Browsing HBS Theses and Dissertations by Issue Date
Now showing items 1-20 of 83
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The Digital Commons: Tragedy or Opportunity? The Effect of Crowdsourced Digital Goods on Innovation and Economic Growth
(2015-05-26)The classic economic concept of the tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals overuse a public good, resulting in the complete depletion of the good. Comparatively, in the digital world public goods are non-rival and ... -
Platform and Ecosystem Transitions: Strategic and Organizational Implications
(2015-05-26)By most conventional measures of corporate success (revenue, market capitalization, global brand growth, etc.) businesses operating as multi-sided platforms (MSPs) and their associated ecosystems constitute the majority ... -
Essays on Strategy and Management of Platforms
(2015-05-26)In this thesis, I research the management of platforms by participating organizations and study the ensuing performance of both participating organizations and the platform. In the first essay, titled ``The Impact of ... -
Essays on Operations Management: Setting Employees Up for Success
(2015-05-26)As a result of globalization, organizations expect more from their employees. While organizations have become leaner, the productivity requirements have not decreased. Further, there is greater importance being placed on ... -
Strategies for the Non-Market Environment
(2015-05-26)ABSTRACT 1: This paper examines whether mobile telecom operators with access to different kinds of knowledge pursue different strategies in politically risky markets. Using data from 2000-2010 I find that firms with ... -
Symbolic Consumption and Alternative Signals of Status
(2015-05-26)My dissertation is composed of three papers on symbolic consumption–how consumers use products, brands, and time to express who they are and signal status. The first paper (Brand Tourists: How Non–Core Users Enhance the ... -
Essays on the Social Consumer: Peer Influence in the Adoption and Engagement of Digital Goods
(2015-05-26)In this dissertation, I study how consumers influence each other in the adoption and engagement of digital goods. In the first essay, I study peer influence in mobile game adoption. Although peer effects are expected to ... -
Essays on Human Capital and Executive Compensation
(2015-05-26)The contemporary executive career looks different from the “company man” era of post World War II. At that time, executives rose almost exclusively within a single firm, learning the business over many loyal years of ... -
Complexity, Contract Design and Incentive Design in the Construction Management Industry
(2015-05-26)In this paper I examine how one construction management company uses contract design and incentive design to respond to aspects of task complexity and relationship complexity present in its construction projects. In terms ... -
Essays on Innovation, Strategy and Competition
(2015-09-16)This dissertation is composed of three essays on innovation, strategy and competition. The first essay studies how entry of patent intermediaries known as "patent assertion entities" (PAEs) impacts behavior of other firms ... -
Essays in Intellectual Property Bargaining and Trade
(2015-09-16)In this dissertation, I present three essays on the dynamics of intellectual property bargaining and trade, particularly of patents. The first essay presents a game theoretic model examining the sale of intellectual ... -
Strategies to Grow Network Goods
(2015-09-16)A network good is a product or service which becomes inherently more valuable as its adoption increases. The mechanism driving this value varies by context: for example, a software ecosystem produces more software as the ... -
Essays on External Context and Operating Models
(2016-04-27)Effective operating models based on carefully selected resources, processes and logic allow organizations to develop the right products and services and deliver them to customers. However, there has been little investigation ... -
Why Do Firm Practices Differ? Examining the Selection and Implementation of Organizational Practices
(2016-04-27)This dissertation is comprised of three studies investigating sources of variation in firm practices. Firm practices may differ both due to differences in the practices firms choose to implement – different types of firms ... -
Essays on the Design and Industrial Organization of Online Markets
(2016-04-27)The internet has revolutionized marketing. Firms use the internet to procure advertising content, reach consumers, and offer a convenient channel of purchase. Given the growing importance of the internet, marketers must ... -
The Continuum of Choice: Essays on How Consumer Decisions Are Made, Changed, and Perceived
(2016-05-13)This research investigates the continuum of choice—unseen, unanticipated causes and consequences of consumer decisions. Three essays investigate hidden factors that influence the choices we make, subtle ways to affect ... -
Gold Star vs. North Star Leaders: Role Orientations and Arbitrage in Crossing Sector Boundaries
(2016-05-13)Through a qualitative study of professionals whose careers span the public and private sectors, I develop theory on boundary crossing in a career. I find that two role orientations – gold-star and north-star orientation – ... -
Essays on Online and Multi-Channel Marketing
(2016-05-13)Firms increasingly adopt online and multi-channel marketing strategies to reach and persuade consumers. Therefore, designing an effective marketing mix is critical to their success. The aim of my dissertation is to understand ... -
Lifting the Veil: Essays on Firm Transparency and Consumer Behavior
(2016-05-13)This research examines the effects of firm transparency on consumer behavior. Three essays investigate how consumer behavior changes when firms are transparent about costs, wages, and promotional strategies. Essay one ... -
Competing Globally: Institutional Voids in Emerging Markets
(2016-05-13)This dissertation addresses institutional development in emerging economies, as well as its implications on firm strategy. Specifically, as emerging markets are characterized by “institutional voids”, that is, the absence ...