Publications

Web

2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

measures reduce US dependence on supply chains linked to China? And what should we do with prices of imports from Vietnam and Mexico on the rise? Paper on Global Supply Chain Great Reallocation CASE STUDY Acquiring and Engaging Talent for... View Details

Research Summary

Managers' Use of Information

William J. Bruns, Jr. is studying (with Sharon M. McKinnon of Northeastern University) managers' use of information in day-to-day and long-term management situations. The findings of this research-that managers develop and rely more heavily on personal information... View Details

Forthcoming
Article

Transaction Cost Economics in the Digital Economy: A Research Agenda

By: Frank Nagle, Robert Seamans and Steve Tadelis

Transaction cost economics theory explains when it is more efficient for a transaction between two parties to occur across the market or within an organization. How does transaction cost economics apply in the digital economy, which relies on digital transactions? In... View Details

Keywords: Transaction Cost Economics; Digital Economy; Economics; Cost; Markets; Research; Digital Transformation

2023
Working Paper

The Impact of Unionization on Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality: Evidence from Starbucks

By: Isamar Troncoso, Minkyung Kim, Ishita Chakraborty and SooHyun Kim

The US has seen a rise in union movements, but their effects on service industry marketing outcomes like customer satisfaction and perceptions of service quality remain understudied. In this paper, we empirically study the impact on customer satisfaction and... View Details

Keywords: Labor Unions; Customer Satisfaction; Perception; Public Opinion; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry

SSRN

January 2023
Case

Baofeng's Philanthropic Efforts in China

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Bo Li and Zhaoheng Gong

Yanbao Dang, President of Baofeng Group and founder of the Yanbao Foundation, Baofeng Group’s philanthropic arm, weighed how the family nonprofit could maximize its impact. On a mission to eliminating poverty through broadening access to educational opportunities in... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Rural Scope; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Issues; Poverty; Resource Allocation; Green Technology Industry; Education Industry; China; Asia

2025
Working Paper

Threat and Assimilation: Evidence from Refugees in Germany

By: Philipp Jaschke, Sulin Sardoschau and Marco Tabellini

This paper studies the effects of local threat on the cultural assimilation and economic integration of refugees, exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in their allocation across German regions between 2013 and 2016. We use representative survey data and... View Details

Keywords: Assimilation; Threat Hypothesis; Migration; Cultural Change; Refugees; Culture; Identity; Germany

September 2014
Article

Advancing Consumer Neuroscience

By: Ale Smidts, Ming Hsu, Alan G. Sanfey, Maarten A. S. Boksem, Richard B. Ebstein, Scott A. Huettel, Joe W. Kable, Uma R. Karmarkar, Shinobu Kitayama, Brian Knutson, Israel Liberzon, Terry Lohrenz, Mirre Stallen and Carolyn Yoon

In the first decade of consumer neuroscience, strong progress has been made in understanding how neuroscience can inform consumer decision making. Here, we sketch the development of this discipline and compare it to that of the adjacent field of neuroeconomics. We... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Neuroscience; Neuroeconomics; Social Neuroscience; Genes; Machine Learning; Meta-analysis; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making; Science

Find at Harvard

September 2008
Case

Samoa Tala

By: Joshua D. Coval, Bhagwan Chowdhry and Konark Saxena

This case examines currency risks faced by Microfinance Institutions, and evaluates strategies to hedge them in countries with pegged currency regimes and no derivatives markets. An MFI based in Western Samoa borrows in different currencies like the US dollar and the... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Currency Exchange Rate; Microfinance; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry; Samoa

October 1989 (Revised June 1993)
Case

RKO Warner Video, Inc.: Incentive Compensation Plan

By: George P. Baker III

Details the design and implementation of an incentive bonus plan for video store managers. The problem for top management of the chain is to induce the store managers to "sweat the details," to keep the stores neat and well organized, and to deal courteously and... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Change; Strategic Planning; Performance Improvement; Sales; Management; Employee Relationship Management; Situation or Environment; Success; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

In a research study at four Fortune 500 companies, when managers were asked about their teams’ work, on average they either did not know or could not remember 60% of the work their teams do. This is a major problem because it can lead to unrealistic digital... View Details

Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

Krishna G. Palepu

KRISHNA G. PALEPU is the Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration, and has served previously as Senior Advisor to the President of Harvard University, and Senior Associate Dean... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; banking; financial services; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; retailing

Web

Publications - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Services (CMS) recently announced that it will be removing more than 250 musculoskeletal surgeries from its “inpatient-only list” in January 2022. An additional 1,500 surgeries will be eliminated in the following year. The change... 01 Feb 2021 Article Health Care... View Details

Web

Latin America - Global

shift-share instrument that measures the exposure of Brazilian local labor markets to exogenous changes in exports. By matching this instrument with electoral and survey data, I provide evidence that declining exports increased the power... View Details

23 May 2023
Research & Ideas

Face Value: Do Certain Physical Features Help People Get Ahead?

matters and well-applied filters, makeup, or hairstyles could optimize the visual aspect of charisma. However, knowing a potential employee’s “charisma score”—a measure the researchers created—could also uncover hidden bias and force... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

March 1994 (Revised September 1995)
Case

Enron Gas Services

By: Peter Tufano

The CEO of Enron Gas Services (EGS), a subsidiary of the largest U.S. integrated natural gas firm, considers the risks and opportunities of selling a variety of natural gas derivatives, both embedded in gas delivery contracts and as free-standing financial contracts.... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Energy Sources; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry

June 2020
Teaching Note

Shiseido Acquires Drunk Elephant

By: Jill Avery

On October 7, 2019, the Shiseido Group announced that it would acquire clean skincare brand Drunk Elephant for $845 million, a valuation of 8.5 times sales. Did Shiseido pay too much or too little for this brand asset? How much was the Drunk Elephant brand worth and... View Details