- 19 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
The Role of Constraints in Creative Problem-Solving
This study shows that constraints can support creative problem solving in a consumer electronics setting. Adding (some) constraints increased the quantity and quality of strong ideas generated and selected through an open innovation process.
- 14 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Dog Eat Dog: Measuring Network Effects Using a Digital Platform Merger
With heated debate over antitrust regulation of online platforms, this study finds that when a larger platform acquired its greatest competitor, users were not better off with a single platform compared with two competitors, despite marked efficiency improvements experienced by the acquiring platform.
- 11 Jan 2021
- Research & Ideas
Is A/B Testing Effective? Evidence from 35,000 Startups
A/B tests help startup founders capitalize on good ideas—and move on from duds—faster, says research from Rembrand Koning. How can established companies benefit? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Aggregate Advertising Expenditure in the US Economy: What's Up? Is It Real?
We analyze total United States advertising spending from 1960 to 2018. In nominal terms, the elasticity of annual advertising outlays with respect to gross domestic product appears to have increased substantially beginning in the late 1990s, roughly coinciding with the dramatic growth of internet-based advertising.
- 01 Dec 2020
- What Do You Think?
How Can We Get Companies to Invest More in Low-Wage Workers?
Does income inequality hold back economic growth? James Heskett ponders what underlying factors keep low-wage workers down. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Nov 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
The Challenges of Commercializing Fertility
Entrepreneur Christy Jones wants to create a venture to help women preserve their eggs and postpone motherhood. But what would an egg-freezing service sell—and to whom? Debora Spar discusses the challenges of commercializing fertility in a new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 15 Oct 2020
- Research & Ideas
IT Job Wages Are No Longer 'Exceptional'
Wage growth in IT jobs has moderated following the dot-com boom, according to new research by Ruiqing Sam Cao and Shane Greenstein. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 13 Oct 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Entrepreneurs Make Mobile Voting Easy and Secure?
Making voting more accessible through technology could have tremendous payoffs for democracy—but also pose critical downsides if the product fails. Mitch Weiss, who teaches a course on public entrepreneurship, discusses his case study on Voatz and their plan to turn mobile phones into voting booths. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 09 Oct 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Where the Cloud Rests: The Economic Geography of Data Centers
This study quantifies how data center managers make a trade-off between the setup and operational costs of running a facility and capturing local demand.
- 29 Sep 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Centrino and the Restructuring of Wi-Fi Supply
This study examines Intel’s launch of Centrino and interprets it as a platform leader’s attempt to restructure a supply chain.
- 15 Sep 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Time and the Value of Data
This paper studies the impact of time-dependency and data perishability on a dataset's effectiveness in creating value for a business, and shows the value of data in the search engine and advertisement businesses perishes quickly.
- 14 Sep 2020
- Research & Ideas
You're Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings
A study of 3 million people confirms what many work-from-home employees already know: We're swamped. Research by Raffaella Sadun, Jeffrey Polzer, and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 07 Sep 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Entrepreneurs (Co-) Working in Close Proximity: Impacts on Technology Adoption and Startup Performance Outcomes
In one of the largest entrepreneurial co-working spaces in the United States, startups are influenced by peer startups within a distance of 20 meters. The associated advantages for learning and innovation could be lost using at-a-distance work arrangements.
- 18 Aug 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Is a Pandemic the Best Time To Try Out a New Idea?
Singapore's new nationwide, Bluetooth-based contact tracing program TraceTogether must overcome privacy issues to be effective. Would Singaporeans adopt TraceTogether? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses his new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Aug 2020
- What Do You Think?
Is the 'Experimentation Organization' Becoming the Competitive Gold Standard?
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; Comment(s) posted.
- 28 Jul 2020
- Research & Ideas
Racism and Digital Design: How Online Platforms Can Thwart Discrimination
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; Comment(s) posted.
- 19 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship
Does more activity in open source software development lead to increased entrepreneurial activity and, if so, how much, and in what direction? This study measures how participation on the GitHub open source platform affects the founding of new ventures globally.
- 01 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Scaling Up Behavioral Science Interventions in Online Education
Online courses can lack support structures that are often bundled with traditional higher education. Short pre-course interventions can have short-term benefits, but more innovation throughout the course is needed to have sustained impact on student success.
- 22 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Iterative Coordination and Innovation
Do Agile methodologies promote innovation? Results of a field experiment with Google show that increasing the frequency and goal orientation of stand-up meetings reinforces integration and value but reduces specialization and novelty in outcomes.
The Value of Descriptive Analytics: Evidence from Online Retailers
Analytics are descriptive when they describe what happened. Descriptive-analytics solutions are popular among marketers and retailers. This paper provides a benchmark for the benefits of using a descriptive dashboard and illustrates how to potentially extract these benefits.