Publications

2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 14 Introducing Open Platforms and Ecosystems

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

The purpose of this chapter is to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive theoretical investigation of open platform systems. To do this, we must first recognize that, although there is a strong family resemblance among all platform systems, there are different types of... View Details

Keywords: Open Platforms; Business Ecosystems; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Industry Structures; Digital Platforms

SSRN

Read Now

Article

The Future of Economic, Business, and Social History

By: G. Jones, Marco H.D. van Leeuwen and Stephen Broadberry

Three leading scholars in the fields of business, economic, and social history review the current state of these disciplines and reflect on their future trajectory. Geoffrey Jones reviews the development of business history since its birth at the Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Business History; History; Asia; Africa; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America

Find at Harvard

February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Amram Migdal

This case examines Blue Haven Initiative (BHI), an impact investing fund and family office, and one of its investments, PEGAfrica (PEG). BHI founder Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ motivations for using her family wealth to start a family office focused on impact investing,... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Family Office; Development; International Development; International Development Investing; Development Fund; Sustainability; Solar Energy; Solar; Pay As You Go; PAYG; MFI; Social Venture; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Economics; Development Economics; Energy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Assets; Asset Pricing; Capital; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Venture Capital; Cash; Cash Flow; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Stock Shares; Financing and Loans; Microfinance; International Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Price; Geography; Geographic Location; Emerging Markets; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Private Ownership; Social Enterprise; Value; Valuation; Value Creation; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Green Technology Industry; Africa; United States

20 Mar 2000
Research & Ideas

No Place Like Home: America’s Housing Crisis and Its Impact on Business

(For example, 86 percent of the companies in one recent survey said that housing costs were a serious deterrent to attracting businesses and middle-income employees to New York City.) On the lower end of the wage scale, companies are... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Construction; Real Estate

02 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Food Stamp Entrepreneurs: How Public Assistance Enables Business Bootstrapping

"Delivering phone books is the worst way to spend a Sunday when you're a kid," says Olds, now an assistant professor in the Entrepreneurship Management unit at Harvard Business School. The family... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

20 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurship and Business Groups: An Evolutionary Perspective on the Growth of the Koç Group in Turkey

Keywords: by Asli M. Coplan & Geoffrey Jones

13 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

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

industries. It was started in Istanbul by Rahmi’s father, Vehbi Koç, in 1926, and expanded while Turkey was largely a closed economy. Although it employs professional managers, members of the family remain very influential. In fact, as... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

November 2018
Case

Governance Transition at Anadolu Group

By: Paul M. Healy and Esel Y. Cekin

Kamil Yazici and Izzet Ozilhan founded and built Anadolu Group Holding—a family business that grew into a multi-billion-dollar regional powerhouse. For 57 years they were equal partners in running the company. They then handed over a leadership role to a next... View Details

March 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

John F. Kennedy: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of John F. Kennedy from a wealthy family in Boston to president of the United States. The case describes how Kennedy, as a young man, lived a privileged life in the shadow of his older brother, Joe. When Joe was killed in World War II, Jack... View Details

Keywords: Politics; Business And Government; Legacy; Leadership Development; Personal Characteristics; Business and Government Relations; Success; Power and Influence; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; United States

22 Apr 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Immigrant Entrepreneurship in America: Evidence from the Survey of Business Owners 2007 & 2012

Keywords: by Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

29 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How to Succeed in Business (According to a 15th Century Trade Merchant)

In what could be considered the first business how-to book, an Italian merchant from the 1400s advises leaders to be charitable, ethical, and treat people fairly; be modest; look for the right qualities in a wife; be selective in deals;... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

January 2015 (Revised November 2016)
Case

La Martina: Leveraging Polo's Luxury Lifestyle

By: Anat Keinan, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Sandrine Crener

Founded in 1984 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, La Martina has grown from a high-end polo equipment company into a global fashion brand with operations in 56 countries. Polo, which is not only a sport but also a way of life, is at the core of the brand DNA. Polo is a... View Details

14 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Ethics Bots and Other Ways to Move Your Code of Business Conduct Beyond Puffery

wrote. “They are too general to cause a reasonable investor to rely upon them.” That’s typical of the way that many people and even employees view codes of conduct, says Eugene F. Soltes, Jakurski Family Associate Professor of View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Darby's Investment in Sirma: Professionalizing an Entrepreneurial Firm

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Eren Kuzucu

In March 2010, Burak Dalgın (HBS MBA 2004) led private equity firm Darby's investment in Sırma, a local Turkish water and beverage company. Sırma was owned and managed by members of two Turkish business families. The existing management, while being highly... View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Variance Analysis; Emerging Markets; Debt; Family Ownership; Turkey; Valuation; Business or Company Management; Private Equity; Financial Reporting; Investment; Budgets and Budgeting; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

02 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Government and Financial Tech Can Fix Cash Woes for Small Businesses

products and services. Making the payrolls that support middle class families across the country. These are all things we rely on small businesses for, so we should look with more than just casual interest... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills

May 2017
Case

Pho Hoa Dorchester

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Michael Raiche and Roger Zhu

Pho Hoa is a traditional, family-owned Vietnamese restaurant in Dorchester, Massachusetts that opened in 1992. As he approached retirement in recent years, the founder/owner has scaled down his involvement in the day-to-day operations, leading to a number of... View Details

September 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

From Beirut With Love (A)

By: Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy

This case describes how Robert Fadel, CEO and chairman of ABC, one of Lebanon’s leading retail and real estate groups, professionalized the family business. Robert was the second son of the company’s founder, Maurice Fadel, who had run it single-handedly. Concerned... View Details

November 2013 (Revised February 2016)
Case

A Long, Bumpy and Unfinished Road: Education Reform in Memphis, Tennessee

By: Allen Grossman, J. Puckett and Nithya Vaduganathan

In 2010 the Memphis City School District merged with the neighboring Shelby County School system under the supervision of a single board of education and superintendent. It promised much more than just administrative synergies—it was an opportunity to change a... View Details

Keywords: Education Reform; Public Education; Business Engagement; Public Sector; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; Tennessee