Publications

Article

Consumers' Misunderstanding of Health Insurance

By: George Loewenstein, Joelle Y. Friedman, Barbara McGill, Sarah Ahmad, Suzanne Linck, Stacey Sinkula, John Beshears, James J. Choi, Jonathan Kolstad, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, John A. List and Kevin G. Volpp

We report results from two surveys of representative samples of Americans with private health insurance. The first examines how well Americans understand, and believe they understand, traditional health insurance coverage. The second examines whether those insured... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Simplification; Insurance; Consumer Behavior; Health Care and Treatment; Cognition and Thinking; Insurance Industry; Health Industry; United States

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July 2014 (Revised November 2014)
Background Note

The Structure and Functioning of the Fashion Industry

By: Mukti Khaire and Hannah Catzen

Fashion is the quintessential social-consumption good; all consumers comply with or react to fashion. Although very few consumers actually control trends, virtually every consumer is affected by fashion and contributes to it by adopting or rejecting popular styles. A... View Details

Keywords: Fashion And Creative Industries; Fashion; Retail; Creativity; Supply and Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

9 Dec 2011 - 10 Dec 2011
Conference Presentation

Taste Contested: The Construction of American Wine Culture, 1967-1976

By: Ai Hisano

This paper examines the role of taste in American consumer society by analyzing how wine came to symbolize sophistication during the 1960s and 1970s. View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Attitudes; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

May 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Headspace vs. Calm: A Mindful Competition

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne Wilson

By 2021, the mindfulness app wars reached their apex. Over 2,000 meditation apps were available to consumers, but two apps, Headspace and Calm, dominated the space, jointly holding about 70% of the total market. Headspace had established itself as the approachable... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communication; Integrated Strategy; Brand; Brand ＆ Product Management; Brand Communication; Brand Differentiation; Brand Building; Brand Management; E-Commerce Strategy; Ecommerce; App; App Development; Applications; COVID; COVID-19; Pandemic; Pricing; Pricing Strategy; Subscription Model; Subscription; Partnerships; Strategic Partnerships; B2B Vs. B2C; B2B; Health ＆ Wellness; Wellbeing; Digitization; Commoditization; Mobile App; Mobile App Industry; Mobile Healthcare; Mobile Marketing; Digital Brand; Digital Health; Consumer Health; Apps; Online Business; Online Competition; Online Community; Online Entertainment; Entertainment And Leisure; Meditation; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Price; Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Partners and Partnerships; Health; Well-being; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Communication; Communication Strategy; Disruption; Consumer Behavior; Digital Marketing; E-commerce; Applications and Software; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Communications Industry; United States; North America; United Kingdom

Purchase

17 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 17

critiques of prior work on ads as signals; namely, that ad content is irrelevant, ad exposure is unnecessary, and the choice of ads as signals is inherently arbitrary. The Consumer Psychology of Mail-in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Article

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Bruno Jullien

We analyze the incentives to divert search for an information intermediary who enables buyers (consumers) to search affiliated sellers (stores). We identify two original motives for diverting search (i.e., inducing consumers to search more than they would like): 1)... View Details

Keywords: Market Intermediation; Search; Two-Sided Markets; Platform Design; Demand and Consumers; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

13 Apr 2012
HBS Seminar

Drazen Prelec, Professor of Management Science and Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management

2019
Working Paper

Status Pivoting: Coping with Status Threats through Motivated Trade-off Beliefs and Consumption across Domains

By: Dafna Goor, Anat Keinan and Nailya Ordabayeva

Prior research established that status threat leads consumers to display status-related products such as luxury brands. While compensatory consumption in the domain of the status threat (e.g., products associated with financial and professional success) is the most... View Details

Keywords: Status and Position; Luxury; Consumer Behavior

March–April 2013
Article

Expected Firm Altruism, Quality Provision, and Brand Extensions

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

A setting is considered where consumers keep track of the extent to which brands care about them, which is modeled as altruism of brands towards their target consumers. Consumers who purchase an experience good of high quality reasonably deduce that the supplier of... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Quality; Consumer Behavior; Attitudes; Brands and Branding

*Joined Harvard Faculty: 1991
Prior Faculty Appointments: Northwestern University, 1968-75;
University of Pittsburgh, 1975-91

*Doctoral Degree in Sociology Received from: The John Hopkins University;
MBA Degree Received from: The University of... View Details

Keywords: consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products

January–February 2018
Article

Ads That Don't Overstep: How to Make Sure You Don't Take Personalization Too Far

By: Leslie John, Tami Kim and Kate Barasz

Data gathered on the web has vastly enhanced the capabilities of marketers. With people regularly sharing personal details online and internet cookies tracking every click, companies can now gain unprecedented insight into individual consumers and target them with... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Customization and Personalization; Information; Customers; Attitudes

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04 May 2023
Blog Post

Sustainability: Career Advice from HBS Career Coach Hillary Mann

about, whether it’s by eating a primarily plant-based diet or using clean products in my home. I am interested in the psychology of what will drive consumer decisions to make thoughtful choices so that we... View Details

September 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

OPOWER: Increasing Energy Efficiency through Normative Influence (A)

By: Amy J.C. Cuddy, Kyle Todd Doherty and Maarten W. Bos

The case profiles OPOWER, an energy efficiency software company that applies Cialdini's principles of social influence to successfully encourage consumers to reduce their energy usage. OPOWER was co-founded in 2008 by two young Harvard graduates, Dan Yates and Alex... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Applications and Software; Attitudes; Entrepreneurship; Energy Conservation; Power and Influence; Growth and Development Strategy; Energy Industry; United States

Purchase

2008
Working Paper

Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This paper starts by discussing consumers' cognitive and emotional reaction to posted prices. Cognitively, some consumers do not appear to make effective use of price information to maximize their consumption-based utility. Emotionally, prices can induce regret and... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Price; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Consumer Behavior; Emotions

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2007
Working Paper

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Bruno Jullien

We analyze the incentives to divert search for an information intermediary who enables buyers (consumers) to search affiliated sellers (stores). We identify two original motives for diverting search (i.e. inducing consumers to search more than they would like): i)... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

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March 1994 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Lisa Benton (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

Lisa Benton is in her fourth month as an assistant product manager at Houseworld, a leading consumer products company. She has been on the job since graduating from the Harvard Business School, and she has been frustrated from the start by a lack of responsibility, by... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Jobs and Positions; Power and Influence; Relationships; Consumer Products Industry