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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,588)
- People (16)
- News (823)
- Research (1,752)
- Events (23)
- Multimedia (18)
- Faculty Publications (953)
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- 2016
- Chapter
User-Generated Content and Social Media
By: Michael Luca
This paper documents what economists have learned about user-generated content (UGC) and social media. A growing body of evidence suggests that UGC on platforms ranging from Yelp to Facebook has a large causal impact on economic and social outcomes ranging from... View Details
Keywords: User-generated Content; Crowdsourcing; Design Economics; Internet and the Web; Marketing; Economics; Media; Social Media
Luca, Michael. "User-Generated Content and Social Media." Chap. 12 in Handbook of Media Economics. Vol. 1B, edited by Simon Anderson, Joel Waldfogel, and David Strömberg. North-Holland Publishing Company, 2016.
- Article
Online Community as Space for Knowledge Flows
By: Samer Faraj, Georg von Krogh, Eric Monteiro and Karim R. Lakhani
Online communities frequently create significant economic and relational value for community participants and beyond. It is widely accepted that the underlying source of such value is the collective flow of knowledge among community participants. We distinguish the... View Details
Faraj, Samer, Georg von Krogh, Eric Monteiro, and Karim R. Lakhani. "Online Community as Space for Knowledge Flows." Information Systems Research 27, no. 4 (December 2016): 668–684.
- October 14, 2019
- Article
Designing Better Online Review Systems
By: Geoff Donaker, Hyunjin Kim and Michael Luca
Online reviews are transforming the way consumers choose products and services of all sorts. We turn to TripAdvisor to plan a vacation, Zocdoc to find a doctor, and Yelp to choose a new restaurant. Reviews can create value for buyers and sellers alike, but only if they... View Details
Donaker, Geoff, Hyunjin Kim, and Michael Luca. "Designing Better Online Review Systems." Harvard Business Review 97, no. 6 (November–December 2019): 122–129.
- September 16, 2022
- Article
A Causal Test of the Strength of Weak Ties
By: Karthik Rajkumar, Guillaume Saint-Jacques, Iavor I. Bojinov, Erik Brynjolfsson and Sinan Aral
The authors analyzed data from multiple large-scale randomized experiments on LinkedIn’s People You May Know algorithm, which recommends new connections to LinkedIn members, to test the extent to which weak ties increased job mobility in the world’s largest... View Details
Rajkumar, Karthik, Guillaume Saint-Jacques, Iavor I. Bojinov, Erik Brynjolfsson, and Sinan Aral. "A Causal Test of the Strength of Weak Ties." Science 377, no. 6612 (September 16, 2022).
- Article
Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?
By: Benjamin Edelman
This paper studies the adult online entertainment industry, particularly the consumption side of the market. In particular, it focuses on the demographics and consumption patterns of those who subscribe to adult entertainment websites. On the surface, this business... View Details
Keywords: Online Technology; Segmentation; Film Entertainment; Demographics; Web Sites; Competition; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Demand and Consumers; Legal Liability; Culture; Religion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States
Edelman, Benjamin. "Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?" Journal of Economic Perspectives 23, no. 1 (Winter 2009): 209–220.
- 2009
- Article
Adverse Selection in Online 'Trust' Certifications
By: Benjamin Edelman
Widely used online "trust" authorities issue certifications without substantial verification of recipients' actual trustworthiness. This lax approach gives rise to adverse selection: the sites that seek and obtain trust certifications are actually less trustworthy than... View Details
Edelman, Benjamin. "Adverse Selection in Online 'Trust' Certifications." Proceedings of the International Conference on Electronic Commerce (2009): 205–212. (ACM International Conference Proceeding Series.)
- October 1999 (Revised October 2000)
- Case
Women's World Banking: Catalytic Change Through Networks
By: James E. Austin and Susan Hamerling
Describes the evolution of Women's World Banking, an international microfinance nonprofit promoting financial access for poor women. Explores the organization's development of different types of networks to achieve its mission. View Details
Keywords: Mission and Purpose; History; Networks; Microfinance; Nonprofit Organizations; Gender; Growth and Development Strategy
Austin, James E., and Susan Hamerling. "Women's World Banking: Catalytic Change Through Networks." Harvard Business School Case 300-050, October 1999. (Revised October 2000.)
- February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
- Case
PatientsLikeMe: An Online Community of Patients
By: Sunil Gupta and Jason Riis
PatientsLikeMe (PLM) is an online community where patients share their personal experiences with a disease, find other patients like them, and learn from each other. The company was founded by Jamie and Ben Heywood when their 29-year-old brother was diagnosed with ALS... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Health Disorders; Knowledge Sharing; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Digital Platforms; Social and Collaborative Networks; Health Industry
Gupta, Sunil, and Jason Riis. "PatientsLikeMe: An Online Community of Patients." Harvard Business School Case 511-093, February 2011. (Revised November 2012.)
