Publications

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June 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Two Key Decisions for China's Sovereign Fund

By: Robert C. Pozen and Xiaoyu Gu

The China Investment Corporation (CIC) was China's sovereign wealth fund (SWF), established with $200 billion of registered capital in September 2007 to diversify China's foreign exchange holdings and increase risk-adjusted returns on those assets. CIC was unusual in... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Growth and Maturation; Decisions; Capital; Investment Banking; Investment Funds; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Wealth; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; China; United States

December 2001 (Revised February 2006)
Background Note

An Options-led Approach to Making Strategic Choices

By: Jan W. Rivkin

Summarizes some of the pitfalls of conventional strategic planning processes and proposes an alternative approach to making strategic choices. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Management Practices and Processes; Strategic Planning; Strategy

December 2005
Article

Adjusting Choice Models to Better Predict Market Behavior

By: Greg Allenby, Geraldine Fennel, Joel Huber, Thomas Eagle, Tim Gilbride, Jaehwan Kim, Peter Lenk, Rich Johnson, Bryan Orme, Elie Ofek, Thomas Otter and Joan Walker

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Markets; Behavior

July 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Central Bank: The ChexSystemsSM QualiFile® Decision

By: Dennis Campbell, Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Peter Tufano and Emily McClintock

The "Central Bank" series analyzes the use of information and product design for managing the counterparty risk of newly acquired customers. Central Bank, a mid-sized regional U.S. bank, was attempting to grow its customer base by increasing the number of new checking... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Knowledge Management; Customer Satisfaction; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Making; Banking Industry; United States

October 2009
Article

Negotiation Analysis: From Games to Inferences to Decisions to Deals

By: James K. Sebenius

Exemplified by the pioneering work of Howard Raiffa and often expressed in the pages of the Negotiation Journal, the emergent prescriptive field of "negotiation analysis" progressively developed from Raiffa's early contributions to game theory and to his later... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Game Theory

Read Now

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Split Decisions: How Social and Economic Choices Affect the Stability of Founding Teams

By: Matt Marx and Noam Wasserman

Keywords: Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Economics; Society

28 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Making the Decision to Franchise (or not)

study was written by HBS professors Dennis Campbell and Srikant Datar, with Tatiana Sandino (HBS DBA '04) of USC's Marshall School of Business. "Franchising is a very observable, real choice that... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

June 2010
Article

A Gap-Filling Theory of Corporate Debt Maturity Choice

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson and Jeremy C. Stein

We argue that time-series variation in the maturity of aggregate corporate debt issues arises because firms behave as macro liquidity providers, absorbing the large supply shocks associated with changes in the maturity structure of government debt. We document that... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Liquidity; Investment Return; Government and Politics

26 Jun 2000
Research & Ideas

Three Countries, Three Choices in Post-Soviet Eurasia

Texas to Lithuania's West Virginia) and in economic might (second only to Russia in the region) has tried to tread—apparently with ambivalence—a middle ground between Russia and the West. As Abdelal points... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

16 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Understanding the ‘Want’ vs. ’Should’ Decision

should purchase the used Toyota Camry. How consumers weigh those decisions is crucial information for retailers, and is the subject of recent research by Harvard Business School doctoral candidates Todd... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Retail; Entertainment & Recreation

May 2006 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Icebreaker: The China Entry Decision

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Dan Heath

Jeremy Moon, CEO of Icebreaker, maker of merino-fiber activewear, thinks about the strengths and weaknesses of staying focused on his rapidly expanding U.S. and European markets vs. broadening his attack to include China. If he enters China, should he continue his... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Market Entry and Exit; Marketing Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China; United States; Europe

February 2016 (Revised June 2016)
Case

Curtis LLP: A Case on Cases

By: Nikolaos Trichakis

A product market firm faces an inventory investment decision in the face of demand uncertainty. To hedge against some of the uncertainty, the firm contemplates an additional fixed investment that would offer the flexibility of diverting inventory in case of weak sales.... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Decision Making Under Uncertainty; Operations Management; Inventory Management; Real Options; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Operations

Article

Can Analysts Assess Fundamental Risk and Valuation Uncertainty? An Empirical Analysis of Scenario-Based Value Estimates

By: Peter R. Joos, Joseph D. Piotroski and Suraj Srinivasan

We use a dataset of sell-side analysts' scenario-based valuation estimates to examine whether analysts reliably assess the risk surrounding a firm's fundamental value. We find that the spread in analysts' state-side contingent valuations captures the riskiness of... View Details

Keywords: Analyst Forecasts; Scenarios; Uncertainty; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Forecasting and Prediction

SSRN

2003
Other Unpublished Work

Compensatory Transfers in Two-Player Decision Problems

By: Jerry R. Green

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Game Theory

Editorial

Risk Is a Choice Rather Than a Fate

By: Andre F. Perold

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions

March 2016 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (A) and (B)

By: John Beshears

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. The case associated with this teaching note follows Bob Nease, chief scientist at Express Scripts, as he... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Health Care and Treatment; Service Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

January 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

National Logistics Management: Founder Decisions

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Scott Taylor, CEO & founder of NLM, is a serial entrepreneur faced with an important decision. As his industry consolidates, he knows that his company must grow quickly, yet he believes he has reached the limit of what organic growth can achieve. Should he accept the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Supply Chain

11 Aug 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Decision Making Under Information Asymmetry: Experimental Evidence on Belief Refinements

Keywords: by William Schmidt & Ryan W. Buell

September 13, 2023
Article

The Myth of the CEO as Ultimate Decision Maker

By: Nitin Nohria

Chief executives are responsible for guiding corporations, so the role inevitably requires making many decisions. But people overestimate the level of personal involvement CEOs have in this process. Instead of making decisions, CEOs tend to shape decisions, by... View Details

Keywords: Problem Solving; Delegation; Leadership Style; Decision Making; Time Management; Power and Influence