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    Social MarketingRemove Social Marketing →

    New research on socially-conscious marketing from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including how marketing ideas, processes and practices can be used to improve social and environmental well-being.
    Page 1 of 24 Results →
    • 30 Nov 2021
    • Cold Call Podcast

    TikTok: Super App or Supernova?

    Re: Jeffrey F. Rayport

    TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around the simple idea of helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. By May 2020, TikTok operated in 155 countries and had roughly 1 billion monthly active users, placing it in the top ranks of digital platforms globally. But the app had drawn the attention of competitors, regulators, and politicians, especially in the US, where commercial success was critical to its long-term enterprise value. Would TikTok become the first “Super App” with a global footprint, or did it run the risk of becoming a supernova that shone brightly only for a passing moment? Harvard Business School senior lecturer Jeffrey Rayport discusses these strategic challenges in his case, “TikTok in 2020: Super App or Supernova?” Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 13 Jul 2021
    • Research & Ideas

    Outrage Spreads Faster on Twitter: Evidence from 44 News Outlets

    by Kristen Senz

    When it comes to social sharing, doom-and-gloom tweets beat sunshine and rainbows, says research by Amit Goldenberg. Is it time to send in the positivity police? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 25 Feb 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores

    by Ryan Raffaelli

    Independent booksellers in the United States have proven resilient in the face of multiple technological and business model shifts in the bookselling industry. By tapping into a larger social movement that promotes the value of shopping local and a desire to cultivate community, successful booksellers are differentiating themselves from online and big box competitors.

    • 26 Aug 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    Lipstick Tips: How Influencers Are Making Over Beauty Marketing

    by Dina Gerdeman

    Influencer marketing has quickly become the best way to reach beauty consumers, proving more effective than celebrity endorsements and company ads, according to research by Alessia Vettese. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 25 Jun 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    The Powerful Strategic Tool Companies Should Not Try to Control

    by Danielle Kost

    3QUESTIONS More executives are tapping user communities for strategic guidance, but productive relationships with fan groups require a nuanced approach, Frank Nagle says. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 27 Mar 2019
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Will Startup Fishbowl Become the Social Media App for Your Industry?

    Re: Leslie K. John

    Fishbowl's founders have built a social media platform allowing professionals to connect anonymously and with candor within their companies and industries. Can they grow? Leslie John discusses her case study on the boundaries of social media and personal privacy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 04 Mar 2019
    • What Do You Think?

    What’s the Antidote to Surveillance Capitalism?

    by James Heskett

    SUMMING UP: As companies increasingly build business models around our personal data, what can be done to fight back? James Heskett's readers suggest there are no easy answers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 19 Feb 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Relative Performance Transparency: Effects on Sustainable Choices

    by Ryan W. Buell, Shwetha Mariadassou, and Yanchong Zheng

    Encouraging consumers to purchase a more sustainable product or use resources more responsibly is a key challenge for society. This paper discusses experiments involving more than 7,000 participants to shed light on how information and its presentation regarding sustainable performance can be a tool for enhancing sustainable choices in practice.

    • 10 Oct 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    The Legacy of Boaty McBoatface: Beware of Customers Who Vote

    by Michael Blanding

    Companies that encourage consumers to vote online should be forewarned—they may expect more than you promise, according to research by Michael Norton, Leslie John, and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 27 Nov 2017
    • Research & Ideas

    Beware the Lasting Impression of a 'Temporary' Selfie

    by Rachel Layne

    Some social media apps promise to delete your messages after they are read. The problem: The memory of your uninhibited behavior lingers. Research by Leslie K. John and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 18 Sep 2017
    • Research & Ideas

    'Likes' Lead to Nothing—and Other Hard-Learned Lessons of Social Media Marketing

    by Dina Gerdeman

    A decade-and-a-half after the dawn of social media marketing, brands are still learning what works and what doesn't with consumers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 12 Sep 2017
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Better is the Enemy of the Good

    by Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

    Previous research has shown that individuals’ self-serving responses to information may arise when payoff information is subjective or uncertain. This study, in the context of charitable giving, shows that individuals’ ability to respond to payoff information in a self-serving way even includes situations when information is complete and certain.

    • 10 Jul 2017
    • Op-Ed

    Op-Ed: It’s a Bad Idea to Ban Customers From Recording Videos

    by Benjamin G. Edelman

    With videos of bad business practices routinely going viral, it might be tempting to prohibit customers from recording their surroundings. But banning cameras is the wrong way to go, says Benjamin Edelman. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 25 Jan 2017
    • HBS Case

    How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

    by Dina Gerdeman

    Skin-lightening creams are a fast-growing market in India. Rohit Deshpandé explores what firms should do when a product is decidedly popular—but may be promoting discrimination. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 19 Oct 2016
    • Book

    Three Critical Mistakes Digital Businesses Make With Content

    by Michael Blanding

    Do companies really understand the nature of today's digital transformation? Bharat Anand's book The Content Trap offers a new view of digital strategy that shifts the focus from "produce the best content" to "create the best connections." Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 02 Sep 2016
    • Op-Ed

    The Twitter Election

    by John Quelch and Thales Teixeira

    Twitter is emerging as one of the most important players in the 2016 presidential election, write John Quelch and Thales Teixeira. But does it have the power to determine which candidate will win? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 07 Jun 2016
    • Op-Ed

    Can Brand Trump Win a Presidency?

    by John A. Quelch

    Brand Trump has been used to market hotel rooms, ties, and an airline. Can it be extended to win the presidency? Marketing Professor John A. Quelch wonders if the message (and the messenger) is already growing thin. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 21 Apr 2016
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Perils of Building Democracy in Africa

    by Benjamin Marx, Vincent Pons, and Tavneet Suri

    Results from a text messaging experiment conducted before the 2013 National Election in Kenya show that basic information provided via short message service (SMS) resulted in small turnout increases but had a large effect on attitudes towards electoral institutions.

    • 21 Mar 2016
    • HBS Case

    Can Customer Reviews Be 'Managed?'

    by Brian Kenny

    Consumers increasingly rely on peer reviews on TripAdvisor and other sites to make purchase decisions, so it makes sense that companies have a stake in wanting to shape those opinions. But can they? Thales Teixeira says a good product trumps all. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 30 Nov 2015
    • Research & Ideas

    Donors Are Turned Off by Overhead Costs. Here’s What Charities Can Do

    by Carmen Nobel

    Elizabeth A. Keenan and colleagues find that charitable donors are willing to stomach the idea of overhead costs—as long as they know someone else’s donation is covering them. A field study helped one organization nearly triple its solicited donations. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

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