Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(704)
- Faculty Publications (209)
- April 2012
- Article
The Impact of Relative Standards on the Propensity to Disclose
By: Alessandro Acquisti, Leslie John and George Loewenstein
Two sets of studies illustrate the comparative nature of disclosure behavior. The first set investigates how divulgence is affected by signals about others' readiness to divulge. Study 1A shows a "herding" effect, such that survey respondents are more willing to... View Details
- March 2012 (Revised October 2013)
- Supplement
Gene Patents (B)
By: Richard Hamermesh and Phillip Andrews
The case updates events since the Court's ruling against Myriad Genetics on March 29, 2010 and should be used in conjunction with Gene Patents (A). On July 29, 2011, a US Appeals Court reversed the prior ruling against Myriad. On September 16, 2011, the first major... View Details
Keywords: Courts and Trials; Patents; Genetics; Judgments; Investment; Biotechnology Industry; United States
- December 2012
- Article
Behavioral Ethics: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Moral Judgment and Dishonesty
By: Max Bazerman and Francesca Gino
Early research and teaching on ethics focused on either a moral development perspective or philosophical approaches, and used a normative approach by focusing on the question of how people should act when resolving ethical dilemmas. In this paper, we briefly describe... View Details
- July 2011 (Revised November 2012)
- Case
Ultimate Fighting Championship: License to Operate (A)
By: George Serafeim and Kyle Welch
The case describes the challenges that Ultimate Fighting Championship faced as a result of regulatory opposition and loss of the license to operate. The genesis of the business idea, the subsequent growth, and the fall of the UFC are described. The case concludes with... View Details
- July – August 2011
- Article
What Factors Drive Analyst Forecasts?
A firm's competitive environment, its strategic choices, and its internal capabilities are considered important determinants of its future performance. Yet there is little evidence on whether analysts' forecasts of firm performance actually reflect any of these factors... View Details
- June 2011 (Revised October 2013)
- Case
Gene Patents (A)
By: Richard Hamermesh, David Kiron and Phillip Andrews
In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our increasing knowledge of the Human Genome. The case issues... View Details
- Article
Naivete and Cynicism in Negotiations and Other Competitive Contexts
By: Chia-Jung Tsay, Lisa L. Shu and Max H. Bazerman
A wealth of literature documents how the common failure to think about the self-interests of others contributes to suboptimal outcomes. Yet sometimes, an excess of cynicism appears to lead us to over-think the actions of others and make negative attributions about... View Details
- February 2011
- Article
Blind Ethics: Closing One's Eyes Polarizes Moral Judgments and Discourages Dishonest Behavior
By: E. M. Caruso and F. Gino
- 2011
- Working Paper
Memory Lane and Morality: How Childhood Memories Promote Prosocial Behavior
By: Francesca Gino and Sreedhari D. Desai
Four experiments demonstrated that recalling memories from one's own childhood lead people to experience feelings of moral purity and to behave prosocially. In Experiment 1, participants instructed to recall memories from their childhood were more likely to help the... View Details
- Article
From Thinking Too Little to Thinking Too Much: A Continuum of Decision Making.
By: Dan Ariely and Michael I. Norton
Due to the sheer number and variety of decisions that people make in their everyday lives-from choosing yogurts to choosing religions to choosing spouses-research in judgment and decision making has taken many forms. We suggest, however, that much of this research has... View Details
- 2011
- Working Paper
The Importance of Work Context in Organizational Learning from Error
By: Lucy H. MacPhail and Amy C. Edmondson
This paper examines the implications of work context for learning from errors in organizations. Prior research has shown that attitudes and behaviors related to error vary between groups within organizations but has not investigated or theorized the ways in which... View Details
- 2010
- Working Paper
Conveniently Upset: Avoiding Altruism by Distorting Beliefs about Others
By: Rafael Di Tella and Ricardo Perez-Truglia
In this paper we present the results from a "corruption game" (a dictator game modified so that the second player can accept a side payment that reduces the overall size of the pie). Dictators (silently) treated to have the possibility of taking a larger proportion of... View Details
- 2010
- Working Paper
Cognitive Barriers to Environmental Action: Problems and Solutions
By: Lisa L. Shu and Max Bazerman
We explore interventions at the individual level and focus on recognized cognitive barriers from behavioral decision-making literature. In particular, we highlight three cognitive barriers that impede sound individual decision making that have particular relevance to... View Details
- September 2010 (Revised December 2010)
- Case
Compass Maritime Services, LLC: Valuing Ships
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Albert W. Sheen
Tom Roberts, a founding partner of Compass Maritime Services, a New Jersey-based shipping research and consulting firm, has been asked by a new potential customer in May 2008 for advice on purchasing a capesize bulk carrier. After identifying a suitable ship with his... View Details
- September 2010 (Revised November 2010)
- Case
J.P. Morgan Private Bank: Risk Management during the Financial Crisis 2008-2009
By: Anette Mikes, Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia
Mary Erdoes, the CEO of JP Morgan's asset management business, and three colleagues provide insights into risk management issues faced by the firm's private bank during the financial crisis in 2008–2009. The case provides perspective on the philosophy with which they... View Details
- June 2010 (Revised December 2013)
- Case
Hang Lung Properties and the Chengdu Decision (A)
By: John D. Macomber, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-Ho Wong
A residential real estate developer competes in a heated auction for a prime retail development site in the interior of China during the 2009 boom. Total project cost might be in excess of $1 billion U.S. for over 4,000,000 square feet of building. Hang Lung Properties... View Details
- March 2010
- Article
Nameless + Harmless = Blameless: When Seemingly Irrelevant Factors Influence Judgment of (Un)ethical Behavior
By: Francesca Gino, Lisa L. Shu and Max Bazerman
People often make judgments about the ethicality of others’ behaviors and then decide how harshly to punish such behaviors. When they make these judgments and decisions, sometimes the victims of the unethical behavior are identifiable, and sometimes they are not. In... View Details
- Article
The Counterfeit Self: The Deceptive Costs of Faking It
By: Francesca Gino, Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely
Although people buy counterfeit products to signal positive traits, we show that wearing counterfeit products makes individuals feel less authentic and increases their likelihood of both behaving dishonestly and judging others as unethical. In four experiments,... View Details
- November 2009
- Article
What Would Peter Say?
Heeding the wisdom of Peter Drucker might have helped us avoid - and will help us solve - numerous challenges, from restoring trust in business to tackling climate change. He issued early warnings about excessive executive pay, the auto industry's failure to adapt and... View Details
- July 2009
- Journal Article
Dirty Work, Clean Hands: The Moral Psychology of Indirect Agency
By: Neeru Paharia, Karim Kassam, Joshua Greene and Max Bazerman
When powerful people cause harm, they often do so indirectly through other people. Are harmful actions carried out through others evaluated less negatively than harmful actions carried out directly? Four experiments examine the moral psychology of indirect agency.... View Details