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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,722)
- People (1)
- News (249)
- Research (1,274)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (748)
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- Forthcoming
- Article
Differentiating on Diversity: How Disclosing Workforce Diversity Influences Consumer Choice
By: Maya Balakrishnan, Jimin Nam and Ryan W. Buell
Companies are facing increased pressure to “walk the talk” on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their operations. One specific call-to-action from stakeholders is the public disclosure of EEO-1s. Companies with 100+ employees are federally mandated to annually... View Details
Balakrishnan, Maya, Jimin Nam, and Ryan W. Buell. "Differentiating on Diversity: How Disclosing Workforce Diversity Influences Consumer Choice." Production and Operations Management (forthcoming). (Pre-published online March 7, 2024.)
- 2009
- Chapter
Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications
By: Julio J. Rotemberg
This paper starts by discussing consumers' cognitive and emotional reaction to posted prices. Cognitively, some consumers do not appear to make effective use of price information to maximize their consumption-based utility. Emotionally, prices can induce regret and... View Details
- April 2018
- Article
Consumers Avoid Buying from Firms with Higher CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratios
By: Bhavya Mohan, Tobias Schlager, Rohit Deshpandé and Michael I. Norton
We document a novel driver of consumer behavior: pay ratio disclosure. Swiss corporation performance data gathered during a legally mandated pay ratio referendum reveals that salient high pay ratios are associated with decreased firm sales (Pilot Study). An... View Details
Keywords: Pay Ratio; Wage Fairness; Purchase Intention; Customers; Wages; Fairness; Consumer Behavior
Mohan, Bhavya, Tobias Schlager, Rohit Deshpandé, and Michael I. Norton. "Consumers Avoid Buying from Firms with Higher CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratios." Special Issue on Marketplace Morality. Journal of Consumer Psychology 28, no. 2 (April 2018): 344–352.
- 2008
- Working Paper
Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications
By: Julio J. Rotemberg
This paper starts by discussing consumers' cognitive and emotional reaction to posted prices. Cognitively, some consumers do not appear to make effective use of price information to maximize their consumption-based utility. Emotionally, prices can induce regret and... View Details
Rotemberg, Julio J. "Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 13754, February 2008.
- 2007
- Working Paper
Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and Consumers
By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld
The digital interactive transformation in marketing is not unfolding, as many thought it would, on the model of direct marketing. That model anticipated that digital media using rich profiling data would intrude marketing messaging more deeply and more precisely into... View Details
Keywords: Communication Intention and Meaning; Interactive Communication; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web
Deighton, John A., and Leora Kornfeld. "Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and Consumers." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-017, September 2007.
- 1982
- Article
Correlates of Deficient Consumer Environments: The Case of the Elderly
By: Rohit Deshpandé and S. Krishnan
Although much research attention has been given to the format of consumer information environments, there has been little study of the effects of consumer environments lacking in information. This paper describes an empirical study of elderly consumers functioning in... View Details
Deshpandé, Rohit, and S. Krishnan. "Correlates of Deficient Consumer Environments: The Case of the Elderly." Advances in Consumer Research 9 (1982): 515–519.
- April 2022
- Article
Consumers Value Effort over Ease When Caring for Close Others
By: Ximena Garcia-Rada, Mary Steffel, Elanor F. Williams and Michael I. Norton
Many products and services are designed to make caregiving easier, from premade meals for feeding families to robo-cribs that automatically rock babies to sleep. Yet, using these products may come with a cost: consumers may feel they have not exerted enough effort.... View Details
Keywords: Effor; Caregiving; Close Relationships; Symbolic Meaning; Signaling; Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Perception
Garcia-Rada, Ximena, Mary Steffel, Elanor F. Williams, and Michael I. Norton. "Consumers Value Effort over Ease When Caring for Close Others." Journal of Consumer Research 48, no. 6 (April 2022): 970–990.
- November 2007
- Article
A Model of Consumer Learning for Service Quality and Usage
By: Raghuram Iyengar, Asim Ansari and Sunil Gupta
In many services, e.g., the wireless service industry, consumers choose a service plan based on their expected consumption. In such situations, consumers experience two forms of uncertainty. First, consumers may be uncertain about the quality of their service provider... View Details
Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Value and Value Chain; Learning; Price; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Service Delivery; Quality; Risk and Uncertainty; Service Industry
Iyengar, Raghuram, Asim Ansari, and Sunil Gupta. "A Model of Consumer Learning for Service Quality and Usage." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 44, no. 4 (November 2007): 529–544.
- 2015
- Working Paper
'Be Careless with That!' Availability of Product Upgrades Increases Cavalier Behavior Toward Possessions
By: Silvia Bellezza, Joshua M. Ackerman and Francesca Gino
Consumers are often faced with the opportunity to purchase a new, enhanced product (e.g., a new phone), even though the device they currently own is still fully functional. We propose that consumers act more recklessly with their current products and are less concerned... View Details
Keywords: Carelessness; Product Upgrade; Justification; Loss; Consumer Behavior; Attitudes; Product; Ownership
Bellezza, Silvia, Joshua M. Ackerman, and Francesca Gino. "'Be Careless with That!' Availability of Product Upgrades Increases Cavalier Behavior Toward Possessions." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-077, April 2015.
