by Michael Watkins - Publications - Faculty & Research

23 Aug 2019
News

Can capitalism be saved by a concept born in Boston?

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Strategy and the Internet

If average profitability is under pressure in many industries influenced by the Internet, it becomes all the more important for individual companies to set themselves apart from the pack—to be more profitable than the average performer.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter

30 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

Why Anger Makes a Wrongly Accused Person Look Guilty

researchers were inspired to investigate the link between anger and guilt five years ago after discussing true crime documentaries and the dynamics of the falsely accused being interviewed by police. “As behavioral scientists, we wondered... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

11 Aug 2014
HBS Case

The Business of Behavioral Economics

choices, those efforts should be enough to change your behavior. If you know the consequences but still get fat, you must want to be overweight. “Losing $100 is more painful than gaining $100 is pleasurable” Of course not, say Leslie John and View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Health

08 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Is That Really Your Best Offer?

like to think we can gauge someone's sincerity and commitment by the look in her eyes or the firmness of her handshake. After all, a bargainer who yields to a demand is said to have "blinked." And if we reach agreement, it's... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler

08 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The Civic Benefits of Google Street View and Yelp

says Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Michael Luca. That may be about to change. Thanks to the Internet, mobile apps, and a wide range of useful programs online, residents add to the pool of information with every keystroke... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

06 May 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Minutes After a Virtual Meeting That Can Build Up or Tear Down Teams

they carefully manage the relationship. About four months into the study, the researchers observed a much different reaction to a similar change in code ownership by the other team they were observing, which they named Team Prism. Again,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

02 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

Why COVID-19 Probably Killed More People Than We Realize

of the disease, a new study of underreported casualties in several countries indicates that COVID has actually killed hundreds of thousands more people than government records document. "We were shocked by the magnitude of what we were... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

09 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

The UK Needs a Bold Strategy Around Competition to Survive Brexit

competitive strategy expert Michael E. Porter, of Harvard Business School. The competitive challenges now facing the UK have been made significantly worse by years of inaction. “Our worry is that the UK remains mired in wishful thinking... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

26 Nov 2001
Op-Ed

Why Corporate Budgeting Needs To Be Fixed

international heavy-equipment manufacturer, managers were so set on hitting their quarterly revenue target that they shipped unfinished products from their plant in England all the way to a warehouse in the Netherlands, near the customer, for final assembly. View Details

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

Web

Courses by Title - Course Catalog

Elective Curriculum: Course Descriptions Last Updated: 16 Jul 2025 By Course Title View by Unit | View by Course Title | View by Faculty | Print... View Details

01 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Crowdfunding a Poor Investment?

customers," says Senior Lecturer Michael J. Roberts. By soliciting money through Kickstarter or similar sites, a company overcomes the catch-22 that occurs when it needs funding to make a product, but... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

Article

Unexpected Benefits of Deciding by Mind Wandering

By: Colleen Giblin, Carey K. Morewedge and Michael I. Norton

The mind wanders, even when people are attempting to make complex decisions. We suggest that such mind wandering—allowing one's thoughts to wander until the "correct" choice comes to mind—can positively impact people's feelings about their decisions. We compare... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Satisfaction; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cognition and Thinking

Citation

Read Now

08 May 2020
In Practice

Nonprofits Hurt by COVID-19 Must Hoard Cash to Hold On

survey by the Charities Aid Foundation of America. A staggering 97 percent of respondents expect their funding to decline during the next 12 months as the struggling economy and social distancing hurts fundraising efforts. What can... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

10 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

New Medical Devices Get To Patients Too Slowly

implantable defibrillators or transcatheter heart valves, the FDA's regulatory approval process appears to delay those approvals, which in turn adds to development costs borne by device manufacturers, according to Innovation under... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health; Technology

12 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

What Brands Can Do to Monitor Factory Conditions of Suppliers

View Video Video by Amelia Kundhardt They keep on coming—corporate scandals involving revelations of deplorable working conditions at overseas factories. If it’s not the Foxconn factories that Apple employs in China, then it’s Gap’s... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

When a Vacation Isn’t Enough, a Sabbatical Can Recharge Your Life—and Your Career

live.” “It helped me process the possibility that the time at the company I had started could be finished, and that could be OK.” Even as he was feeling fulfilled by helping people, he felt himself crashing. “I didn’t think you could burn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

21 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Making Credibility Your Strongest Asset

others are bidding for what you want? One solution to distinguishing yourself in competitive environments is to build your bargaining endowment—storing up credibility and resources by developing relationships, burnishing your reputation,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler