Publications

13 Jun 2017
Blog Post

Benefits of the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences Program

his business and leadership skillset, Damjan planned to spend the next two years focused on engineering. “I knew it wasn’t enough just to be a strong software engineer. It might be enough to build a great product, but it’s not enough if... View Details

January 2013 (Revised March 2013)
Supplement

MuMaté (B-1): Confidential for Maxwell

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

MuMaté, a fictional cult beverage company, requires capital to fund national expansion. Its cofounders, who have bootstrapped to this point, are now negotiating with venture capital firms to raise a $3 million funding round. The case describes MuMaté's inception, early... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Expansion; Negotiation; Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry

2023
Working Paper

How Resilient Is Venture-Backed Innovation? Evidence from Four Decades of U.S. Patenting

By: Sabrina T. Howell, Josh Lerner, Ramana Nanda and Richard Townsend

Despite theoretical predictions to the contrary, corporate innovation is strongly pro-cyclical. In this paper, we compare innovation in the economy as a whole to that of firms backed by venture capital (VC), a source of capital associated with the most impactful young... View Details

Keywords: Recessions; Venture Capital; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Business Cycles; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation

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MBA

Two Years. A World of Difference. Harvard Business School offers a two-year, full-time MBA program with a general management curriculum focused on real-world practice. Becoming a student at HBS means joining a global community that... View Details

September 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Capital for Enterprise Limited (CfEL): Bridging the SME Early-Stage Finance Gap

By: Josh Lerner, Eli Talmor, Ananth Vyas Bhimavarapu and Thibaud Simphal

The CEO of the company set up to manage a British government effort to promote the venture capital industry considers the progress made to date, as well as how the program can be adjusted. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; Public Administration Industry; United Kingdom

2020
Working Paper

Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

To explore determinants of new venture performance, the CEOs of 470 early-stage startups were surveyed regarding a broad range of factors related to their venture’s customer value proposition, product management, marketing, technology and operations, financial... View Details

Keywords: Startups; Survey Research; Performance Analysis; Entrepreneurship; Performance; Analysis; Business Startups; Failure; Surveys

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February 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Johnson Security Bureau: Building Multigenerational Success

By: Henry McGee, Annelena Lobb and David Muoser

Jessica Johnson-Cope, CEO of Johnson Security Bureau (JSB), pondered options for scaling the firm. JSB was the oldest Black-owned security firm in New York, and among the oldest Black-owned security firms in the United States. It provided mostly unarmed security guards... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Gender; Race; Cybersecurity; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; New York (state, US)

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

November 1998 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Wireless Telecom Negotiation

By: Jay O. Light

A venture capital/private equity fund is preparing to negotiate with the two parties in a prospective PCS joint venture: the entrepreneur and AT&T Wireless. The negotiation will decide how equity and control are shared in the venture. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Governance Controls; Negotiation Deal; Wireless Technology; Telecommunications 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

2023
Working Paper

LALIGA—From a Soccer Competition Organizer to a Global Player in the Sports and Entertainment Industry

By: Stephen A. Greyser, Kenneth Cortsen and Juan Fuentes Fernández

LALIGA, the first- and second-tier professional soccer league (known as “football” outside of the U.S. and Canada) in Spain, enters its 100th soccer season later this decade. The most popular game in the world (Giulianotti, 2012) has gone through many changes since... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; ＂Sports Organizations,; Business History; Strategy; Brands and Branding; Technology Adoption; Sports Industry

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12 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

The Three Components of Family Governance

There are three components to family governance: Periodic (typically annual) assemblies of the family; all families in business can benefit from this activity. Family council meetings for those families that benefit from a representative... View Details

October 2001 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Chiang-Sho Ltd.

Chiang-Sho Ltd. is a joint venture producing agricultural machinery in China. The CEO must decide how to respond to pressure from the Chinese partner--also the joint venture's largest customer--to increase production and lower prices. The CEO must choose either a... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; China

January 2013 (Revised March 2013)
Supplement

MuMaté (B-2): Confidential for Cantor

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

MuMaté, a fictional cult beverage company, requires capital to fund national expansion. Its cofounders, who have bootstrapped to this point, are now negotiating with venture capital firms to raise a $3 million funding round. The case describes MuMaté's inception, early... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Expansion; Negotiation; Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2016
Case

Hotel Vertu: Analyzing the Opportunity in the Boutique Hotel Industry

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts DBA

Two soon-to-be MBA graduates are considering a business opportunity in the boutique hotel industry. Having found a seemingly attractive property in Savannah, Georgia, Yvonne D'Arcy and Elisabeth Whiting face questions about career issues, planning, financing, and the... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Planning; Accommodations Industry

07 May 2015
Blog Post

Career Change: From the Military to Consulting

Exposed to new functions and industries through case studies, classmates, and the resources of our Career and Professional Development (CPD) Office, nearly 70% of HBS students will pursue ventures very different from the ones that led... View Details

Working Paper Summaries

Determinants of Early-Stage Startup Performance: Survey Results

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann

26 Oct 2018
News

HBS Entrepreneurs Shine at Rock 100 Summit

January 2016 (Revised January 2019)
Supplement

The Allergan Board Under Fire (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, John C. Coates and David Lane

In 2014, the Allergan Inc. board of directors received a surprise takeover offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals in alliance with hedge fund activist Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management. In the unprecedented arrangement between an acquirer and a hedge fund... View Details