Potential - Publications - Faculty & Research

04 Oct 2004
What Do You Think?

Does Speed Trump Intellectual Property?

represents a capability which is difficult to replicate." Several did suggest potential problems, however, in using speed to preempt the fruits of intellectual property. John Rudd comments, "The practice mentioned by Fox... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

06 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

The Growth of the Social Enterprise

operations. Thus, the key distinctions between the two organizational forms, affiliates and branches, are ownership, governance, and control. Nonprofits choosing the branch approach should consider the potential trade-offs between... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

08 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 8

controlling for the potential effect of cultural norms. China provides a good research lab since it combines great heterogeneity in institutional development across the Chinese provinces with homogeneity in cultural norms, law, and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 May 2019
Book

These Entrepreneurs Take a Pragmatic Approach to Solving Social Problems

In 1908, Harvard Business School’s first dean, Edwin Francis Gay, welcomed the School’s inaugural class of 59 students by saying that HBS was challenged with encouraging its students to have the “intellectual respect for business as a profession, with the social... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Green Technology

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

businesses that scale undergo a graduation process in which they meet the varying expectations of multiple organizational resource providers. At the unit level, they convince established core units that the potential value from combining... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Oct 2013
Op-Ed

Response to Readers: Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

emissions. Perhaps, the opposite is also true. Are things that were once seen as quite dangerous now potentially relatively safe as result of new understandings and innovations? My own concerns about climate change have led me to put... View Details

Keywords: by Joe Lassiter; Energy; Utilities

11 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Economic Jitters Push Pandemic Job Seekers to Big Companies, Not Startups

School, who coauthored the study. “[It] means not only that the pool of potential human capital for startup companies began declining when COVID started, but also that the quality of the pool has deteriorated,” he says. “The incumbent... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

30 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

COVID Not Slowing VC Investment

capital firms will need to deploy near-record amounts of capital, the due diligence process will take significantly more time, Gompers says. Potentially less favorable terms. As the pandemic grinds on and funding becomes View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services; Banking

06 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: June 6, 2017

leader. Zimmer is a major medical device firm, but the Spine division has underperformed, and its core technology did not get the expanded FDA label that had been expected. The case reviews the industry, the competitive landscape, and the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Reducing Risk with Online Advertising

potentially in a window that's only one pixel by one pixel—one tiny dot on your screen, so you can't see it. But in the background your computer has clicked through this tracking link, and loaded up the Dell site. If you made a purchase... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Video Game; Web Services

19 Jan 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing the Economic Crisis

across the board, but rather weed out less effective initiatives and consolidate good ones. Effective programs that serve the community in a compelling way, and that also demonstrate a strong potential to influence the business, must be... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

11 Mar 2009
HBS Case

The Energy Politics of Russia vs. Ukraine

post-Soviet era, could be a cruel and dangerous troublemaker. With about one-quarter of the world's reserves of natural gas, Russia was judged to be using its energy resources to beat up on a helpless neighbor and to flex its geopolitical—and View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Energy; Utilities

27 May 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Thinking About Global

matter the most in your industry, and look at them not just as difficulties to be overcome but also as potential sources of value creation. Which Countries Are The Most Business Friendly? Handicapping the Best Countries for Business... View Details

04 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

Should You Outsource Your Marketing?

outsourcing marketing, at least beyond advertising, seems relatively new. Can you discuss this concept and the potential benefits to businesses? Gail J. McGovern: The outsourcing of marketing activities is catching on; in fact, in a... View Details

Keywords: by Poping Lin

23 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Globalization: Little Impact on the Continent

For example, investors can move money more quickly than ever from one country to another, potentially leaving a developing country reeling from the effects. Paolo Gomes, executive director at the World Bank, said globalization has reduced... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

25 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

How Software Platforms Revolutionize Business

the promise to significantly change how we buy and pay for goods and service in the future. Could you elaborate on this? What impact do software platforms have for the consumer on the street? A: Software platforms are universal in nature because they can View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Video Game; Web Services

26 Sep 2024
HBS Case

If a Car Can Drive Itself, Can It Make Life-or-Death Decisions?

networks and emergent behavior, Badaracco proposes a roadmap for thinking about ethical ways to delegate decisions to machines. “It’s a potentially catastrophic mistake, with technology like this, to have that mentality.” Ask stupid... View Details

Keywords: by Tom Quinn; Auto; Technology

06 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: February 6, 2018

it is urgent. What does it mean to make capitalism a subject of historical inquiry? What is its potential across multiple disciplines, alongside different methodologies, and in a range of geographic and chronological settings? And how... View Details

13 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

seeking advice from a potential board member and your goal in that interaction is to establish a relationship, you should be aware of these effects so you’re not falling victim to the negative consequences that may come from not taking... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

05 Aug 2024
Research & Ideas

Watching for the Next Economic Downturn? Follow Corporate Debt

focused on housing and household debt for good reason: In the United States, a residential housing loan collapse touched off the deep financial crisis of 2008. But in the decade-plus since, the focus on household debt may mean policymakers are overlooking an even more... View Details