Publications

05 Nov 2024
Book

Building the Road to 'Small Business Utopia' with AI and Fintech

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from chapter one of Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream, written by Karen G. Mills, senior fellow at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Karen G. Mills; Financial Services

June 2023
Case

The Business of Campaigns

By: Vincent Pons and Mel Martin

In 2022, the U.S. Congress examined the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act, the latest in a long series of campaign finance reforms. According to its authors, the law would be the “most consequential overhaul of federal... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Government Legislation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; United States

31 Jul 2017
HBS Case

It’s Hard to Fix the Family Business Without Offending the Family

be in place. There might not even be an org chart. You’re starting the process with a blank slate.” “It was a humbling experience,” adds Zhu. “The relationship that Mike and I developed with Tam provided some insight into the typical challenges of a View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

12 Oct 2016
Research & Ideas

Break the Rules of How Business is Done

Taking a risk by breaking with standard operating procedure can make your company more innovative. Credit: maxsattana In addition to creating a new company that is disrupting the status quo, many founders are also challenging the old norms of how View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

The dot-com boom of the 1990s had changed the rules of business forever, it seemed; all you needed was a sexy IPO, cold nerve, and the magic carpet of momentum trading. But even as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists were dismissing... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

15 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

The New Global Business Manager

In a 1992 article for Harvard Business Review, HBS professor Christopher A. Bartlett and co-author Sumantra Ghoshal tackled the question, "What is a Global Manager?" Their answer then was that "there is no such thing as a... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Organizing the Family-Run Business

particular individual or branch of the family. Figure 1: Governance structures of the family business system Most experts agree that a family company board should be a relatively small group of about five to... View Details

08 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Creating Value in Your Business Ecosystem

Wal-Mart's and Microsoft's dominance in modern business has been attributed to any number of factors, ranging from the vision and drive of their founders to the companies' aggressive competitive practices. But the performance of these two... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

27 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Building Businesses in Turbulent Times

dependent on large firms for major sources of revenue. Interestingly, this can mean that small business owners may be the first ones to feel the economic squeeze, which increases their motivation to find new... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

February 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Businesses for Sale by Briggs Capital, 2010

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Briggs Capital was a regional mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that helped owners to sell their small firms. The case presents a company that was for sale in the fall of 2010—a troubled manufacturer of post and beam style homes and log homes. Using the actual... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Financial Condition; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Boston

03 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Business History around the World

While many history departments of American universities prefer to keep business as a separate discipline, HBS entrepreneurship professor Geoffrey Jones encourages the examination of history as a way to better understand contemporary... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

27 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Creating Leaders for Science-Based Businesses

Education offerings that teach scientists business and organizational fundamentals? What about joint MBA/Ph.D. programs? How about science/business seminars, more science-based cases, and more science-savvy faculty to teach them? We don't... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Biotechnology; Health

04 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

The Business of Global Poverty

weapon. Introduced about thirty years ago, this system of very small loans to grassroots entrepreneurs such as street vendors, subsistence farmers, or home-based businesses has enjoyed widespread success.... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

June 2018
Case

Relax (Boston): Innovating and Growing an Entrepreneurial Business

By: Paul Marshall and Carole Carlson

The Relax case traces the history of a massage services company from its founding in 2007 to mid-2017, when it is considering the best strategy for growth and an acquisition. The company's owner and top managers wonder how the firm should reorganize to cope with the... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Acquisition; Brands and Branding; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Design

05 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Business and the Global Poor

Are the world's poor, who individually have less than $5 a day in disposable income, a viable market for new goods and services? Consider the fact that there are four billion people around the globe that fit this description and you have the start of an answer. But... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Harvard Business School Executive Education: Balancing Online and Offline Marketing

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

How does a small business set its online media budget? The HBS Executive Education Division can be viewed as a small-to-medium sized business unit with annual revenues of $107 million. As we watch it change its culture, practices, and organization from offline to... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Marketing Strategy; Budgets and Budgeting; Technology Adoption; Digital Marketing; Resource Allocation; Information Technology Industry

April 2020
Teaching Note

Cambridge Franchise Partners

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS No. 217-082. Cambridge Franchise Partners (CFP) was established by Matt Perelman and Alex Sloane (both HBS ’15) to pursue a roll-up strategy in the quick service restaurant (QSR) sector. Burger King (BK) approved CFP’s request to become a... View Details

Keywords: Roll-up; Franchise; Franchise Management; Small Firms Management; Franchise Ownership; Small Business; Management; Acquisition

March 2016
Case

N12 Technologies: Building an Organization and Building a Business

By: David A. Garvin and Aldo Sesia

N12 Technologies was a startup founded in 2010 that employed nanotechnology to manufacture a patented material to improve the performance of carbon fiber composites, which were used in a wide variety of products, ranging from bicycles to automobiles to aircraft parts.... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Organizational Structure; Nanotechnology; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Systems; Commercialization; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Bicycle Industry; Transportation Industry; United States