Publications

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2024
Working Paper

How Real Is Hypothetical?: A High-Stakes Test of the Allais Paradox

By: Uri Gneezy, Yoram Halevy, Brian Hall, Theo Offerman and Jeroen van de Ven

Researchers in behavioral and experimental economics often argue that only incentive-compatible mechanisms can elicit effort and truthful responses from participants. Others argue that participants make less-biased decisions when the stakes are sufficiently high.... View Details

Keywords: Research; Behavioral Finance; Economics; Behavior; Prejudice and Bias

January 1999
Background Note

The Professional Pledge and Conflict of Interest

By: Ashish Nanda

It is argued that professionals pledge fiduciary responsibility towards their clients to minimize the occurrence of conflicts of interest, which are socially inefficient. Professional associations are formed to ensure that in their practices, professionals live by... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Ethics; Organizations

December 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Broken Trust: Role of Professionals in the Enron Debacle

By: Ashish Nanda

Discusses the role of professionals in the Enron debacle. Argues that professionals failed to prevent or predict Enron's collapse because of the conflicts of interest they faced. Concludes with observations on management and regulation of conflicts of interest facing... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Trust; Management Teams; Energy Industry

March 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Background Note

Activity-Based Costing and Capacity

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Discusses the use of budgeted rather than historical data in an activity-based costing (ABC) model and argues for calculating rates using practical capacity, not actual utilization. An ABC model need not be limited to analysis of historical data. When cost driver rates... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Accounting Industry

07 Jan 2009
What Do You Think?

Is the World Really Flat?

Summing Up In supporting innovation, does it matter how flat the world really is? "The world is oval!" (Hujaj Ali Nawazkhan). "[T]he world is flatly circular" (Santhanam Krishnan). "[T]he flattening process, while occurring, is highly uneven in... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

August 1993
Background Note

Executing Change: Seven Key Considerations

By: Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana

Provides a 7S framework to complement the McKinsey 7S framework. Focuses on some of the critical choices that must be made in implementing change--Strategic Intent, Substance, Scale, Scope, Speed, Sequence, and Style. Overall, the note argues that these choices must be... View Details

Keywords: Change; Framework; Goals and Objectives; Management Style; Time Management; Strategy

January 15, 2021
Article

Social Media Companies Should Self-Regulate. Now

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie

We argue that social media firms should ramp up self-regulation of content in 2021. This argument is based on research on numerous industries where firms and/or industry associations devised self-regulatory strategies that successfully limited or forestalled more... View Details

Keywords: Self-regulation; Internet and the Web; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Social Media

April 2019 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Sears: The Demise of an American Icon

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2019, ESL Investments’ $5.2 billion offer to purchase Sears Holdings out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was accepted, despite opposition from the company's unsecured creditors and other parties. ESL, which was led by Eddie Lampert, had acquired a stake in Sears following... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Reorganization; Bonds; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Transformation; Fairness; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry; United States

November 2015 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Air Products' Pursuit of Airgas (A)

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Paul M. Healy, Penelope Rossano and Kyle Thomas

This case centers around the Air Products' hostile takeover attempt of Airgas in 2010. Air Products argued that its offer of a 38% premium is generous given Airgas' poor performance, which Air Products attributed to underperforming and entrenched managers at Airgas. On... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business and Shareholder Relations; Industrial Products Industry; Energy Industry; Chemical Industry

21 Dec 2015
Op-Ed

Without Immigrants, We Wouldn't Have Google

In light of the tragedies in Paris and San Bernadino, a number of politicians, following in the footsteps of Donald Trump, have urged this country to respond by barring immigrants, refugees, and Muslims from our shores. Such a “solution” is perhaps emotionally... View Details

Keywords: by Shane Greenstein; Information Technology

31 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Taking the Fear out of Diversity Policies

sexual orientation are based on studies that focus on the scourge of discrimination—rather than on the benefits of a diverse workforce, she says. In a new working paper, A Positive Approach to Studying Diversity in Organizations, Ramarajan and fellow HBS professor... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

04 Oct 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Soul and Machine (Learning)

Keywords: by Davide Proserpio, John R. Hauser, Xiao Liu, Tomomichi Amano et al.

2022
Working Paper

Exploring the Relationship between Team Diversity, Psychological Safety and Team Performance: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Drug Development

By: Henrik Bresman and Amy C. Edmondson

Breakthrough performance in teams requires pooling diverse perspectives and expertise. To realize the potential of diversity, communicating and translating across differences is essential. However, left to their own devices, diverse teams tend to underperform, in part... View Details

Keywords: Teams; Psychological Safety; Groups and Teams; Diversity; Interpersonal Communication; Performance

2009
Chapter

The Principles of Embedded Liberalism: Social Legitimacy and Global Capitalism

By: Rawi Abdelal and John G. Ruggie

In this essay we revisit the principles of “embedded liberalism” and argue for their relevance to the contemporary global economy. The most essential principle is the need for markets to enjoy social legitimacy, because their political sustainability ultimately depends... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Ethics; International Finance; Globalization; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Labor

September 2019
Article

The Dollar, Bank Leverage and Deviations from Covered Interest Parity

By: Stefan Advjiev, Wenxin Du, Catherine Koch and Hyun Song Shin

We document a triangular relationship in that a stronger dollar goes hand in hand with larger deviations from covered interest parity (CIP) and contractions of cross-border bank lending in dollars. We argue that underpinning the triangle is the role of the dollar as a... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Currency; Financial Markets; Banks and Banking

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2011
Chapter

Toward a Three-Tier Market for U.S. Home Mortgages

By: Robert C. Pozen

This chapter analyzes the various forms of federal programs to support home mortgages–both government-insured mortgages and privately issued mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. It argues that there will be a third tier of home mortgages created by the... View Details

Keywords: Law; Mortgages