Publications

Article

On Derivatives Markets and Social Welfare: A Theory of Empty Voting and Hidden Ownership

By: Jordan M. Barry, John William Hatfield and Scott Duke Kominers

In the past twenty-five years, derivatives markets have grown exponentially. Large, modern derivatives markets increasingly enable investors to hold economic interests in corporations without owning voting rights, and vice versa. This leads to both empty... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Markets; Ownership

23 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 23, 2008

a question related to whether the poor should be helped by the government or if they should help themselves, while the measure of luck is the share of the oil industry in the state's economy multiplied by... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

08 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 8

differentiate "quality FDI" in several different ways. First, we look at the possibility that the effects of FDI differ by sector. Second, we differentiate FDI based on objective qualitative industry characteristics including... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2016
Article

The Role of (Dis)similarity in (Mis)predicting Others' Preferences

By: Kate Barasz, Tami Kim and Leslie K. John

Consumers readily indicate liking options that appear dissimilar—for example, enjoying both rustic lake vacations and chic city vacations or liking both scholarly documentary films and action-packed thrillers. However, when predicting other consumers’ tastes for the... View Details

Keywords: Perceived Similarity; Prediction Error; Preference Prediction; Self-other Difference; Social Inference; Cognition and Thinking; Perception; Forecasting and Prediction

March 2016 (Revised November 2021)
Teaching Note

T-Mobile in 2013: The Un-Carrier

By: John Beshears and Francesca Gino

By 2013, the U.S. wireless industry was in the midst of a costly transition. As consumers began to embrace more sophisticated mobile devices, the industry's four main players spent heavily to improve their infrastructures for providing reliable high-speed data... View Details

Keywords: Wireless Industry; Telecommunications; Mobile; Service Contracts; Behavioral Economics; Add-on Fees; Shrouded Attributes; Contracts; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry; United States

12 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 12

to meet or beat key benchmarks. This paper examines this hypothesis by testing how different types of marketing expenditures are used to boost earnings for a durable commodity consumer product, which can be easily stockpiled View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2010
Article

Leadership Effort in Professional Radiology Associations

By: Srikant M. Datar, John Tan and Sanjay Saini

Professional associations advocate for their members' interests; provide forums for education, training, and certification; and support domain-specific research and development efforts. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of resources devoted to the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Cooperation; Society; Health Industry

2005
Article

Early Decisions: A Regulatory Framework

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

We describe a regulatory framework that helps consumers who have difficulty sticking to their own long-run plans. Early Decision regulations help long-run preferences prevail by allowing consumers to partially commit to their long-run goals, making it harder for a... View Details

Keywords: Hyperbolic Discounting; Self-control; Commitment; Consumer Behavior; Taxation; Attitudes

Article

Megastudies Improve the Impact of Applied Behavioural Science

By: Katherine L. Milkman, Dena Gromet, Hung Ho, Joseph S. Kay, Timothy W. Lee, Pepi Pandiloski, Yeji Park, Aneesh Rai, Max Bazerman, John Beshears, Lauri Bonacorsi, Colin Camerer, Edward Chang, Gretchen Chapman, Robert Cialdini, Hengchen Dai, Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, Ayelet Fishbach, James J. Gross, Samantha Horn, Alexa Hubbard, Steven J. Jones, Dean Karlan, Tim Kautz, Erika Kirgios, Joowon Klusowski, Ariella Kristal, Rahul Ladhania, Jens Ludwig, George Loewenstein, Barbara Mellers, Sendhil Mullainathan, Silvia Saccardo, Jann Spiess, Gaurav Suri, Joachim H. Talloen, Jamie Taxer, Yaacov Trope, Lyle Ungar, Kevin G. Volpp, Ashley V. Whillans, Jonathan Zinman and Angela L. Duckworth

Policy-makers are increasingly turning to behavioural science for insights about how to improve citizens’ decisions and outcomes. Typically, different scientists test different intervention ideas in different samples using different outcomes over different time... View Details

Keywords: Policy Making; Behavioral Science; Behavior; Change; Decision Making; Policy

November 2016
Case

QuintilesIMS: Biosimilar Marketing in England

By: John A. Quelch and Emily C. Boudreau

QuintilesIMS was a leading healthcare consulting firm best known for its data and information offerings as well as its market research and management consulting services for life science companies. By 2015, the company was expanding beyond the biopharmaceutical... View Details

Keywords: Health; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotech; Marketing; Health Care and Treatment; Biotechnology Industry; England

Educators

2014
Working Paper

SOX after Ten Years: A Multidisciplinary Review

By: John C. Coates and Suraj Srinivasan

We review and assess research findings from 120 papers in accounting, finance, and law to evaluate the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We describe significant developments in how the Act was implemented and find that despite severe criticism, the Act and institutions... View Details

Keywords: Laws and Statutes

SSRN

September 2014
Case

Radiometer, 2013

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2013, Radiometer continued to lead the world in blood gas analysis equipment and accessories, selling direct and through distributors to hospital central laboratories, point-of-care locations, and non-hospital medical locations. Founded in 1935 and based in Denmark,... View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices; Medical Equipment ＆ Devices; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Strategic Analysis; Strategic Change; Family Business; Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Denmark; United States

Educators

2017
Case

Uncommon Schools (A): A Network of Networks

By: John J-H Kim and Sarah McAra

In 2013, Brett Peiser, CEO of the charter school management organization (CMO) Uncommon Schools, is reassessing the nonprofit’s strategy. For nearly 10 years, Uncommon had fulfilled its mission to bring high-quality education to students in low-income, urban areas... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Nonprofit Organizations; Teaching; Talent Management; Innovation; Organization Structure; Education; Early Childhood Education; Middle School Education; Organizational Structure; Performance Consistency; Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Education Industry

September 2009
Case

Culinarian Cookware: Pondering Price Promotion

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

In November of 2006, senior executives at Culinarian Cookware were debating the merits of price promotions for the company's premium cookware products. The VP of Marketing, Donald Janus, and Senior Sales Manager, Victoria Brown, had different views. Janus felt price... View Details

Keywords: Profitability Analysis; Consumer Marketing; Brand Equity; Pricing Policies; Sales Promotions; Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Decisions; Goals and Objectives; Price; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Management Teams; Sales; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

Educators

12 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 12, 2006

productivity externalities in the host country generated by foreign multinational companies. We propose a mechanism that emphasizes the role of local financial markets in enabling foreign direct investment (FDI) to promote growth through... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

Teaching Note for HBS No. 919-013. Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and... View Details

January 2025
Article

Automatic Enrollment with a 12% Default Contribution Rate

By: John Beshears, Ruofei Guo, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and James J. Choi

We study a retirement savings plan with a default contribution rate of 12% of income, which is much higher than previously studied defaults. Twenty-five percent of employees had not opted out of this default 12 months after hire; a literature review finds that the... View Details

Keywords: Retirement Savings; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; Automatic Enrollment; Retirement; Saving; Income; Decision Choices and Conditions

September 1994
Case

Marks & Spencer: Sir Richard Greenbury's Quiet Revolution

By: Joseph L. Bower and John B. Matthews Jr.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is one of the world's greatest companies. In 1994, its management was chosen the most admired in Europe by 637 peers. The case explores how Sir Richard Greenbury, appointed the new chairman of the company in 1991, transformed his inheritance into... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Management Teams; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Europe; United States

Article

SOX after Ten Years: A Multidisciplinary Review

By: Suraj Srinivasan and John C. Coates IV

We review and assess research findings from 120+ papers in accounting, finance, and law to evaluate the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We describe significant developments in how the Act was implemented and find that despite severe criticism, the Act and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Laws and Statutes; United States

SSRN