Publications

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September 2010 (Revised February 2013)
Background Note

The Cage-Free Egg Movement

By: Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Describes the social movement confronting conventional egg production techniques (battery cages) based on animal welfare concerns, and some merits and drawbacks of cage-free alternatives. Highlights animal rights activist campaigns, political and regulatory responses,... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Rights; Supply Chain Management; Natural Environment; Social Issues; Competitive Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

June 2020
Article

How Scheduling Can Bias Quality Assessment: Evidence from Food Safety Inspections

By: Maria Ibanez and Michael W. Toffel

Accuracy and consistency are critical for inspections to be an effective, fair, and useful tool for assessing risks, quality, and suppliers—and for making decisions based on those assessments. We examine how inspector schedules could introduce bias that erodes... View Details

Keywords: Assessment; Bias; Inspection; Scheduling; Econometric Analysis; Empirical Research; Regulation; Health; Food; Safety; Quality; Performance Consistency; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

09 Sep 2015
News

Alumni Survey on U.S. Competitiveness: U.S. Economy’s Failure to Generate Shared Prosperity a Concern for Business

01 Jun 2001
News

Alejandro Ramirez: A Very Good Time for Mexico

social policy of the new administration. He was then asked to join the new government. He elected instead to return to HBS, a decision he does not regret. “I’ve been fortunate enough to do research with Professor Michael Porter,” Ramirez... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; World Bank; United Nations; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

February 2015
Supplement

The Affordable Care Act (G): The Final Votes

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Norris

In the fall of 2009, the House and Senate each voted to pass health reform bills. These bills then had to be combined into the Affordable Care Act and the ACA had to be passed by both houses. Reconciliation had to be used because of Republican Scott Brown's Senate... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care Policy; Government And Politics; Health; Policy; Health Industry; United States

September 2018
Article

Aggregation of Consumer Ratings: An Application to Yelp.com

By: Weijia Dai, Ginger Jin, Jungmin Lee and Michael Luca

Because consumer reviews leverage the wisdom of the crowd, the way in which they are aggregated is a central decision faced by platforms. We explore this "rating aggregation problem" and offer a structural approach to solving it, allowing for (1) reviewers to vary in... View Details

Keywords: User Generated Content; Crowdsourcing; Yelp; Social and Collaborative Networks; Information; Internet and the Web; Learning; Mathematical Methods; E-commerce

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2010
Working Paper

Creating Leaders: An Ontological Model

By: Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen and Kari L. Granger

The sole objective of our ontological approach to creating leaders is to leave students actually being leaders and exercising leadership effectively as their natural self-expression. By "natural self-expression" we mean a way of being and acting in any leadership... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Goals and Objectives; Science; Attitudes; Perspective

07 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 7

from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database, we analyze the locations of new establishments of biopharmaceutical firms in the U.S. in 1993–2005. We consider all activities in the value chain and allow location choices to vary View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2024
Article

Not a One-Trick Pony: Price Impact of Rating Agency Information

By: Michael Machokoto and Anywhere Sikochi

Prior literature on the informational role of credit rating agencies has largely focused on announcements by the rating agencies regarding rating actions. We take a tangent in this paper and examine the relevance of rating agencies' other information disclosures beyond... View Details

Keywords: Credit; Investment Return; Financial Reporting

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August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Case

The UCLA Medical Center: Kidney Transplantation

By: Michael E. Porter, Jennifer F Baron, Jacob Mathew Chacko and Robin Jian Tang

In 2010, organ transplantation remained among the few sets of medical conditions in the U.S. for which bundled payments were a dominant reimbursement model, and for which patient health outcomes were universally measured and reported. In 1986, UCLA Medical Center was... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Measurement and Metrics; Outcome or Result; Competitive Strategy; Integration; Health Industry; California

2017
Article

Handgun Waiting Periods Reduce Gun Deaths

By: Michael Luca, Deepak Malhotra and Christopher Poliquin

Handgun waiting periods are laws that impose a delay between the initiation of a purchase and final acquisition of a firearm. We show that waiting periods, which create a “cooling off” period among buyers, significantly reduce the incidence of gun violence. We estimate... View Details

Keywords: Gun Policy; Gun Violence; Waiting Period; Injury Prevention; Policy; Safety; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

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23 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 23, 2019

process of learning from experience. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55991 forthcoming Organization & Environment Assessing the Impact of CEO Activism By: Chatterji, Aaron K., and Michael W. Toffel... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

PublicationsEngineers and the State in Modern China Author:William C. Kirby Publication:In Prospects for the Professions in China, edited by William P. Alford, William C. Kirby, and Kenneth Winston, 283-314. Routledge Studies in Civil... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Background Note

District Heating: An Overview

By: Willy Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This note provides an overview of district heating: systems in which central plants generate heat that is conveyed by steam or water through a set of insulated pipes to send heat to residential and/or commercial buildings. It describes key elements of the system (heat... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Energy Storage; Energy Transmission; Construction; Energy; Buildings and Facilities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Climate Change; Operations; Energy Industry; Denmark; Europe; United States

October 1999
Case

CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (C): 1997-1999

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Raynor

By 1997 the turnaround of CIBC's troubled investment bank, Wood Gundy, and its integration with corporate banking activities was complete. Marketplace results were encouraging, but scuttled mergers and tumultuous succession issues made the future uncertain. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Investment Banking; Success; Risk and Uncertainty; Management Succession; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Services Industry

18 Feb 2020
News

Business leaders see U.S. unprepared for economic downturn

TeachingInterests

Leading Change and Organizational Renewal

By: Michael L. Tushman

Market-leading organizations habitually innovate, adjust quickly to new business conditions, and seize emerging opportunities before competitors do. They perform efficiently today while continuing to explore new sources of value for tomorrow. Such companies don't just... View Details

23 Jul 2015
News

Money Cannot Be the God of Life: How CEO Pay Drives Inequality

September 1994 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Forging the New Salomon

By: Lynn S. Paine and Michael Santoro

Describes Salomon Brothers' recovery from the August 1991 Treasury auction scandal. Details the impact of the firm's disclosure of bidding improprieties and describes how the new management team, led by Warren Buffett and Deryck Maughan, guided the company through the... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Law; Business or Company Management