Publications

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October 2015 (Revised August 2019)
Background Note

Higher Education in China: Internationalization in Turbulent Times

By: William C. Kirby, Joycelyn W. Eby and Yuanzhuo Wang

The rapid growth in quantity and quality of universities in China since 1978 is the most recent evolution in a long history of higher education. From as early as the Tang Dynasty, academies existed to prepare scholars for the civil service examination, but by the... View Details

Keywords: Non-profit Management; University Administration; University Faculty; University Curriculum; Education Reform; Nonprofit Organizations; Management; Higher Education; History; Governance; Education Industry; China

October 2012
Teaching Plan

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Venture Philanthropy Funding for Biotech (TP)

By: Robert F. Higgins

This is the teaching note related to HBS case 808005. In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biotechnology; Funding Philanthropy Venture; Cystic Fibrosis; Foundations; Pharmaceuticals; Mergers and Acquisitions; For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; San Diego

November 2008 (Revised October 2009)
Case

American Cancer Society: Access to Care

By: Robert L. Simons and Kathryn Rosenberg

CEO John Seffrin decides to radically change the strategy of the American Cancer Society. The new Access to Care strategy relies on advocacy to change public policy and increase the number of Americans eligible for cancer prevention and treatment. The new strategy... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Governance Controls; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Strategy; Health Industry; United States

16 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Zambian Schoolgirls Receive Negotiation Training

policy nonprofit that focuses on solving global poverty problems, worked with 3,146 Zambian girls in the eighth grade across 41 schools in Lusaka to implement it. Schoolgirls in Zambia receive negotiation training through the “Girls... View Details

Keywords: Re: Kathleen L. McGinn

04 Nov 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Do People Who Care About Others Cooperate More? Experimental Evidence from Relative Incentive Pay

Keywords: by Dylan Minor, Pablo Hernandez & Dana Sisak

October 2010
Teaching Note

The Robin Hood Foundation (TN)

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

Teaching Note for 310031. View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Organizational Culture; System

December 1986 (Revised August 1988)
Case

LifeSpan Inc.: Abbott Northwestern Hospital

Raises the powerful issues of measuring marketing performance in a not-for-profit services setting. Also raises several interesting ethical issues. LifeSpan Inc., a Minneapolis based not-for-profit organization is the parent holding company of three hospitals and... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Health Care and Treatment; Service Industry; Health Industry; Minneapolis

September 2023
Technical Note

Free and Open Source Software and Hardware

By: Frank Nagle

This technical note surveys the concepts of free and open source software and hardware. It introduces the concepts in general, providing a brief history of their development and numerous examples of how companies employ them in practice. Further, it identifies various... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Patents; Information Technology; Business Model; Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry

January 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Target Malaria: Editing Mosquitoes through Gene Drives

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

Target Malaria, a non-profit research consortium, is exploring the application of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to combat malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its approach uses gene drives, a revolutionary tool, to suppress the population of malaria-carrying... View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Strategy; Genetics; Ethics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States; United Kingdom; Burkina Faso; Africa

21 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

The Geography of Corporate Giving

Why companies support nonprofits and other socially responsible activities is an intriguing question for both academics and practitioners. After all, there is no clear-cut evidence that corporate "do-gooding" results in greater... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 2024
Case

Negotiating the Gift of Life (A)

By: Alex Chan

Describes a negotiation where lives are truly at stake, where key lessons on persuasion and the role that identity might play in a negotiation are on display through an effort by a frontline negotiator from OneLegacy, the US's largest organ procurement organization. As... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Negotiation; Communication; Diversity; Nonprofit Organizations; Emotions; Health Industry

03 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn

reputation and brand. In general these activities create a win-win for the company and its larger group of stakeholders. Q: Many nonprofits from museums to food banks are worried about the dwindling number of donors and their future in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

What It Takes to Restore Trust in Business

well by defrauding investors." Nonprofit organizations "like our own universities, museums, churches—whose leaders should be talking about this, and talking about it more than they are, who should be providing some of the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

March 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Opportunity Insights: Research and Policy for Social Mobility

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Jeffrey Huizinga and Allison Ciechanover

Opportunity Insights -- a non-profit that researches drivers of economic opportunity and develops policy solutions to help families achieve better life outcomes -- seeks to expand its impact. View Details

Keywords: Economic Opportunity; Social Mobility; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Issues; Housing; Policy; Opportunities

06 Jan 2012
Op-Ed

Where Green Corporate Ratings Fail

News Corporation—a multinational media conglomerate that includes BSKYB, Dow Jones, Fox News, 20th Century Fox and Star, among other units—announced earlier this year that it has become climate neutral, meaning that its operations have no net impact on global climate... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler; Information; Publishing

July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Washington Hospital Center (A): Rescuing Emergency Medicine

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett

Dr. Craig Feied and Dr. Mark Smith, recruited to turn around the Washington Hospital Center Emergency Department, prepare to roll out their most revolutionary change yet--an information system that could radically improve the practice of emergency medicine. A review of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Medical Specialties; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Technological Innovation; Higher Education; Health Industry; District of Columbia

September 1996 (Revised November 1999)
Case

GLSTN 1996

By: James E. Austin, Willis M. Emmons III and David Maue

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN), which aims to create respect for all within schools regardless of sexual orientation, faces significant challenges stemming from its rapid growth into a 30-chapter national organization. Issues include... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Leadership; Networks; Policy; Change Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Leadership Development; Growth Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Education Industry

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March 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Paul A. Gompers and Scott Duke Kominers

Silkroad—a cross-cultural music collaboration that world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma had spearheaded since 1998, was preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In parallel, Ma was stepping back from his role as the organization’s Artistic Director. Silkroad had come of... View Details

Keywords: Managing Diverse Teams; Leadership Transitions; Global Innovation; Music; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Music Entertainment; Leadership; Transition