Publications

Forthcoming
Article

On the Economic Origins of Concerns Over Women’s Chastity

By: Anke Becker

This paper studies the origins and function of customs and norms that intend to keep women from being promiscuous. Using large-scale survey data from more than 100 countries, I test the anthropological theory that a particular form of preindustrial... View Details

Keywords: Infibulation; Female Sexuality; Paternity Uncertainty; Concern About Women's Chastity; Pastoralism; Economic Anthropology; History; Gender; Social Issues; Culture

Purchase

28 Apr 2016
Blog Post

3 Concerns I Had about HBS

of you who are still struggling with the decision, it can be helpful to hear how others dealt with their concerns. There were three major concerns I had about attending HBS: 1: The case method wouldn’t... View Details

05 Feb 2013
News

The Social Sector Needs to Take More Risk and Accept Failure

17 Nov 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Equity Concerns Are Narrowly Framed

Keywords: by Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

16 Feb 2021
Working Paper Summaries

Information Avoidance and Image Concerns

Keywords: by Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

May 2014
Article

I'm Sorry About the Rain! Superfluous Apologies Demonstrate Empathic Concern and Increase Trust

By: A.W. Brooks, H. Dai and M.E. Schweitzer

Existing apology research has conceptualized apologies as a device to rebuild relationships following a transgression. As a result, apology research has failed to investigate the use of apologies for outcomes for which individuals are obviously not culpable (e.g.,... View Details

Keywords: Superfluous Apology; Apology; Benevolence-based Trust; Empathy; Stochastic Trust Game; Trust; Emotions; Societal Protocols

Article

The Social Purpose of Corporations

By: Nien-he Hsieh, Marco Meyer, David Rodin and Jens van ‘t Klooster

To think about the purpose of corporations is to think about what corporations are for. In this article, we argue that the concept of a purpose has an important role in thinking about the moral evaluation of corporations. We make three contributions. First, we... View Details

Keywords: Social Purpose; Corporate Purpose; The Corporation; Market Failures; Measurement Of Purpose; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics

10 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

Minimum Wage Debate Is Really About Social Values

Suddenly, the minimum wage debate is on high boil. Perhaps spurred by growing concern over wealth inequality, minimum wage proposals are heating heat up in cities from Chicago to Albany, and in states from South Carolina to Florida.... View Details

Keywords: by April White; Retail; Manufacturing

Article

Cheating, Inequality Aversion, and Appealing to Social Norms

By: Clara Amato, Francesca Gino, Natalia Montinari and Pierluigi Sacco

We conduct a field experiment involving 143, 9-years old children in their classrooms. Children are requested to flip a coin in private and receive a big or a small prize depending on the outcome they report. Comparing the actual and theoretical distribution of... View Details

Keywords: Cheating; Inequality Aversion; Social Norms; Children; Experiment; Behavior; Equality and Inequality; Moral Sensibility

2022
Case

Tesla's Battery Supply Chain: A Growing Concern

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

In October 2021, the fictional vice president of supply chain sustainability at Tesla is working on finding the best way to achieve Tesla's goal of 100% recycling for the batteries in its electric vehicles (EVs) as they reach their end of life. A major challenge in... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governance Compliance; Metals and Minerals; Auto Industry

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Web

Social Media Guidelines for Faculty and Staff | About

role at HBS positions you to frame or state positions on behalf of the School. Be thoughtful when straying beyond your areas of expertise and knowledge. If your content is School-related and you are concerned View Details

06 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Cheese Moving: Effecting Change Rather Than Accepting It

to help readers question their assumptions about what limitations they really face and to encourage them to take the steps necessary to change not only their behavior but also their circumstances. In the face of long-standing precedent,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Article

The Social Utility of Feature Creep

By: Debora V. Thompson and Michael I. Norton

Previous research shows that consumers frequently choose products with too many features that they later find difficult to use. Our research shows that this seemingly suboptimal behavior may in fact confer benefits when factoring in the social context of consumption.... View Details

Keywords: Impression Management; Social Influence; Conspicuous Consumption; Signaling; Product Features; Consumer Behavior; Information Technology; Experience and Expertise; Status and Position

21 Jul 2016
Blog Post

Coming Out and Finding Acceptance at HBS

and I look like a heteronormative couple, we don’t usually have to disclose these hidden identities; we can use pronouns consistent with a heterosexual relationship and we don’t have to be concerned about... View Details

Web

Responsibilities and Acceptable Use - Research Computing Services

Usage and Policies Responsibilities and Acceptable Use 3ms The HBS research computing environment, composed of a number of servers and services, is a large, shared resource that is often at significant capacity and stores confidential and... View Details

Article

How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?

By: Aaron K. Chatterji, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel

Ratings of corporations' environmental activities and capabilities influence billions of dollars of "socially responsible" investments as well as some consumers, activists, and potential employees. In one of the first studies to assess these ratings, we examine how... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Effectiveness; Natural Environment; Pollutants

02 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Excerpt: ‘A Social Strategy’

imagine a scenario in which a firm asks its customers to tell their friends about a particular product in exchange for giving these people monetary benefits. Although such a scheme will probably benefit the company, it will also probably... View Details

08 Jan 2014
What Do You Think?

Do Productivity Increases Contribute to Social Inequality?

Summing Up Does Social Equality Improve Productivity? Inequality in our society is an important and growing issue. It prompted a debate among respondents to this month's column about the causes, specifically... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 2022
Article

How Much Does Your Boss Make? The Effects of Salary Comparisons

By: Zoë B. Cullen and Ricardo Perez-Truglia

The vast majority of the pay inequality in an organization comes from differences in pay between employees and their bosses. But are employees aware of these pay disparities? Are employees demotivated by this inequality? To address these questions, we conducted a... View Details

Keywords: Salary; Inequality; Managers; Career Concerns; Pay Transparency; Wages; Equality and Inequality; Perception; Behavior