Publications

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

How One Center of Innovation Lost its Spark

disentangle two distinct consequences of the geographic co-location of competitors in the same industry. Geographic co-location increases the ease with which "communities of practice" can form, and these tightly interwoven... View Details

Keywords: by Donald Sull; Manufacturing; Transportation; Auto

July 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Hidrovias do Brasil: Navigating Unchartered Waters

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Since its founding eight years earlier, Hidrovias do Brasil (“Hidrovias”), an integrated logistics provider serving corporate customers exporting products from South America via the Atlantic Ocean, had grown to 900 employees and $253 million in annual revenues.... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Private Equity; Brazil; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Operation Management; General Management; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Growth and Development; Leadership; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Transportation; Human Capital; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Brazil

12 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

Creating Value Across Borders

Europe and Africa because property rights are more difficult to enforce there. —Walter Kuemmerle The first difference is the development of capital markets and the transparency of these markets. In countries... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

07 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The Debate over Taxing Foreign Profits

in the tax burden on foreign profits. It's also possible that the entire corporate tax system should be rethought, given a variety of very serious problems associated with it—including the gap between profits reported to capital View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

31 Mar 2002
What Do You Think?

Is This the Decade of the Investor?

influx of foreign capital helped finance investments in new technology, one might also conclude that U.S. employees and consumers benefited to a significant degree at the expense of foreign investors. This is particularly true for money... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

19 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 19

tightly linked to changes in firm diversification and IT investments. These relationships depend crucially on the function involved: those closer to the product ("product" functions, e.g., marketing / R&D) behave differently... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 8

Your Customer Relationships By: Avery, Jill, Susan Fournier, and John Wittenbraker Abstract—Consumers have always had relationships with brands, but sophisticated tools for analyzing customer data are finally allowing marketing... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

22 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The ‘Mother of Fair Trade’ was an Unabashed Price Protectionist

policy. “You have to acknowledge that [Gleason] was trying to fix prices. This is antithetical to how most Americans think of the US market operating” “I thought, who is this plucky woman amongst men?” Sawyer recalls after seeing... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail; Health; Legal Services

November 2000
Case

UPromise

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

Describes the development of UPromise, a company that has developed a loyalty program through which corporate partners can contribute to funds that finance the education of consumers' children. Presents the accomplishments prior to the company's second round of... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financial Markets; Programs

Find at Harvard

13 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

Does Business Get Done the Same Way in Emerging and Developed Countries?

interviews, I walked away deeply impressed by the managerial capacity in emerging markets. The domestic firms are very, very capable. Yes, they operate under particular constraints—we do not see the many middle managers typical for more mature markets; there aren’t the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Digital Media Group: The Shanghai Bid

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

In December 2008, Thomas G. Tsao, acting CEO of Digital Media Group (DMG), a venture-backed provider of technology and media used primarily in subways, must decide how to structure the company's bid for the advertising concession in Shanghai's 13 existing and planned... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Corporate Accountability; Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Competitive Strategy; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry; Shanghai

October 2000 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Harvard Management Company and Inflation-Protected Bonds, The

By: Luis M. Viceira

In March 2000, the board of The Harvard Management Co. (HMC) approved significant changes in the policy portfolio determining the long-run allocation policy of the Harvard University endowment. These changes included a sharp reduction of the allocation to U.S. equities... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Investment Portfolio; Investment Funds; Asset Management; Corporate Governance; Capital Markets; Financial Services Industry; United States

February 1995 (Revised September 1995)
Case

The Bourland Companies

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Michael Bourland, the president of the Bourland Companies, needs to refinance two properties, an office building in southern New Hampshire and a retail property in Massachusetts. He is considering three alternatives: a renewal of a bank mini-perm, a 15-year mortgage... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Property; Mortgages; Family Business; Financial Management; Family Ownership; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts; North and Central America

July 2010
Supplement

AdMob (B)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and David Chen

CEO is deciding between international expansion and increasing the number of publishers to strengthen the company's advantage in the mobile advertising industry. AdMob displayed advertising on global devices, and powered 6,000 websites and 1,000 applications, and... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Capital; Global Strategy; Resource Allocation; Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Mobile Technology; Advertising Industry; Telecommunications Industry