Publications

Article

Disagreement and the Allocation of Control

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

This article studies the allocation of control when there is disagreement—in the sense of differing priors—about the right course of action. People then value control rights since they believe that their decisions are better than those of others. More disagreement (due... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Projects; Decisions; Value; Agreements and Arrangements

18 Sep 2013
HBS Seminar

Steven Tadelis, University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business

22 Feb 2012
Working Paper Summaries

The Dynamic Effects of Bundling as a Product Strategy

Keywords: by Timothy Derdenger & Vineet Kumar; Video Game

2007
Working Paper

Platform Envelopment

By: Thomas Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne

Due to network effects and switching costs in platform markets, entrants generally must offer revolutionary functionality. We explore a second entry path that does not rely upon Schumpeterian innovation: platform envelopment. Through envelopment, a provider in one... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Network Effects

October 2024
Article

Canary Categories

By: Eric Anderson, Chaoqun Chen, Ayelet Israeli and Duncan Simester

Past customer spending in a category is generally a positive signal of future customer spending. We show that there exist “canary categories” for which the reverse is true. Purchases in these categories are a signal that customers are less likely to return to that... View Details

Keywords: Churn; Churn Management; Churn/retention; Assortment Planning; Retail; Retailing; Retailing Industry; Preference Heterogeneity; Assortment Optimization; Customers; Retention; Consumer Behavior; Forecasting and Prediction; Retail Industry

12 Oct 2017
HBS Seminar

Benjamin Marx, MIT

April 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

China (C): Energy and the Environment

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Describes energy and environmental policy in China during the period 1980-1993. China has implemented ambitious plans for electrification and the substitution of fossil fuels (mostly coal) for biomass. The environmental consequences of these changes, at the local and... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Pollutants; Climate Change; Business and Government Relations; Globalization; Energy Industry; China

Educators

Research Summary

Delegation of Authority in Oligopoly

This paper studies the consequences of product-market competition on firms' decisions to delegate more or fewer decision-making responsibilities to managers. By simultaneously addressing the choice of both competitive actions and organizational design, the paper... View Details

October 2024
Article

Racial Disparities in the Paycheck Protection Program

By: Sergey Chernenko and David Scharfstein

Using a large sample of Florida restaurants, we document significant racial disparities in borrowing through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and investigate the causes of these disparities. Black-owned restaurants are 25% less likely to receive PPP loans.... View Details

Keywords: Discrimination; Paycheck Protection Program; Economic Injury Disaster Loans; Bank Lending; Nonbank Lending; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Prejudice and Bias; Race

May 2024
Supplement

HubSpot and Motion AI (B): Generative AI Opportunities

By: Jill Avery

The technologies driving artificial intelligence (AI) had progressed significantly since HubSpot’s acquisition of Motion AI in 2017. Generative AI was the newest major development. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies such as HubSpot were analyzing how generative AI... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; CRM; Chatbots; Sales Management; Generative Ai; SaaS; Marketing; Sales; AI and Machine Learning; Customer Relationship Management; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Technology Industry; United States

Article

Spanning the Institutional Abyss: The Intergovernmental Network and the Governance of Foreign Direct Investment

By: Juan Alcacer and Paul Ingram

Global economic transactions such as foreign direct investment must extend over an institutional abyss between the jurisdiction, and therefore protection, of the states involved. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), whose members are states, represent an important... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Market Transactions; Foreign Direct Investment; Government and Politics; Risk and Uncertainty; Networks; Culture; Complexity; Public Administration Industry

Research Summary

What Makes the Bonding Stick? A Natural Experiment Involving the U.S. Supreme Court and Cross-Listed Firms

On March 29, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court signaled its intention to geographically limit the reach of the U.S.securities antifraud regime and thus differentially exclude U.S.-listed foreign firms from the ambit of formal U.S.antifraud enforcement. We exploit this... View Details

Keywords: Cross-listing; Corporate Governance; Civil Liability; Bonding

March 29, 2021
Editorial

Research: A Little Recognition Can Provide a Big Morale Boost

By: Shibeal O'Flaherty, Michael Sanders and A.V. Whillans

As organizations large and small face the twin challenges of increasingly strained budgets and burned out workforces, what can managers do to keep employees engaged—without breaking the bank? In this piece, the authors share new research on the power of symbolic awards... View Details

Keywords: Motivation; Psychology; Work; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Social Psychology

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Fujifilm: A Second Foundation

Fujifilm was the second largest manufacturer of photographic film in the world when digital imaging began to substitute for its core business. In contrast to some photography incumbents, such as Polaroid, Fuji had a relatively successful transition to digital imaging.... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Transition; Mission and Purpose; Globalized Markets and Industries; Opportunities; Electronics Industry; Technology Industry

Educators

22 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Speed of New Ideas: Trust, Institutions and the Diffusion of New Products

Keywords: by Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Joel Waldfogel

March 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center: Spine Care

By: Robert S. Huckman, Michael E. Porter, Rachel Gordon and Natalie Kindred

Describes the Spine Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, a multidisciplinary unit that offers patients suffering from spinal problems "one-stop" access to a range of providers including orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, medical specialists in... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Integration; Value Creation; Health Industry; United States

Educators

December 1992 (Revised September 1995)
Exercise

Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: General Background Information

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Designed to teach students about the trade-offs faced by firms exploring alternative approaches to complying with pollution control regulations. The setting is the U.S. electric utility industry in 1993. In accordance with the provisions of the 1990 Clean Air Act,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Pollutants; Laws and Statutes; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governance Compliance; Utilities Industry; United States

Article

Renegotiation and the Form of Efficient Contracts

By: Jerry R. Green and J. J. Laffont

Two parties may agree to a mutually binding contract that will govern their behavior after an uncertain event becomes known. As there is no agent who can both observe this uncertain outcome and enforce the contract, contingent agreements are precluded. However, the... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Contracts