Publications

August 2012
Teaching Note

Mekanism: Engineering Viral Marketing

By: Thales S. Teixeira

The Mekanism case introduces students to a digital media production company specialized in creating viral marketing campaigns for advertising agencies and their clients (e.g., Microsoft, AXE, eBay, Toyota, etc.). Mekanism has grown tremendously from 2007 to 2010 in... View Details

Keywords: Viral Marketing; Viral Ads; Virality; Mekanism; Advertising Agency; Social Media; Influencer; Storytelling; Advertising Content; Advertising; Advertising Industry; North and Central America

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

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April 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Mekanism: Engineering Viral Marketing

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Alison Caverly

Mekanism introduces students to a digital media production company specializing in creating viral marketing campaigns for advertising agencies and clients (e.g., Microsoft, AXE, eBay, Toyota, etc.) Mekanism has grown tremendously from 2007 to 2010 in part due to the... View Details

Keywords: Viral Marketing; Viral Advertising; Core Competencies; Growth Strategy; Online Media; Videos; Advertising Media; Internet and the Web; Expansion; Media; Marketing; Advertising; Advertising Industry; North and Central America

February 2005 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever's Project Shakti--Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Rohithari Rajan

With liberalization of India's economy and the opening up of markets to foreign multinationals such as Procter & Gamble, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever--Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)--was under pressure to grow revenues and profits. HLL had a long and stellar record of... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Subsidiaries; Revenue; Profit; Market Participation; Programs; Rural Scope; Poverty; Multinational Firms and Management; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; India

22 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Student Loan Debt Leads to Better Jobs, Stronger Consumers

student loans cancelled. National Collegiate, which holds 800,000 private student loans totaling $12 billion, had more than $5 billion of these loans in default as of 2018, according to the Consumer... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Purple Innovation, Inc.: The Online to Offline Marketing Challenge

By: Elie Ofek and Nakisha Williams

This case focuses on Purple Innovation Inc. (Purple), a company that started out in the Direct to Consumer (DTC) mattress space. In late 2018, after a successful launch and IPO with sales predominantly originating from its website, Purple was looking to sustain its... View Details

Keywords: Offline Sales; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Research Summary

Consumer Decision Making and Behavioral Research

By: John T. Gourville

John Gourville’s research focuses on consumer behavior, especially in the areas of pricing and consumer decision making. In the area of pricing, for instance, he has looked at the role of time on how consumers interpret and react to product costs and prices.... View Details

Article

Marketing in the Age of Web 2.0

By: Jill Avery

Web 2.0 technologies empower consumers to create their own personalized experiences on the web, and to share them with others. Hence, web content is democratized and consumers' experiences online are largely social rather than individualistic. View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Internet; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Internet and the Web; Social Media; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

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March 2020
Technical Note

Influencer Marketing

By: Jill Avery and Ayelet Israeli

Despite a heavy barrage of advertising, most consumers declare that their purchases are most influenced by the experiences, advice, and recommendations of others, and not by marketers. Interpersonal communication between and among consumers serves as a potent path for... View Details

Keywords: Influencers; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

August 2012
Article

Consumer Response to Versioning: How Brands' Production Methods Affect Perceptions of Unfairness

By: Andrew Gershoff, Ran Kivetz and Anat Keinan

Marketers often extend product lines by offering limited-capability models that are created by removing or degrading features in existing models. This production method, called versioning, has been lauded because of its ability to increase both consumer and firm... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Production; Competency and Skills; Welfare or Wellbeing; Cost vs Benefits; Perception; Customers; Performance Evaluation; Fairness; Business Ventures

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30 Aug 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Consumers Punish Firms that Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19

Keywords: by Bhavya Mohan, Serena Hagerty, and Michael Norton

March 1997
Background Note

Asymmetric Information: Market Failures, Market Distortions, and Market Solutions

Presents a conceptual framework for thinking about markets characterized by asymmetric information. Presents the standard economic analysis of "the lemons problem," and demonstrates how asymmetric information may lead to market inefficiencies and alter the distribution... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy

October 2023
Article

Speedy Activists: Firm Response Time to Sociopolitical Events Influences Consumer Behavior

By: Jimin Nam, Maya Balakrishnan, Julian De Freitas and Alison Wood Brooks

Organizations face growing pressure from their consumers and stakeholders to take public stances on sociopolitical issues. However, many are hesitant to do so lest they make missteps, promises they cannot keep, appear inauthentic, or alienate consumers, employees, or... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Public Opinion; Social Media; Social Issues

2011
Article

The Consumer Psychology of Mail-in Rebates

By: John T. Gourville and Dilip Soman

Consumers who buy a product intending to use an accompanying mail-in rebate often do not redeem the rebate. To explain this behavior, we argue that consumers use an anchoring and adjustment approach to predicting the likelihood of redeeming a rebate. In keeping with... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Sales; Motivation and Incentives

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February 9, 2024
Article

The Rise of Consumer Crypto

By: Steve Kaczynski and Scott Duke Kominers

Although non-fungible tokens are often misunderstood and even derided, they remain a general and flexible solution for establishing and tracking ownership in the digital domain. As a superior solution to existing technology in many areas of the consumer economy, their... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Crypto Economy; NFTs; Non-fungible Tokens; Internet Of Everything; Market Design; Technological Innovation; Demand and Consumers; Web Services Industry

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Morningstar Direct | Baker Library

Morningstar Direct Multi-currency research platform that provides performance and holdings analyses of investments. Read More Multi-currency research platform that provides performance and holdings analysis of investments. Morningstar... View Details

06 Feb 2009
News

Keeping a keen eye on consumer behaviour

25 Jan 2017
News

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

July 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Branding Citigroup's Consumer Business

By: Rohit Deshpande and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In Spring 1998, Citicorp and Travelers merged to create a financial powerhouse that united the bank with Travelers' consumer finance and brokerage businesses, including Salomon Smith Barney and Primerica. It was the first U.S. financial services company to combine... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Decisions; Asset Management; Investment Banking; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Relationships; Business and Shareholder Relations; Banking Industry; United States