Publications

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12 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 12

that a decision maker may use in a multiattribute decision problem. In addition, it may be used to tailor the utility elicitation process to the comfort level of the decision... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Dec 2015
First Look

December 15, 2015

products but erroneously expect others to dislike dissimilar ones (Studies 1 and 2). While people readily select dissimilar items for themselves (particularly if the dissimilar item is of higher quality than a similar one), they fail to... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

Ostrovsky, and Schwarz. We prove that convergence occurs with probability 1, and we compute the expected time until convergence. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-056.pdf Attracting... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

of control), (iii) increase DM total and performance-based pay. The results are generally consistent with the explanation that firms redesign their organizations through a set of complementary choices in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2022
Case

Executive Decision-Making at Zola

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michael Roberto

In April 2020, Rachel Jarrett, President and COO of wedding technology company Zola, called a meeting with the organization’s key decision-makers. The company had previously launched three business expansions: a vendor marketplace, a wedding apparel division, and a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Voting; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Skills; Management; Management Style; Organizations; Organizational Culture; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

25 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 25, 2007

and over 20 million individual transactions, I examine consumption patterns for obscure and hit products. Specifically, I study whether the interest in popular "hit" View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy

By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron

Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Distribution; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Web Services Industry

Web

ハーバード - Global

infrastructure, its technological ambitions, and Japan's commitment to hydrogen provided a strong foundation for success. KHI could potentially lead the hydrogen industry and support Japan's decarbonization... View Details

September 2017
Case

Dr. William Carson— Intrapreneurial Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry

By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode

Dr. William Carson, an African-American alum of Harvard University became the President and CEO of a multi billion dollar division of Otsuka, a Japan based pharmaceutical company. His ascension to this leadership position followed a thriving career in academic medicine... View Details

Keywords: Dr. Williams Carson; Otsuka America Pharmaceutical; Harvard; Abilify; Aripiprazole; Health Testing and Trials; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Japan

Research Summary

Current Research

Ian studies extrinsic rewards -- monetary incentives from formal compensation systems, as well as other formal and informal external rewards-- in order to help businesses understand the tensions and tradeoffs inherent in motivating employees. His research takes a... View Details

18 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 18

effect. To discern whether status serves as a signal of quality under uncertainty or satisfies the motive of conspicuous consumption, I study a period of time during which the uncertainty about quality has... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior

behavioral economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, is a way of changing the environment in which decisions are made without meaningfully changing financial incentives. “If you take a particular policy... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

June 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Majid Al Futtaim Retail Geographic Expansion: Brick or Click?

By: Juan Alcácer and Alpana Thapar

This case illustrates the challenges that retailers face when they aggressively pursue geographical growth by expanding both their physical store network and their online presence. It features Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Retail, a franchisee of Carrefour hypermarkets in the... View Details

Keywords: Stores; Ecommerce; Strategy; Expansion; Geographic Location; Decision Making; Internet and the Web; Digital Transformation; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Middle East

31 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Why Competition May Not Improve Credit Rating Agencies

to finance ratings. Issuers have no choice but to pay the fee, and are not allowed to choose the rater. By severing the link between issuer and payment, this is supposed to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

April 2022
Case

Pear Venture Capital

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

Keith Bender, Principal at Pear Venture Capital, is working over the weekend to prepare for a Monday morning investment meeting. He has three startup pitch decks in front of him, and he must choose one to recommend at the meeting. He finds that each company has its... View Details

Keywords: Seed Investing; Seed Financing; Startup; Decision Choices and Conditions; Presentations; Business Startups; Investment; Venture Capital; United States

08 Nov 2013
HBS Seminar

Laura Diaz Anadon, Harvard Kennedy School

October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil

By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski

ExxonMobil, the world's fifth largest source of carbon emissions, remained committed to aggressively expanding its oil & gas business despite global warming. During the COVID pandemic this strategy resulted in massive losses as the price and demand for oil declined. ... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Global Warming; Impact Investment Funds; Hedge Fund Activism; Leadership Development; Business Model; Renewable Energy; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards