Publications

25 Mar 2022
Video

Omobola Johnson

Omobola Johnson, the former Minister of Communication Technology in Nigeria, discusses her transition into a venture capital career and highlights how venture capital enables young Nigerian entrepreneurs to address local challenges. View Details

June 2004
Case

TechnoServe and the Tanzanian Specialty Coffee Industry

In 2003, TechnoServe, a U.S.-based, international, nonprofit organization, was deciding how to structure the capital investments required for Tanzanian business groups to acquire coffee bean central pulperies. This case explores the challenges of capital budgeting and... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Capital Budgeting; Tanzania

February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

OpenInvest

By: Shawn Cole, Boris Vallée and Nicole Tempest Keller

Founded by a team of hedge fund and NGO alumni, OpenInvest launched its platform in 2015 to enable retail investors to tailor their portfolios to their personal values in an automated way, for instance by screening out weapons manufacturers stocks or overweighting... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Impact Investing; Investment Portfolio; Customization and Personalization; Technological Innovation; Social Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financial Services Industry

December 2020
Supplement

Video Interview with Pandwe Gibson

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural... View Details

Keywords: Female Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Sexism; Racism; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Diversity; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias; City; Culture; Miami

24 Jan 2012
Working Paper Summaries

What Do Development Banks Do? Evidence from Brazil, 2002-2009

Keywords: by Sergio G. Lazzarini, Aldo Musacchio, Rodrigo Bandeira-de-Mello & Rosilene Marcon; Banking

April 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Ping An: Pioneering the New Model of ‘Technology-driven Finance’

By: Feng Zhu, Anthony K. Woo and Nancy Hua Dai

In mid-December 2018, Peter Ma, Chairman and CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. was considering whether the company should grow a fifth ecosystem of Smart City Services. Established in 1988, Ping An was one of the top 10 global financial... View Details

Keywords: Business Ecosystems; Fintech; Finance; Information Technology; Business Model; Expansion; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry

William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business... View Details

September 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt

By: Brian Trelstad and Alpana Thapar

Founded in 2001 by the Sawiris family, one of the wealthiest families in Egypt, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) invested in human capital and provision of basic social services for the most marginalized Egyptians. In 2015, Noura Selim’s (MBA 2013)... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Development; Social Enterprise; Education; Social Issues; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Egypt

January 2009
Background Note

Financial Networks and Informal Banking in China: From Pawnshops to Private Equity

By: Elisabeth Koll

Provides an analysis of why informal financial networks and institutions still play an extremely important role in China's economy in the 21st century. Although China has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it still suffers from a weak... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Private Equity; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; State Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Networks; China

Research Summary

Overview

By: Rebecca M. Henderson

My work focuses on two tightly related topics. I explore why purpose or mission driven firms might be significantly more productive and creative than their more conventional rivals, focusing particularly on the role of trust in building path dependent relational... View Details

24 Mar 2023
HBS Seminar

Geoffrey Jones, Harvard Business School

05 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 5

Publications May 2015 Corporate Stewardship: Organizing for Sustainable Effectiveness Leading Socially Responsible, Value-Creating Corporations By: Brown, Daniel, and Rakesh Khurana Abstract—We explore the role of the corporate leader... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2022
Case

Metric

By: Christina Wallace, Rebecca Cink and Maria Lappas

Megan Murday, the founder of Metric, an environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) analytics startup, must decide which customer segment to target as a beachhead market. She received positive feedback from a Swiss venture capital (VC) firm, indicating their... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Customers

23 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 23, 2019

social and environmental policy issues not directly related to their company’s core business. Distinct from nonmarket strategy and traditional corporate social responsibility, the recent wave of CEO activism... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

14 Aug 2023
Blog Post

Crossing the Bridge: A Reflection on the HKS/HBS Joint Degree Program

facilitate positive social impact. Thus, I pursued a program that allowed me to learn expansively and ultimately identify a career path that would allow me to combine my passions and purpose. How have you leveraged your unique educational... View Details

20 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Users Love Ello, But What’s the Business Model?

needed and more seats on the board will be demanded. The board will need to monetize the membership in whatever fashion ensures a profitable return of capital for the venture fund's investors. So my advice, if they believe Ello is still... View Details

Keywords: Re: John A. Deighton & Sunil Gupta; Publishing; Financial Services

July – August 2011
Article

Evolve (Again)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Frenzy over social networks and interactive media can produce equally overhyped predictions that everything will change, not to mention money-losing investments in silly ventures. Separating enduring strategic lessons from the hype can help avoid a new crash. Hint: the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Investment; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships

Find at Harvard

October 2002 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Welfare State and its Impact on Business Competitiveness, The: Sweden Inc. for Sale?

By: Huw Pill, Petter Johnsson, Ola Nordquist and Ingrid Vogel

The Swedish Model--sometimes presented as a third way between savage capitalism and unrealistic socialism--was much lauded in the 1960s. It was viewed as a strategy that addressed social concerns while supporting economic growth. However, the financial and currency... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Welfare; Government and Politics; Taxation; Competition; Public Administration Industry; Sweden