Publications

This paper derives two mechanisms through which Bayesian-rational individuals with differing priors will tend to be relatively overconfident about their estimates and predictions, in the sense of overestimating the precision of these estimates. The intuition behind one... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Knowledge Acquisition; Risk Management; Prejudice and Bias

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29 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 29

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-120.pdf A Theory of Explicitly Formulated Strategy Authors:Eric J. Van den Steen Abstract When a CEO tries to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2018
Article

Strategy and the Strategist: How it Matters Who Develops the Strategy

This paper addresses primarily two questions. First, when (and why) should a company’s strategy be developed by its CEO versus by some outside analyst or other insider? Second, how does strategy interact with vision (in the sense of a strong belief about the right... View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Leadership; Strategy And Execution; Strategy; Leadership

22 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 22

over time. On the Origin of Shared Beliefs (and Corporate Culture) Author:Eric J. Van den Steen Publication:The RAND Journal of Economics... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 19

paper analyzes the effect of a woman's electoral victory on women's subsequent political participation. Using the regression discontinuity afforded by close elections between women and men in India's state... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Disagreement and the Allocation of Control

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

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22 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 22, 2019

practical implications to the literature on organizational change, emotions, and language in global organizations. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55473 December 2018 Strategy Science The Strategy in... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Article

Birds of a Feather...Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy

By: Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen

Does culture eat strategy for breakfast? This paper investigates the interactions among corporate culture, norms, and strategy, in order to better understand this issue and related questions. It first shows, through microfoundations, how the forces that drive toward... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Norms; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Values and Beliefs

2019
Working Paper

Birds of a Feather ... Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy

By: Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper analyzes how shared beliefs and preferences (or values) cause the emergence of social norms; why people may enforce norms that go against their own beliefs and preferences/values; and how this may cause a disconnect to develop between the... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Norms; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Strategy

SSRN

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2006
Working Paper

The Limits of Authority: Motivation versus Coordination

This paper studies the effects of open disagreement on motivation and coordination. It shows how, in the presence of differing priors, motivation and coordination impose conflicting demands on the allocation of authority, leading to a trade-off between the... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Governance Controls; Organizational Culture; Agency Theory; Conflict and Resolution; Motivation and Incentives