Publications

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18 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, July 18, 2017

is to suggest a (preliminary) taxonomy and research agenda for the topic of “firms, crowds, and innovation” and to provide an introduction to the associated special issue. We specifically discuss how various crowd-related phenomena and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Credit Access and Social Welfare: The Rise of Consumer Lending in the United States and France

By: Gunnar Trumbull

Research into the causes of the 2008 financial crisis has drawn attention to a link between growing income inequality in the United States and high household indebtedness. Most accounts trace the U.S. idea of credit-as-welfare to the period of wage stagnation and... View Details

Keywords: Household Finance; Welfare State; Credit; Personal Finance; Welfare; Borrowing and Debt; France; United States

01 May 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 1, 2018

behavior and explore how they make a negotiator particularly vulnerable to ethical fading, resulting in subsequent unethical behavior. We discuss several opportunities for future research in the negotiation discipline and other... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

The House Wants to Squelch Voices of ‘Small’ Shareholders. Research Shows Those Voices Matter.

Source: iStock In June 2017, the US House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act, a 589-page bill designed to repeal many of the regulations in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Buried on... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Amazon Shopper Panel: Paying Customers for Their Data

By: Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli

This case introduces a new Amazon program that has consumers upload their receipts from transactions outside of Amazon, in exchange for money. Through the discussion, the case aims to explore issues in customers’ privacy in the digital age, the value of customers’ own... View Details

Educators

June 2020
Teaching Note

Understanding the Brand Equity of Nestlé Crunch Bar

By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 519-061 and 519-062. In early 2018, Nestlé announced the sale of its U.S. candy-making division and a select collection of twenty of its confectionery brands, including the Nestlé Crunch Bar, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion. Under the... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Storytelling; Brand Equity; Market Research; Qualitative Methods; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

Keywords: by Blasco, Andrea, Michael G. Endres, Rinat A. Sergeev, Anup Jonchhe, Max Macaluso, Rajiv Narayan, Ted Natoli, Jin H. Paik, Bryan Briney, Chunlei Wu, Andrew I. Su, Aravind Subramanian, and Karim R. Lakhani; Health

21 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Advancing Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Research Through Open Innovation Competitions

September 2013
Exercise

An Exercise in Designing a Travel Coffee Mug

By: Elie Ofek and Michael Norris

In recent years design has emerged as a critical factor in the success of many new products. This case exercise provides a hands-on way to experience the design process and offers a structured approach for incorporating key considerations that can aid in effective... View Details

Keywords: New Product Development; Innovation; Market Research; Competitive Positioning; Design; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry

January 2017
Article

Should You Sleep on It? The Effects of Overnight Sleep on Subjective Preference-based Choice

By: Uma R. Karmarkar, Baba Shiv and Rebecca M.C. Spencer

Conventional wisdom and studies of unconscious processing suggest that sleeping on a choice may improve decision-making. Though sleep has been shown to benefit several cognitive tasks, including problem solving, its impact on everyday choices remains unclear. Here we... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Choice; Sleep; Choice Sets; Confidence; Consumer Psychology; Consumer Preferences; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior

April 2013
Article

In Search of a Second Act: Riding the Popularity of a Great First Product Is Easy; Finding the Next One Is Hard

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

The article presents a fictional case study on new product development and improvement after the successful launch of a first breakthrough product. Topics include business planning for brand name products, finance and investment for the development of educational toys,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Growth Strategy; Consumer Marketing; Marketing; Brand Management; Market Research; New Product Development; Marketing Management; Technology Commercialization; Technology; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; North and Central America; United States

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January 2000
Case

The Dimensions of Brand Equity for Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Research Case

By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman

An in-depth study of consumers' thoughts and feelings about a branded candy bar. View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Equity; Brand Communication; Brand ＆ Product Management; Brand Building; Brand Positioning; Brand Storytelling; Brand Strategy; Brand Value; Branding; Marketing; Advertising; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Educators

2018
Working Paper

Semi-Parametric Estimation of Dynamic Discrete Choice Models

By: David Hao Zhang

I develop a new method for estimating counterfactuals in dynamic discrete choice models, a widely used set of models in economics, without requiring a distributional assumption on utility shocks. Applying my method to the canonical Rust (1987) setting, I find that the... View Details

Keywords: Semiparametrics; Dynamic Discrete Choice; Consumer Choice; Mathematical Methods

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September 2015 (Revised March 2025)
Technical Note

FIELD Global Capstone: Developing Customer Empathy

By: Jill Avery

The Design Thinking process begins with empathizing with potential customers. Empathizing, being aware of, interpreting, and understanding the thoughts of others, as well as being able to vicariously experience them oneself, requires the careful and deliberate study of... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Design Thinking; Customer Behavior; Ethnography; Interviews; Surveys; A/B Testing; Experimentation; Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers

Educators

July 2021
Article

Availability and Nutrient Composition of Vegetarian Items at U.S. Fast-Food Restaurants

By: Caroline G. Dunn, Mark J. Soto, Sophia V. Hua, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Lindsay M. Jaacks, Julia A. Wolfson and Sara N. Bleich

Research Questions: What are patterns in availability of vegetarian items in U.S. fast-food chains (2012 to 2018) and are there differences in nutrient composition between and within vegetarian and nonvegetarian items annually and over time?
Key Findings: In this... View Details

Keywords: Fast Food; Restaurants; Vegetarian; Consumer Health; Sodium; Food; Nutrition; Health; Food and Beverage Industry; United States