- November 2021
- Article
Ratings, Reviews, and the Marketing of New Products
By: Itay P. Fainmesser, Dominique Olié Lauga and Elie Ofek
We study how user-generated content (UGC) about new products impacts a firm's advertising and pricing decisions and the effect on profits and market dynamics. We construct a two-period model where consumers value quality and are heterogeneous in their taste for the new... View Details
Keywords: Online Reviews; Product Ratings; Social Networks; Word Of Mouth; Pricing; User-generated Content; Advertising; Product Marketing; Price; Consumer Behavior; Product Positioning; Social Media
Fainmesser, Itay P., Dominique Olié Lauga, and Elie Ofek. "Ratings, Reviews, and the Marketing of New Products." Management Science 67, no. 11 (November 2021): 7023–7045.
- 12 Oct 2011
- Research & Ideas
Creating Online Ads We Want to Watch
video we really want to see. But assuming a captive audience on these video sites may not make online marketers more effective at reaching consumers. Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Thales S. Teixeira notes that it's just as... View Details
- 2020
- Working Paper
Socioeconomic Network Heterogeneity and Pandemic Policy Response
By: Abhishek Nagaraj, Mohammad Akbarpour, Cody Cook, Aude Marzuoli, Simon Mongey, Matteo Saccarola, Pietro Tebaldi, Shoshana Vasserman and Hanbin Yang
We develop and implement a heterogeneous-agents network-based empirical model to analyze alternative policies during a pandemic outbreak. We combine several data sources, including information on individuals’ mobility and encounters across metropolitan areas,... View Details
Nagaraj, Abhishek, Mohammad Akbarpour, Cody Cook, Aude Marzuoli, Simon Mongey, Matteo Saccarola, Pietro Tebaldi, Shoshana Vasserman, and Hanbin Yang. "Socioeconomic Network Heterogeneity and Pandemic Policy Response." Working Paper, June 2020.
- 07 Feb 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Immigrant Networking and Collaboration: Survey Evidence from CIC
Keywords: by Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr
- Article
The Global Rise of Democracy: A Network Account
By: Magnus Thor Torfason and Paul Ingram
We examine the influence of an interstate network created by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) on the global diffusion of democracy. We propose that IGOs facilitate this diffusion by transmitting information between their member states and by interpreting that... View Details
Keywords: International Relations; Networks; Society; Transformation; Power and Influence; Country; Globalization
Torfason, Magnus Thor, and Paul Ingram. "The Global Rise of Democracy: A Network Account." American Sociological Review 75, no. 3 (June 2010): 355–77.
- November, 2016
- Article
Fixing Discrimination in Online Marketplaces
By: Ray Fisman and Michael Luca
Online marketplaces such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb have the potential to reduce racial, gender, and other forms of bias that affect the off-line world. And in the early days of Internet commerce, the relative anonymity of transactions did make it harder for... View Details
Fisman, Ray, and Michael Luca. "Fixing Discrimination in Online Marketplaces." Harvard Business Review 94, no. 12 (November, 2016): 88–95.
- May 2025 (Revised June 2025)
- Background Note
Social Enterprise in Latin America
By: Brian L. Trelstad and Karina Souza
This research note provides an overview of the social enterprise ecosystem in Latin America, exploring current dynamics across key markets, including country-specific insights on Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Central America. In a region characterized... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Developing Countries and Economies; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Ownership; Social Enterprise; Business Strategy; Equality and Inequality; Microfinance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; Latin America; Brazil; Mexico; Argentina; Colombia; Chile; Guatemala; Central America; Peru; Uruguay
Trelstad, Brian L., and Karina Souza. "Social Enterprise in Latin America." Harvard Business School Background Note 325-117, May 2025. (Revised June 2025.)
- 2007
- Other Unpublished Work
Mind Over Matter? Similarities and Differences Between Perceived and Observed Networks
In spite of the rapid development of new methods for network analysis—relying on electronic data sources and sophisticated computational analysis—organizational scholars continue to rely largely on more traditional survey-based methods. We believe that the... View Details
- 02 Jun 2014
- Research & Ideas
Excerpt: ‘A Social Strategy’
benefit. In the first instance, observing that millions of people connect to friends and strangers on social platforms, some companies have chosen to enter the fray in a similar way, by trying to build relationships with people View Details
- October 2006 (Revised February 2007)
- Background Note
How Media Choices are Changing Online Advertising
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett
What is the response by advertisers as media consumption moves to the digital medium? Provides an overview of online advertising in mid-2006 and discusses the impact of an increasingly fractured media landscape and its accompanying expanding advertising options. View Details
Keywords: Digital Marketing; News; Media; Emerging Markets; Internet and the Web; Perspective; Disruption; Journalism and News Industry
Bradley, Stephen P., and Nancy Bartlett. "How Media Choices are Changing Online Advertising." Harvard Business School Background Note 707-458, October 2006. (Revised February 2007.)
- June 2023 (Revised July 2023)
- Case
Social Media Background Screening at Fama Technologies
By: Joseph Pacelli, Jillian Grennan and Alexis Lefort
Fama Technologies is an online screening company that uses AI to analyze job applicants' publicly available online content for signs of risk and culture fit. The case opens with Ben Mones, founder and CEO, looking to secure funding from venture firms. He is running... View Details
Keywords: Human Resources; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture; Talent and Talent Management; AI and Machine Learning; Social Media; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; United States
Pacelli, Joseph, Jillian Grennan, and Alexis Lefort. "Social Media Background Screening at Fama Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 123-010, June 2023. (Revised July 2023.)