Publications

We develop a new local search algorithm for binary optimization problems, whose complexity and performance are explicitly controlled by a parameter Q, measuring the depth of the local search neighborhood. We show…

We consider a non-stationary variant of a sequential stochastic optimization problem, where the underlying cost functions may change along the horizon. We propose a measure, termed variation budget, that controls the extent of said change,…

A common characteristic of basic material manufacturers (which account for 85% of all industrial energy use) and of cleantech manufacturers is that they are price-takers in their input and output markets. Variability in those prices has…

Four studies examined help-seekers’ beliefs about how past refusals affect future compliance. In Study 1, help-seekers were more likely than potential helpers to believe that a previous refusal would lead a potential helper to deny a subsequent…

This article describes the production processes of and operations management (“OM”) challenges facing several innovative “clean-tech companies. The organizations under consideration comprise those in the energy-efficient building, transportation…

Organizational ambidexterity refers to the ability of an organization to both explore and exploit to compete in mature technologies and markets where efficiency, control, and incremental improvement are prized and to also compete in new…

Organizational ambidexterity refers to the ability of an organization to both explore and exploit—to compete in mature technologies and markets where efficiency, control, and incremental improvement are prized and to also compete in new…

In late 2006, the PATH Safe Water Project received a $17 million grant from the global development unit of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its purpose was to evaluate how market-based approaches could help accelerate the widespread…

Population Services International (PSI) was founded in 1970 as a nonprofit organization focused on improving reproductive health in developing countries using commercial marketing strategies. Over the years, PSI broadened its mission to address…

Population Services International (PSI) was founded in 1970 as a nonprofit organization focused on improving reproductive health in developing countries using commercial marketing strategies. Over the years, PSI broadened its mission to address…

Attitudes refer to the general and relatively enduring evaluations people have of other people, objects, or ideas. These overall evaluations can be positive, negative, or neutral, and can vary in their extremity. For example, one individual might…

Phoenix Medical Systems was founded to manufacture an incubator designed specifically to address the needs of low-resource healthcare providers in India. When leaders from a multinational medical equipment company approached Phoenix about a…

In this chapter, we consider strategies for producing behavior change on a large scale, analyzing various intervention efforts in light of their capacity to move people toward desirable behavior and away from undesirable behavior. Invariably,…

To help address the burden of childhood asthma in developing countries, Respira Design created an asthma spacer that was produced from a single sheet of paper. The device could ship and store flat and then be transformed into a usable spacer…

As a psychological construct, the self has long occupied a preeminent place in both psychological and management theories regarding human behavior. In fact, the self is among the most widely studied concepts in the social sciences. The…

As a psychological construct, the self has long occupied a preeminent place in both psychological and management theories regarding human behavior. In fact, the self is among the most widely studied concepts in the social sciences. The…

Winner of the AEJ Microeconomics Best Paper Award, 2014

Set-asides and subsidies are used extensively in government procurement and resource sales. We analyze these policies in an empirical model of U.S. Forest Service timber…

Considerable attention goes to whether there is a “first-mover advantage” among organizations. Technical mechanisms have been considered for this advantage, such as learning and occupancy of preferred market segments. We argue that first movers…