Publications

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June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A1)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

First of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. Split from the original (A) case to give students an opportunity to suggest objectives and measures for the division's initial BSC, without... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Measurement and Metrics; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Mining Industry; Energy Industry; United States

09 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 9

and creditors for quality reporting. In contrast, the "opportunistic behavior" hypothesis posits that public equity firms, because their managers have a greater incentive to manage earnings, have... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 16

share the same ethnic, educational, or career background are more likely to syndicate with each other. This homophily reduces the probability of investment success, and the detrimental effect is most prominent for early-stage investments.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 2

corporate directors' fiduciary duties in that state. This change limited incentives to take actions favoring equity over debt. We show that, as predicted, this increased the likelihood of equity issues, increased investment, and reduced... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2011 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Tombstones

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and David Lane

This case consists primarily of excerpts from term sheets and prospectuses for six securities offerings made by US companies during 2009-2010, just after the financial crisis and recession of 2008-09. There are three issues of senior unsecured notes, one floating rate... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Equity; Debt Securities; Bonds; Motivation and Incentives; United States

05 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

Reinventing the Dowdy Savings Bond

months. Marketing for the program was also eliminated. While all banks sell bonds, the $.50 to $.85 they earn for each transaction gives them little financial incentive to make... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Banking; Financial Services

26 Jan 2016
First Look

January 26, 2016

results for the setting of executive compensation and illegal financial accounting. Finally, we outline some managerial and policy implications to blunt these adverse incentive effects. Download working... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Greening Walmart: Progress and Controversy

By: Rebecca Henderson and James Weber

In 2005, Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, launched a sustainability initiative aimed at reducing waste and making the company more environmentally and socially conscious. By 2015, the company had made progress on multiple dimensions: energy efficiency in its... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business or Company Management; Motivation and Incentives; Reputation; Environmental Sustainability; Retail Industry; United States

19 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 18

culture. We also find wide variation across variables for ratings consistency among analysts covering the same firm. On average, consistency is higher for sell-side than buy-side analysts, consistent with... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

crossed with small incentive (ranging from U.S. $3 to $14) to open a bank savings account. We find that the financial literacy program has no effect on the likelihood of opening a bank savings account in the full sample but do find modest... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 21, 2018

novel convertible bond dataset, I find that consumers often purchase dominated bonds—cheap and expensive versions of otherwise identical bonds coexist in the market. The empirical evidence suggests that broker incentives are responsible... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

24 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Reducing Risk with Online Advertising

bottom of this quickly and successfully is tempered by the incentive of staff to do what is in their personal interest. Q: What are you working on next? A: I am working on other aspects of online advertising contracts that seem... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Video Game; Web Services

2020
Article

A Practical Approach to Sales Compensation: What Do We Know Now? What Should We Know in the Future?

By: Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim and Niladri B. Syam

Personal selling represents one of the most important elements in the marketing mix, and appropriate management of the sales force is vital to achieving the organization’s objectives. Among the various instruments of sales management, compensation plays a pivotal role... View Details

Keywords: Sales Compensation; Sales Management; Sales Strategy; Principal-agent Theory; Structural Econometrics; Field Experiments; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; AI and Machine Learning

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April 2025
Case

The CHIPS Program Office (Abridged)

By: Mitch Weiss and Sebastian Negron-Reichard

In February 2023, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo weighed signing off on a Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) with at least one unconventional provision: a pre-application (“pre-app”) to the actual application for parts of $39 billion in direct semiconductor... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Motivation and Incentives; Semiconductor Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

30 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

Use the Psychology of Pricing To Keep Customers Returning

Buyers are more apt to use a product right after they purchase it, a fact you need to ponder as you consider how to keep customers coming back for more. In this e-mail interview with HBS Working Knowledge's Manda Mahoney, Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Motivation and the Cross-Sector Alliance

created a strong incentive for producers to join the FSC certification scheme.16 Colombia's Hospital Management Center (CGH) is also a good example of this point. The CGH's mission was "to promote and... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin, Ezequiel Reficco & SEKN research team

July 2021
Article

Making Medications Stick: Improving Medication Adherence by Highlighting the Personal Health Costs of Non-compliance

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Joe J. Gladstone, Dan Berry, Charlotte L. Kirkdale, Tracey Thornley and Adam D. Galinsky

Poor compliance of prescription medication is an ongoing public health crisis. Nearly half of patients do not take their medication as prescribed, harming their own health while also increasing public health care costs. Despite these detrimental consequences, prior... View Details

Keywords: Prescription Drugs; Medication Adherence; Personal Health Costs; Health; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Communication Strategy