Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,642)
- Faculty Publications (181)
- November 2013
- Article
Simplification and Saving
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
The daunting complexity of important financial decisions can lead to procrastination. We evaluate a low-cost intervention that substantially simplifies the retirement savings plan participation decision. Individuals received an opportunity to enroll in a retirement... View Details
- August 2013 (Revised November 2015)
- Case
Prudential Financial - General Motors Pension Risk Transfer: Back to the Future?
By: Luis M. Viceira and Emily A. Chien
In November 2012, Prudential Financial and General Motors closed on a $25.1B pension risk transfer (PRT) transaction, the largest of its kind to date by an order of magnitude both in the U.S. market and globally. In exchange for an in-kind transfer of $25.1B in... View Details
- April 2013
- Article
What Roger Fisher Got Profoundly Right: Five Enduring Lessons for Negotiators
Roger Fisher, who died in 2012, enjoyed a remarkable career that modeled one way that an academic, especially in a professional school such as law or business, could make a significant, positive, and lasting difference in the world. Distinctive aspects of his career... View Details
- September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
- Case
Martin Smith: July 2012
By: Josh Lerner and Felda Hardymon
Martin Smith, a recently hired general partner at a Brazil-based venture capital firm, must decide among three deal opportunities. Each has different strengths (management, market, and technology) but each has its own weaknesses as well. He must also consider each deal... View Details
- 2012
- Case
Advanced Leadership Pathways: Shelly London and Ethics Education—'Strengthening Our Moral Compass'
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Anne Arlinghaus
Shelly London and Ethics Education — 'Strengthening Our Moral Compass'
2009 AL Fellow
Following a successful career as a Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Chief Communications Officer at two large corporate companies, Shelly London set out to promote... View Details
Following a successful career as a Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Chief Communications Officer at two large corporate companies, Shelly London set out to promote... View Details
Keywords: Leadership Skills; Ethics Education; Initiatives; Morality; Moral Compass; Prima Facie; Grassroots Movement; Ethical Reasoning; Decision-making; Social Media; Media Relations; Family Dinner Project; Public Conversations Project; Laura Chasin; Computer Games; Video Games; Quandary; Organizational Structure; Infrastructure; Ethics; Education; Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Decision Making; Leadership; Innovation and Management; Education Industry; Service Industry; North and Central America
- 2012
- Chapter
The Availability and Utilization of 401(k) Loans
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
We document the loan provisions in 401(k) savings plans and how participants use 401(k) loans. Although only about 22% of savings plan participants who are allowed to borrow from their 401(k) have such a loan at any given point in time, almost half had used a 401(k)... View Details
- July 2012 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
Lyric Dinner Theater (A)
By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Jim Sharpe
Looking back at five years of losses, Rivka Belzer, a newly minted MBA, steps into her family owned business with their mandate to turn it around or close it. In her first six months, she has made a number of changes, with mixed results, but is beginning to show a... View Details
- April 2012
- Case
Pret A Manger
By: Frances X. Frei, Rick Goldberg and Stephanie van Sice
Pret A Manger, a London-based chain of sandwich shops, was known for its fast, genuine service and pre-packaged sandwiches prepared on-site daily. Instructed by its board to grow at 15 percent per year, Pret considered opening "twin" shops in locations too small to... View Details
Keywords: Customer Service Excellence; Growth Planning And Management; Employee Performance Management; Information Management; Production Planning; Employee Attitude Development And Empowerment; Employee Retention; Leadership Development And Career Planning; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Employees; Performance; London
- January 2012 (Revised March 2012)
- Case
Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s Entry into the Retirement Market
By: Lauren Cohen and Christopher Malloy
This case examines Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s decision to enter the retirement market with their new "Dimensional Managed DC" product, a complete retirement solution that aimed to provide investors with what they really wanted: the same standard of living in... View Details
- 2012
- Article
The Excess Burden of Government Indecision
By: Francisco J. Gomes, Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Luis M. Viceira
Governments are known for procrastinating when it comes to resolving painful policy problems. Whatever the political motives for waiting to decide, procrastination distorts economic decisions relative to what would arise with early policy resolution. In so doing, it... View Details
- July 2011
- Case
Teach Plus: Mobilizing a New Generation of Teacher Leaders
By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary
This case profiles the evolution of Teach Plus, a non-profit organization founded on the premise that in order for public schools to continuously improve urban student achievement, teaching must become a career that motivates and retains effective early career... View Details
- 2011
- Chapter
How Does Simplified Disclosure Affect Individuals' Mutual Fund Choices?
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
We use an experiment to estimate the effect of the SEC's Summary Prospectus, which simplifies mutual fund disclosure. Our subjects chose an equity portfolio and a bond portfolio. Subjects received either statutory prospectuses or Summary Prospectuses. We find no... View Details
- January – February 2011
- Article
Stop Holding Yourself Back
By: Anne Morriss, Robin J. Ely and Frances X. Frei
After working with hundreds of leaders in a wide variety of organizations and in countries all over the globe, the authors found one very clear pattern: when it comes to meeting their leadership potential, many people unintentionally get in their own way. Five barriers... View Details
- December 2009 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
Curt Schilling's Next Pitch
By: Noam T. Wasserman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Rachel Gordon
As his major-league pitching career was starting to wind down in 2006, baseball all-star Curt Schilling decided to become an entrepreneur. Looking to focus his tenacity and his passion for online role-playing games on a new challenge, he founded an online gaming... View Details
- December 2009 (Revised July 2013)
- Case
Iris Running Crane: December 2009
By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon
Iris Running Crane, an MBA candidate, must choose among three different job offers in private equity. One is with a top-tier megafund buyout operation; the second with a geographically focused mid-market fund; and the third with a one-time top-tier fund that is trying... View Details
- 2009
- Introduction
Social Dilemmas, Social Values, and Ethical Judgments: Touchpoints and Touchdowns in a Distinguished Scholarly Career
By: R. M. Kramer, A. E. Tenbrunsel and M. H. Bazerman
- April 2009 (Revised January 2015)
- Case
Dr. Benjamin Hooks and Children's Health Forum
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Charles J. Ogletree Jr, Howard Koh, Abbye Atkinson, Carmel Salhi and Aldo Sesia
"Dr. Benjamin Hooks and Children's Health Forum" charts the many different career paths of Hooks, a civil rights activist and pioneer. Hooks' positions ranged from lawyer, judge, preacher, entrepreneur to the first African American commissioner of the Federal... View Details
- March 2009
- Article
Loyalty-Based Portfolio Choice
By: Lauren Cohen
I evaluate the effect of loyalty on individuals' portfolio choice using a unique dataset of retirement contributions. I exploit the statutory difference that in 401(k) plans stand alone employees can invest directly in their division, while conglomerate employees must... View Details
- February 2009
- Case
Paresh Patel: Building a Life in the Context of Global Business - October 2007
By: Howard H. Stevenson and Shirley Spence
This case tells the story of Paresh Patel, born in Boston to an Indian immigrant family, as he develops an entrepreneurial career, participates in the Indian diaspora, and builds a family life. It provides background on Paresh's heritage, describes his youth and... View Details
- January 2009 (Revised February 2011)
- Case
Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates
By: Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria and Kerry Herman
Marcel Lorent, head of International Mobility at Brussels-based Solvay Group, faces decisions on the expatriation status of four of his firm's talented executives. Each decision will impact the candidate's professional and personal life and will have implications for... View Details