Publications

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13 Feb 2015
News

Lessons in Perseverance

By 1998, Pilar Deza (OPM 30, 2001) had weathered several storms on her way to becoming a leading education entrepreneur in Peru. Deza had gone from founding a nursery school in her garage with four neighborhood children to operating two well-regarded K–12 private... View Details

Keywords: Tyler Bridges; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

November 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Bridgit: Persevere or Pivot?

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

In late 2012, Mallorie Brodie and Lauren Lake, two young women in their final year of college, founded Bridgit, a technology startup that developed solutions to simplify vital but laborious processes within the construction industry. In the Fall of 2013, after months... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Founder; Co-founders; Women Executives; Pivot; Startup; Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Product Launch; Research and Development; Competition; Construction Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Canada

17 Mar 2021
Blog Post

The Art of Perseverance and Resilience: Reapplying to HBS

persevere and continue to grow and improve are often the ones who have what it takes to succeed. My path to HBS – including my two rejections – allowed me to experience failure, grow to overcome this failure, and finally succeed. To me,... View Details

03 May 2024
Blog Post

From Harvard to Miss New Jersey: A Journey of Perseverance and Self-Belief

Business School. Now, as I proudly stand as Miss New Jersey 2024, my journey demonstrates the unwavering power of perseverance and self-belief. Becoming United States of America’s Miss New Jersey was more than just a crown; it was an... View Details

09 Jun 2015
News

Lessons in perseverance lead to high-quality schools for Peru

Pilar Deza (OPM 30, 2001) went from opening a nursery in her garage for four neighborhood children to operating some of Peru’s best-run private schools. She faced challenges all along the way, trying to create and operate new schools amidst a military dictatorship,... View Details

September 2019
Article

The Self-Presentational Consequences of Upholding One's Stance in Spite of the Evidence

By: Leslie John, Martha Jeong, Francesca Gino and Laura Huang

Five studies explore the self-presentational consequences of refusing to “back down” – that is, upholding a stance despite evidence of its inaccuracy. Using data from an entrepreneurial pitch competition, Study 1 shows that entrepreneurs tend not to back down even... View Details

Keywords: Self-presentation; Belief Perseverance; Judgment; Confidence; Persuasion; Personal Characteristics; Behavior; Perception; Decision Making; Outcome or Result

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December 2011 (Revised July 2013)
Background Note

Hypothesis-Driven Entrepreneurship: The Lean Startup

By: Thomas Eisenmann, Eric Ries and Sarah Dillard

Firms that follow a hypothesis-driven approach to evaluating entrepreneurial opportunity are called "lean startups." Entrepreneurs in these startups translate their vision into falsifiable business model hypotheses, then test the hypotheses using a series of "minimum... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups

25 Sep 2024
Blog Post

HBS Latino Student Association Spotlight: Mireya Iglesias Ayala (MBA 2025)

perseverance and dedication. My father instilled in me an unwavering work ethic, and my mother taught me to be unapologetic in my quest to achieve excellence. They also taught me to approach adversity with confidence and to treat... View Details

January 2000 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Alloy.com: Marketing to Generation Y

By: John A. Deighton and Gil McWilliams

A profitable dot com company? Alloy.com retails clothing to teens by catalog. Alloy uses a Web site to convert prospects and build community. The result is a business with the economics of a direct marketer and the market capitalization of an Internet start-up. The... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business and Community Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry

October 2018
Case

Phuc Huynh and Teach for Vietnam (A)

By: Leslie Perlow and Eunice Eun

This Harvard Business School case is about Harvard Kennedy School graduate, Phuc Huynh, who wants to establish Teach for Vietnam (TFV) in his home country and become an official Teach for All partner. It considers the concepts of giving back in one’s career and the... View Details

Keywords: Vietnam; Giving Back; Career Decisions; Education; Social Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Mission and Purpose; Leadership Development; Education Industry; Viet Nam; Asia

17 Oct 2016
News

The Right (And Wrong) Way To Harness Your Company's Underdog Status

February 2018
Article

Maintaining Beliefs in the Face of Negative News: The Moderating Role of Experience

By: Bradley R. Staats, Diwas S. KC and F. Gino

Many models in operations management involve dynamic decision making that assumes optimal updating in response to information revelation. However, behavioral theory suggests that rather than updating their beliefs, individuals may persevere in their prior beliefs. In... View Details

Keywords: Information; Announcements; Service Operations; Decision Making; Medical Specialties; Experience and Expertise; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

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Article

Naturals and Strivers: Preferences and Beliefs about Sources of Achievement

By: Chia-Jung Tsay and Mahzarin R. Banaji

To understand how talent and achievement are perceived, three experiments compared the assessments of "naturals" and "strivers." Professional musicians learned about two pianists, equal in achievement but who varied in the source of achievement: the "natural" with... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Perception; Judgments; Success; Competency and Skills

2013
Working Paper

The Impact of Conformance and Experiential Quality on Healthcare Cost and Clinical Performance

By: Claire Senot, Aravind Chandrasekaran, Peter T. Ward and Anita L. Tucker

The quality of operational processes is an important driver of performance in hospitals. In particular, processes that reliably deliver both evidence-based and patient-centered care, which we call conformance and experiential quality, respectively, have been argued to... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Experiential Quality; Conformance Quality; Clinical Outcomes; Cost Efficiency; Quality; Service Operations; Health Care and Treatment; Performance; Outcome or Result; Health Industry

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Most executives think of decision making as a singular event that occurs at a particular point in time. In reality, though, decision making is a process fraught with power plays, politics, personal nuances, and institutional history. Leaders who recognize this make... View Details

November 2013 (Revised February 2016)
Case

A Long, Bumpy and Unfinished Road: Education Reform in Memphis, Tennessee

By: Allen Grossman, J. Puckett and Nithya Vaduganathan

In 2010 the Memphis City School District merged with the neighboring Shelby County School system under the supervision of a single board of education and superintendent. It promised much more than just administrative synergies—it was an opportunity to change a... View Details

Keywords: Education Reform; Public Education; Business Engagement; Public Sector; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; Tennessee