Publications

October 2023
Case

Foodology: Creating a Virtual Restaurant Group in Latin America

By: Rembrand M. Koning, Jorge Tamayo and Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago

In April 2020, Daniela Izquierdo (HBS, 2019) and Juan Guillermo Azuero (HBS, 2019), awaited the results of Harvard Business School’s Alumni New Venture Competition. Operating since September 2019, Foodology, a Colombian food-tech startup in the cloud kitchen segment,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; South America; Colombia

Program

Rising Generation in the Family Enterprise

Summary As a member of a family with a significant business legacy, you may feel both incredibly lucky and weighed down with responsibility. How can you best deploy your talents, capabilities, and resources? How should you think about the... View Details

November 2021
Article

Borrower Leakage from Costly Screening: Evidence from SME Lending in Peru

By: Irani Arraiz, Miriam Bruhn, Benjamin N. Roth, Claudia Ruiz-Ortega and Rodolfo Stucchi

We provide evidence that commercial lenders in Peru suffer leakages in their loan approval process. Leveraging a discontinuity in the loan approval process of a large bank, we find that receiving a loan approval from the bank causes loan applicants to receive offers... View Details

Keywords: Information Spillovers; SME Lending; Financial Inclusion; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Small Business; Information; Peru

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

September – October 2011
Article

The Rise and Consequences of Corporate Sustainability Reporting

By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

For many decades the cornerstone of corporate reporting has been financial information that is presented in a company's annual, semi-annual, and quarterly reports. These comprehensive financial reports—required by law for public companies in most countries... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; ESG Reporting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Annual Reports; Operations; Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Performance; Business Model; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Disclosure

Read Now

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Chari: Exploring Fintech in Morocco

By: Karen G. Mills and Ahmed Dahawy

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Morocco. It highlights Morocco’s unique economy where cash remains a dominant player in the market despite global advancements in digitalization. The case also explores the various cultural and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Distribution Industry; Financial Services Industry; Morocco

15 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 15, 2008

which for years has remained wedded to a well-developed competency in centralized controls and efficient execution but has steadily lost ground, posting a record $38.7 billion loss in 2007. Such an execution-as-efficiency View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2024
Case

Scaling Seven Starling

By: Ryan W. Buell and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Seven Starling, a maternal mental health startup, is scaling its digital clinic model. Seven Starling addresses perinatal mental health challenges by providing licensed therapists, peer support, and medication to mothers across five states, with a hybrid care model... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Health Industry

March 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Pandora Radio: Fire Unprofitable Customers?

By: Willy C. Shih and Halle Alicia Tecco

Pandora Radio is at a crossroads. Founder Tim Westergren has just been told by a well known VC to get rid of his unprofitable customers in order to get his costs down, but Westergren is not sure that such actions are consistent with his company's business model.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Satisfaction; Music Entertainment; Venture Capital; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

High-Wire Act of Building Sustainable Partnerships Harvard Business School Case 709-411 The case describes the history and business model of Cirque du Soleil (CdS). The case... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

A Dynamic Perspective on Ambidexterity: Structural Differentiation and Boundary Activities

Keywords: by Sebastian Raisch & Michael L. Tushman

December 2000
Background Note

Online Retailers

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown

Describes online retailers, companies that use the Internet to sell physical goods. Defines online retailers and describes different ways to categorize them. Explores their economic model and value proposition for consumers in comparison with offline retailers. Next,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet; Retail Industry

2015
Working Paper

Multi-Sided Platforms

By: Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright

We study the economic tradeoffs that drive organizations to position themselves closer to or further away from a multi-sided platform (MSP) business model, relative to three traditional alternatives: vertically integrated firms, resellers or input suppliers. These... View Details

Keywords: Two Sided Markets; Reseller; Business Model; Multi-Sided Platforms; Vertical Integration

Read Now

January 2011 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Dropbox: 'It Just Works'

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Michael Pao and Lauren Barley

Dropbox is a venture-backed Silicon Valley startup, founded in 2006, that provides online storage and backup services to millions of customers using a "freemium" (free + premium offers) business model. The case recounts Dropbox's history from conception through... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Distribution; Product Design; Product Development; Internet; Service Industry; California

Program

Preparing to Be a Corporate Director

effective as a corporate director. Details Maximize your contribution as a board director Confidently assume the role of corporate directors, including legal and fiduciary duties Develop the competence and knowledge to manage critical... View Details

Research Summary

My research draws upon social and cultural theories to address three important topics in marketing: branding strategy, organizing to deliver creative content, and cultural consumer behavior:

1)Branding Strategy: How are iconic brands built?

I have... View Details

January–February 2023
Article

Data-Driven COVID-19 Vaccine Development for Janssen

By: Dimitris Bertsimas, Michael Lingzhi Li, Xinggang Liu, Jennings Xu and Najat Khan

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred extensive vaccine research worldwide. One crucial part of vaccine development is the phase III clinical trial that assesses the vaccine for safety and efficacy in the prevention of COVID-19. In this work, we enumerate the first... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Testing and Trials; Forecasting and Prediction; AI and Machine Learning; Research; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

Article

Lessons From Hollywood: A New Approach To Funding R&D

By: Gary P. Pisano and Andrew W. Lo

Companies find it increasingly difficult to justify long-term, risky R&D investments—particularly in science-based fields such as biotechnology, advanced materials, and energy. We argue in this article that the traditional venture model has limits for such investments... View Details

Keywords: Financial Innovation; Financial Strategy; Project Management; R＆D; Start-up; Innovation Strategy; Business Model; Research and Development; Financial Management; Risk Management; Strategy

Find at Harvard

January 2009 (Revised November 2011)
Case

The Tip of the Iceberg: JP Morgan Chase and Bear Stearns (A)

By: Clayton S. Rose, Daniel Baird Bergstresser and David Lane

"Bear Stearns & Co. burned through nearly all of its $18 billion in cash reserves during the week of March 10, 2008, and an unprecedented provision of liquidity support from the Federal Reserve on Friday, March 13 was insufficient to reverse the decline in Bear's... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Financial Strategy; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Competition; Valuation; Financial Services Industry