Publications

21 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

How to Predict if a New Business Idea is Any Good

nightly fee. Of course, now we know the idea as Airbnb, a $10 billion business with 1.5 million listings around the world. But back then it must have seemed crazy. The liability issues alone seemed insurmountable—to say nothing of the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Accommodations; Financial Services

2016
Report

The New Role of Business in Global Education

By: Mark R. Kramer, Greg Hills, Kate Tallant, Matt Wilka and Anjali Bhatt

Shared value defines a new role for business in helping to overcome the global education and unemployment crisis. By aligning profit with purpose, companies can become essential partners for schools, nonprofits, and governments while simultaneously discovering new ways... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Education; Employment; Global Range; Business Ventures

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August 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

DexAI

By: Jo Tango and Christina Wallace

During a challenging fundraising environment, the DexAI founders received two term sheets with nearly identical economic terms but very different legal ones. The entrepreneurs had to navigate: representations and warranties (their personal guarantees that the company's... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital Term Sheet; Term Sheet; Term Sheets; Founders; Legal Aspects Of Business; Seed Financing; Founders' Agreements; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Intellectual Property; Entrepreneurial Finance; Contracts; Business Startups; Agreements and Arrangements

Web

Careers | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Social Entrepreneurship FIRST YEAR Horace W. Goldsmith Fellowship X X X New Venture Competition X X X SUMMER SE SUMMER FELLOWSHIP X X X X SECOND YEAR INDEPENDENT PROJECTS X X X X New Venture Competition X X... View Details

January 2011
Supplement

ISS A/S (D): Goldman's 2011 Business Standards Report

By: Clayton S. Rose

The (D) case describes aspects of the Jan 2011 report by the Goldman Sach's Business Standards Committee on how the firm might strengthen its practices with respect to clients and other stakeholders. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Corporate Governance; Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Core Relationships

16 Jun 2016
Blog Post

Why Entrepreneurs Should Consider Business School

Before I came to HBS, I bootstrapped a software company, Proximate, for three years.* We make social-media marketing software for alumni and trade associations. In many ways, HBS made starting my own business possible. I was a 2+2 admit,... View Details

11 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Crafting a Nontraditional Path to Venture Capital and Private Equity with Morgan Sheil (MBA 2021)

years at HBS, allowed her to pick up experiences, skills, and knowledge that would help her carve a path from chemical engineering and supply chain to climate operations strategy at KKR Capstone and climate investment at KKR ESG. Sheil’s Road to HBS Sheil began making... View Details

March 2000
Article

Strategic Collaboration between Nonprofits and Businesses

By: J. E. Austin

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Business Ventures

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12 Aug 2002
Op-Ed

Using Big Business to Fight Poverty

corporations to local projects, the WDC would create profitable endeavors in order to reduce poverty permanently and irreversibly. As Harvard Business School Professor Ray Goldberg has pointed out, such View Details

Keywords: by George C. Lodge

March 2022
Supplement

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds (B)

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting–and... View Details

July 9, 2013
Article

Why Fights Erupt in Family Businesses

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

Lack of boundaries and formal structure create potential for nasty (and lasting) disagreements. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Conflict and Resolution; Organizational Structure

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September 2014
Case

Marquee: Reinventing the Business of Nightlife

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Distribution Channels; Product Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2000
Article

Strategic Alliances between Nonprofits and Businesses

By: James E. Austin

Keywords: Strategy; Alliances; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Ventures

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December 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Ventro: Builder of B2B Businesses (Condensed)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Meredith Collura

Enables a condensed analysis of Ventro (formerly known as Chemdex), which builds and operates multiple B2B marketplace companies. Part of the Building-E-Business Online series. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Management; Strategy; Business Strategy; Consulting Industry; Information Technology Industry

21 Nov 2019
Blog Post

The Power of Business in the Energy Transition

How do countries and companies work to achieve their carbon reduction goals? Is a Green New Deal necessary to transform the United States economy? These were just a few of the questions driving discussions at the 16th annual Symposium hosted by the Energy &... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Energy / Cleantech

2016
Working Paper

Diversified Business Groups in the West: History and Theory

By: Asli M. Colpan and Takashi Hikino

This working paper examines the historical origins, evolutionary paths, and long-term resilience of diversified business groups in contemporary developed economies of Western Europe, North America, and Oceania. It aims to come up with a new theoretical understanding of... View Details

Keywords: History; Diversification; Business Divisions; Theory; Oceania; North America; Europe

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May 11, 2020
Article

Steer Your Family Businesses Through an Unplanned Transition

By: Josh Baron and Nick Di Loreto

In a perfect world, family businesses will transition leadership from one generation to the next along a predictable and well-planned process — whether that’s determined within the business, the ownership group, or the family itself — passing the baton after years of... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Planning; Family Business; Management Succession

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