatives. Often, they aren't even aware that alternatives exist. But such a laissez-faire approach, as I've seen over and over again, can lead to disaster. The way options... View Details

Keywords: by Brian Hall

15 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

We Have Better Ways to Break Habits Than Willpower. Why Don't We Use Them?

you,” says Zlatev. The alternative is relying on willpower to force your way through a situation, whether it’s finishing a report on deadline rather than scrolling Instagram or getting to the gym instead of lounging on the couch. Since... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

03 Jan 2018
What Do You Think?

In the Wake of #MeToo, Should Corporate Boards Hire Compliance Officers?

the entity and even then questions about who they report to, how they are appraised/evaluated, what powers and decision rights they have and how trust and functionality can be cultivated with such a reporting line sounds challenging." A wide range of View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

short-term financial success will substantially outpace that of companies employing more traditional techniques, says Campbell, there are several other long-term benefits that show the advantages of their alternative approach. First, in a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

06 Apr 2016
What Do You Think?

As Tim Cook, How Would You Tackle Apple's Next Challenge?

advising that rewarding hackers was probably an economic alternative, “... all Apple has to do is be better than the next best alternative at a price that’s economically justified in the buyer’s ... mind.” Dolembo commented that “...... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Computer

06 Jan 2010
What Do You Think?

Is a Stringent Climate Change Agreement a Pot of Gold?

might even be impeded by, an international agreement. As he put it, because "scale advantage is reversed" in the alternative energy field, change "will be driven from the bottom, not the top." In other words, will... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

29 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 29, 2007

to extreme, alternative in a choice set. The term extremeness avoidance has been used to describe the reason underlying this phenomenon. In this research, we argue that extremeness avoidance behavior depends on assortment type, with... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Jun 2000
Research & Ideas

What’s an Internet Business Model? Ask a Health Care Professional

by panelist Andy Slavitt (HBS MBA '93), Founder, President and CEO of Healthallies.com, is an exchange that links patients with local health care providers who offer preferred rates. Services include everything from traditional medical procedures to View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health

08 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Women Negotiating in the New Millenium

solution to one woman's problem. Afterward, panelist Deborah Kolb discussed some possible alternatives with the group. In the "dilemma," Jane is a partner in a mid-sized accounting firm. She believes, as do others in the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

24 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Do We Tax?

except in special circumstances. What alternative do you propose? A: Tagging is such a central implication of the standard model that, as tax scholars, we really must be able to explain its general rejection in real-world tax systems. If... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Legal Services

26 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Comment on Environmental Issues for Earth Day

catastrophes like the BP oil spill or the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster) would be included directly in the prices of each of the various energy sources, not somehow shielded from the eyes of consumers. In a competitive world, private investment would flow to... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Energy; Utilities

27 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Horrible Boss Workarounds

hearing at higher levels when you come with a constructive solution—not one that is a demand, but rather one that has alternatives and options associated with it," she says. "Self-organizing is the new mode for getting things... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

10 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 10, 2008

managers will use the discretion given by such estimates to convey private information on future cash flows, while agency theory predicts managers will use the discretion opportunistically. We test these alternative hypotheses using a... View Details