Alternatives - Publications - Faculty & Research

25 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 25

and Economic Development By: Schwab, Dan, and Eric Werker Abstract—Using industry-level manufacturing data, this paper demonstrates a negative effect of rents, measured by the mark-up ratio, on productivity growth. This result is robust to View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

conglomerate Tata Group and Envision, an entrepreneurial alternative energy company based in China-and found significant commonalities. These three companies demonstrate the essential attributes of a game-changing organization: they are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 29

intensity, we allow the incumbent to consider changes in its business model. We consider four alternative business models—two pure models (subscription-based and ad-sponsored) and two mixed models that are hybrids of the two pure models.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

30 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

Use the Psychology of Pricing To Keep Customers Returning

variety that forces consumers to make difficult tradeoffs (do I want the leather interior or do I want the 4-wheel drive?) will tend to drive people away from a brand. In the end, a consumer may opt to choose a brand with fewer, easier to compare View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

31 May 2023
Research & Ideas

With Predictive Analytics, Companies Can Tap the Ultimate Opportunity: Customers’ Routines

method to plot when enough bikes are needed to cut congestion or improve bike traffic flow. The next step, Ascarza says, may be to study how people who are traveling as part of a routine would respond differently to policy interventions—like the introduction of green... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Transportation

04 Apr 2019
Blog Post

Finding Your Creative Outlet on Campus

There’s an actual back and forth between the host and the person.” We all had a strong desire to present an alternative view of the community. “When you’re from the outside, the “institution” of HBS can be a little intimidating,” Jade... View Details

29 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

'Green Bonds' May Be Our Best Bet for Environmental Damage Control

projects, and whether those projects are going to deliver environmental benefits.” The projects include efforts to create alternative energy by building solar panels and wind turbines, as well as projects to improve water efficiency,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy; Utilities; Construction; Green Technology; Public Administration

07 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 7

capitalizations are afraid that a return to the wasteful state-owned enterprises of the past is imminent. In this essay we propose two alternative views. First, we stress the resilience of state-owned enterprises, which have been around... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Businesses Need a 'Catalyst' to Make CSR Practices Stick

Many companies follow a tried-and-true approach to pursuing corporate social responsibility practices. They set aside a certain amount per year to fund a CSR office, which then tries to help clean up the environment or improve the quality of life of people in the areas... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 Mar 2017
Research & Ideas

A Good Thing Happens When Doctors Start Talking to Their Patients

Kaplan and Porter are looking closely at alternative funding models that help align incentives with better patient outcomes, especially bundled payments that strongly motivate providers along a patient’s care cycle to integrate and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

07 Sep 2016
What Do You Think?

How Can the Threat of Networks Be Reduced?

over the network--may be destroyed. There is an answer to this problem: distributed networks with maximum connectivity (all nodes connected to each other by alternate paths similar to a fish net) with the capability of self-repairing... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 May 2016
Research & Ideas

How Consumers and Businesses are Reshaping Public Health

health insurance. Every year, they have to review alternative health insurance plans, make risk-return tradeoffs, and choose the ones they prefer for themselves and their families. In Japan and Western Europe, most citizens receive their... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Health

05 Nov 2014
What Do You Think?

Are We Entering an Era of Neuromanagement?

don't know enough about the human brain to make hiring judgments based on monitoring activity within certain parts of the brain, or about the people who plan to use neuromanagement or about their motives I caution you to be careful what you wish for." Others... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Dec 2020
News

A New Approach to Contact Tracing

explores privacy issues in the case and writes of alternatives to TraceTogether that don’t provide governments access to any individualized contact information. “What the TraceTogether team says in the case is, ‘Look, we understand the... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie; Government

18 May 2017
News

Pioneer Spirit

method at HBS illustrated that your situations really aren’t hopeless,” he says. “It was that attitude of ‘If this doesn’t work, let’s try something else, because there’s more than one way to get from here to there.’ That was a new way of looking at situations for me,... View Details

Keywords: Constantine von Hoffman

01 Jun 2009
News

Insights from the Post-Macho Workplace

standard, even when an alternative standard would be more beneficial to the organization, not to mention to women employees with an interest in career advancement. Understanding the process that brought about such a significant change in... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining

01 Mar 2004
News

Ron Shaich’s Café Society

Aware of it? Yes. We have a history of being respectful of our customers’ evolving preferences. We are presently rolling out a wonderful new bistro steak salad and a new steak sandwich. Also look for Panera to develop some lower carb breads, consistent with the... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

03 Sep 2009
What Do You Think?

Are Retention Bonuses Worth the Investment?

have been raised, as in the AIG case, whether they are necessary when times are bad and alternative jobs are scarce, regardless of whether recipients at AIG should have been asked to return bonuses already paid. Few have argued that... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

20 Mar 2019
News

Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire

Marrying agriculture and alternative technologies will go a long way in reducing 10–12 percent of total global emissions associated with agribusiness. Business Leaders Must Get Political Business cannot solve climate change by itself, the... View Details

Keywords: Allison Webster; Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation; Transportation

13 Apr 2017
News

Solving Nigeria’s Skilled Workforce Challenge

Competition. “It was my first time living in another African country, and I felt more alive than I had felt in a long time,” she observes. Rewane left the Monitor Group to join the Centre for Public Policy Alternatives (CPPA), a think... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

Publications