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    ProductRemove Product →

    New research on products from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including product design and product development.
    Page 1 of 27 Results →
    • 21 Apr 2023
    • Research & Ideas

    The $15 Billion Question: Have Loot Boxes Turned Video Gaming into Gambling?

    by Scott Van Voorhis

    Critics say loot boxes—major revenue streams for video game companies—entice young players to overspend. Can regulators protect consumers without dampening the thrill of the game? Research by Tomomichi Amano and colleague.

    • 28 Mar 2023
    • Research & Ideas

    The FDA’s Speedy Drug Approvals Are Safe: A Win-Win for Patients and Pharma Innovation

    by Kasandra Brabaw

    Expediting so-called breakthrough therapies has saved millions of dollars in research time without compromising drug safety or efficacy, says research by Ariel Stern, Amitabh Chandra, and colleagues. Could policymakers harness the approach to bring life-saving treatments to the market faster?

    • 31 Jan 2023
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Addressing Racial Discrimination on Airbnb

    Re: Michael Luca

    For years, Airbnb gave hosts extensive discretion to accept or reject a guest after seeing little more than a name and a picture, believing that eliminating anonymity was the best way for the company to build trust. However, the apartment rental platform failed to track or account for the possibility that this could facilitate discrimination. After research published by Professor Michael Luca and others provided evidence that Black hosts received less in rent than hosts of other races and showed signs of discrimination against guests with African American sounding names, the company had to decide what to do. In the case, “Racial Discrimination on Airbnb,” Luca discusses his research and explores the implication for Airbnb and other platform companies. Should they change the design of the platform to reduce discrimination? And what’s the best way to measure the success of any changes?

    • 12 Oct 2022
    • Research & Ideas

    When Design Enables Discrimination: Learning from Anti-Asian Bias on Airbnb

    by Pamela Reynolds

    Airbnb bookings dropped 12 percent more for hosts with Asian names than other hosts during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, says research by Michael Luca. Could better design deter bias, particularly during times of crisis?

    • 05 May 2022
    • Research & Ideas

    Why Companies Raise Their Prices: Because They Can

    by Rachel Layne

    Markups on household items started climbing years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies have realized just how much consumers will pay for the brands they love, says research by Alexander MacKay. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 19 Oct 2021
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Should Global Beer Company Molson Coors Dive into the Cannabis Beverages Business?

    Re: Derek C. M. van Bever

    In March 2019, Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter considered a request to pull forward $65 million to build a facility in Canada to produce cannabis beverages. This request was not part of the original plan to test the waters with a few products in a small geography to see if there was a viable market opportunity, given that there was no legal market yet. It's this change in direction that gives Hunter pause. Should he approve the request, or push the team back to the original, more conservative plan? Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever and Steve Kaufman discuss balancing exploitation versus exploration inside this global brewing company in the case, "Beyond Beer: Brewing Innovation at Molson Coors." Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 29 Sep 2021
    • Research & Ideas

    For Entrepreneurs, Blown Deadlines Can Crush Big Ideas

    by Rachel Layne

    After a successful launch, entrepreneurs struggle to anticipate the complexities of product upgrades, says research by Andy Wu and Aticus Peterson. They offer three tips to help startups avoid disastrous delays. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 02 Aug 2020
    • What Do You Think?

    Is the 'Experimentation Organization' Becoming the Competitive Gold Standard?

    by James Heskett

    SUMMING UP: Digital experimentation is gaining momentum as an everyday habit in many organizations, especially those in high tech, say James Heskett's readers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 28 Jul 2020
    • Research & Ideas

    Racism and Digital Design: How Online Platforms Can Thwart Discrimination

    by Kristen Senz

    Poor design decisions contribute to racial discrimination on many online platforms. Michael Luca and colleagues offer tips for reducing the risk, used by Airbnb and other companies. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 23 Mar 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Effects of Hierarchy on Learning and Performance in Business Experimentation

    by Sourobh Ghosh, Stefan H. Thomke, and Hazjier Pourkhalkhali

    Do senior managers help or hurt business experiments? Analyzing a dataset of more than 6,300 experiments on the A/B/n testing platform Optimizely, this study suggests that involving senior executives in experimentation teams can have surprising consequences.

    • 17 Feb 2020
    • Sharpening Your Skills

    How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve

    by Julia Austin

    Identifying a customer's pain points is the first step for entrepreneurs in developing a new product. Julia Austin offers tips for choosing the right "job to be done." Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 16 Sep 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    Crowdsourcing Is Helping Hollywood Reduce the Risk of Movie-Making

    by Michael Blanding

    Hollywood insiders have created "The Black List," which helps surface good but often overlooked scripts. Does the wisdom of the crowd work at the box office? Research by Hong Luo. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 19 Dec 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Find and Replace: R&D Investment Following the Erosion of Existing Products

    by Joshua Krieger, Xuelin Li, and Richard T. Thakor

    This study sheds light on how product outcomes shape the direction of innovation and markets for technology. In the drug development industry in particular, negative product shocks appear to spur investment changes both within the directly affected firm and in competing firms in the same R&D markets.

    • 10 Dec 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Platform Competition: Betfair and the U.K. Market for Sports Betting

    by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Neil Campbell

    Since the early 2000s, online betting exchanges have had a new relationship with customers relative to traditional bookmakers, providing a platform to match individuals willing to lay and back the same outcome. This study shows how exchanges’ platform design choices have major implications for their likelihood of success.

    • 06 Aug 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

    by Sean Silverthorne

    Electronics manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to stay ahead of low-cost competitors, says Willy Shih. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 21 Feb 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    When a Competitor Abandons the Market, Should You Advance or Retreat?

    by Rachel Layne

    Companies pay close attention when a competitor drops out of the market, according to new research by Joshua Lev Krieger. Too often, though, they come to the wrong conclusion. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 20 Dec 2017
    • Lessons from the Classroom

    How to Design a Better Customer Experience

    by Dina Gerdeman

    With the help of LEGO bricks, Stefan Thomke helps business executives discover how design principles can serve as building blocks to create a great customer experience. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 06 Dec 2017
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Trials and Terminations: Learning from Competitors' R&D Failures

    by Joshua Lev Krieger

    When companies terminate R&D projects, it has ripple effects on the project selection decisions of rival firms and the broader competitive environment. Examining firm responses to others’ failures, this paper introduces a new model of R&D investment decisions, and empirically investigates when knowledge generated by rivals directly enters specific project investment decisions.

    • 29 Mar 2017
    • Research & Ideas

    The Story of Why Humans Are So Careless With Their Phones

    by Josh Neufeld

    Consumers act more recklessly with the products they own when better versions become available, according to research by Silvia Bellezza, Joshua M. Ackerman and Francesca Gino. This comic by Josh Neufeld explains. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 20 Jul 2016
    • Research & Ideas

    Airplane Design Brings Out the Class Warfare in Us All

    by Dina Gerdeman

    Air rage is often blamed on overcrowded flights and postage stamp-size seats, but researchers Michael Norton and Katherine A. DeCelles find another culprit: resentment toward passengers in first class. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

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