- 2021
- Working Paper
CEO Activism, Consumer Polarization, and Firm Performance
By: Young Hou and Christopher W. Poliquin
CEOs are increasingly engaging in activism on controversial social and political issues that do not directly affect their businesses. Simultaneously, the general public is increasingly polarized. We examine how CEO support for gun control after two mass shootings... View Details
Keywords: CEO Activism; Guns; Polarization; Non-market Strategy; Social Issues; Leadership; Consumer Behavior; Performance
Hou, Young, and Christopher W. Poliquin. "CEO Activism, Consumer Polarization, and Firm Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-106, February 2021.
- May 2017 (Revised March 2018)
- Case
Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap
By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery
CEO Art Peck was eliminating his creative directors for The Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic brands and promoting a collective creative ecosystem fueled by the input of big data. Rather than relying on artistic vision, Peck wanted the company to use the mining of big... View Details
Keywords: Retailing; Preference Elicitation; Big Data; Predictive Analytics; Artificial Intelligence; Fashion; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Analytics and Data Science; Forecasting and Prediction; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Canada; North America
Israeli, Ayelet, and Jill Avery. "Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap." Harvard Business School Case 517-115, May 2017. (Revised March 2018.)
- 02 May 2005
- What Do You Think?
Where is Consumer Generated Marketing Taking Us?
Summing Up Consumer generated marketing is a fact of life to which all of us will have to adapt. Adaptation means learning how to use CGM to provide one form of input in fashioning product and marketing decisions. Those are the messages... View Details
Keywords: by James Heskett
- 24 Oct 2011
- Research & Ideas
The Yelp Factor: Are Consumer Reviews Good for Business?
In recent years, consumer review sites including Yelp, Citysearch, and TripAdvisor have become the first stop for recommendations on everything from dinner to dentists. Along the way, they've earned a loyal following from fans, but also... View Details
- January 2004
- Background Note
Why Developers Don't Understand Why Consumers Don't Buy
Looks at the psychological biases developers bring to the new product development process. Identifies three reasons why developers may do a poor job of identifying the demand for an innovative, new concept or product: (1) the self-selection bias, (2) differing initial... View Details
- 13 Jan 2003
- Research & Ideas
The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How To Reach It)
about consumer behavior and in using that knowledge to benefit consumers. These firms include McNeil Consumer Health Care, McCann-Erickson, Procter & Gamble, Hallmark, Bank... View Details
Keywords: by Manda Mahoney
- September–October 2019
- Article
How Purchase Probability Scales Can Shed Light on Consumer Purchase Intentions
By: Rene Befurt and Alvin J. Silk
Market researchers generally, and survey experts specifically, study consumers to learn about their behavior: What are consumers’ opinions, attitudes, thoughts, and actions at the various stages of the buying process? Especially in litigation cases, these and other... View Details
Befurt, Rene, and Alvin J. Silk. "How Purchase Probability Scales Can Shed Light on Consumer Purchase Intentions." Landslide: Advancing Intellectual Property Law 12, no. 1 (September–October 2019): 51–54.
- October 2017
- Article
'Be Careless with That!' Availability of Product Upgrades Increases Cavalier Behavior Toward Possessions
By: Silvia Bellezza, Joshua M. Ackerman and Francesca Gino
Consumers are often faced with the opportunity to purchase a new, enhanced product, such as a new phone, even though the product they currently own is still fully functional. We propose that consumers act more recklessly with their current products when in the presence... View Details
Keywords: Carelessness; Product Upgrade; Ownership; Justification; Consumer Behavior; Attitudes; Property
Bellezza, Silvia, Joshua M. Ackerman, and Francesca Gino. "'Be Careless with That!' Availability of Product Upgrades Increases Cavalier Behavior Toward Possessions." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 54, no. 5 (October 2017): 768–784.
- 2020
- Working Paper
Consumers Punish Firms That Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19
By: Bhavya Mohan, Serena Hagerty and Michael Norton
Two experiments, including one incentive compatible study, examine the impact of cutting pay for executives versus employees in response to COVID-19 on consumer behavior. Study 1 explores the effect of announcing cuts or no cuts to CEO and employee pay, and shows that... View Details
Keywords: Employee Furloughs; CEO Pay Cuts; Pay Ratios; Purchase Intention; Health Pandemics; Employees; Wages; Executive Compensation; Consumer Behavior
Mohan, Bhavya, Serena Hagerty, and Michael Norton. "Consumers Punish Firms That Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-020, August 2020.
- 25 Oct 2016
- Working Paper Summaries