Publications

July 2021
Case

A Close Shave at Squire

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth and Michael Norris

In 2020, just after closing a $34 million Series B financing round, Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon consider how to adjust their business, Squire Technologies, to the new realities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their barbershop technology, including tools to run a shop... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Pandemics; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Technology Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco

November 2009
Article

Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies

By: Erin Marie Reid and Michael W. Toffel

The challenges associated with climate change will require governments, citizens, and firms to work collaboratively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a task that requires information on companies' emissions levels, risks, and reduction opportunities. This paper... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Problems and Challenges; Pollutants; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Shareholder Relations; Management Practices and Processes; Social Issues; Corporate Disclosure; Values and Beliefs; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics

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05 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 5, 2006

Working PapersThe Framing Effect of Price Format Marco Bertini and Luc Wathieu Existing evidence suggests that preferences are affected by whether a price is presented as one all-inclusive expense or partitioned into a series of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Feb 2023
Blog Post

My Classroom Experience During Harvard Business School’s Summer Venture in Management Program

When the email arrived – “HBS SVMP Decision Available Online” – it caught me by surprise. I took a breath and read the message: Accepted! As I planned my trip to attend HBS’s Summer Venture in Management Program, I saw scenes of Cambridge... View Details

Article

Does 'Liking' Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand's Social Network on Marketing Outcomes

By: Leslie K. John, Oliver Emrich, Sunil Gupta and Michael I. Norton

Does “liking” a brand on Facebook cause a person to view it more favorably? Or is “liking” simply a symptom of being fond of a brand? We disentangle these possibilities and find evidence for the latter: brand attitudes and purchasing are predicted by consumers’... View Details

Keywords: Brands; Marketing Effectiveness; Brand Evaluation; Peer Influence; Brands and Branding; Social and Collaborative Networks; Social Media

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04 Nov 2013
News

Surprise raises are more effective than higher salaries from the start, study finds

Article

Is a VC Partnership Greater Than the Sum of Its Partners?

By: Michael Ewens and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

This paper investigates whether individual venture capitalists have repeatable investment skill and to what extent their skill is impacted by the VC firm where they work. We examine a unique dataset that tracks the performance of individual venture capitalists'... View Details

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February 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM)

By: Michael E. Porter, Willis M. Emmons III and Christian Fenner

Le Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique S.A. (CSEM)--the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology--was a major nonprofit research institution located in Neuchatel, Switzerland, with roots in the Swiss watch industry. CSEM maintained close links to... View Details

Keywords: Cooperation; Information Technology; Alliances; Research and Development; Performance Productivity; Innovation and Invention; Nonprofit Organizations; Electronics Industry; Switzerland

30 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 30, 2018

Developing Theory Using Machine Learning Methods By: Choudhury, Prithwiraj, Ryan Allen, and Michael G. Endres Abstract—We describe how to employ machine learning (ML) methods in theory development. Compared to traditional causal inference... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 2023
Technical Note

An Art & A Science: How to Apply Design Thinking to Data Science Challenges

By: Michael Parzen, Eddie Lin, Douglas Ng and Jessie Li

We hear it all the time as managers: “what is the data that backs up your decisions?” Even local mom-and-pop shops now have access to complex point-of-sale systems that can closely track sales and customer data. Social media influencers have turned into seven-figure... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Framework; Analytics and Data Science

20 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 20

by Reebok, an upstart competitor. Knight closeted himself in his office, faced the wall, and sat there, weak and sick and devastated for hours. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/810077-PDF-ENG Moral Decision-Making:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 11

Invention of Data Privacy in the United States and France Author:J. Gunnar Trumbull Publication:In The Voice of the Citizen Consumer, edited by K. Bruckweh. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010 An abstract is unavailable at this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2003
Other Article

The Emergence and Sustainability of Abnormal Profits

By: Michael E. Porter and Anita M. McGahan

In this paper, we examine the emergence and the sustainability of abnormal profits among businesses that were part of U.S. public corporations between 1981 and 1994 and that reported financial results for at least six years. Our results reveal strong asymmetries... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; United States

September 1988
Case

Skil Corp.

By: Michael E. Porter

The portable electric power tool market in the United States was approximately $1.1 billion in 1979. There were about a dozen manufacturers competing in the U.S. market, of which five were U.S. companies. Skil was the third largest U.S. competitor. Skil was acquired by... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Competitive Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Emerging Markets; United States

17 Jun 2022
News

In Defense of Online Anonymity

March 2015
Case

Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

By: Michael Chu, Vincent Dessain and Kristina Maslauskaite

An in-house venture capital fund for affordable private schools at the base of the pyramid established by Pearson, the world's largest education company, PALF sought to invest in business models providing superior educational outcomes in emerging markets on a... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Low Cost Private Schools; Investment Fund; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Transition; Investment; Development Economics; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Private Sector; Education; Education Industry; Asia; Africa