Publications

September 2011
Case

AXA Private Equity: The Diana Investment

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

The case focuses on an investment made by AXA Private Equity, a French manufacturer of food ingredients. The investment is made at the height of the financial markets, and financed with significant debt. Soon thereafter, the financial crisis impacted the company's... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Ethics; Investment; Financial Crisis

Web

Team - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

School John Meara D.M.D., M.B.A., M.D., Steven C. and Carmella R. Kletjian Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine and Professor of Surgery Harvard Law School Glenn Cohen J.D., James A. Attwood and Leslie View Details

Web

K–12 Education | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions to address gaps in India’s education sys... EducationSuperHighway 2.0 By: William A. Sahlman, Allison M. Ciechanover and Emily Grandjean October 2022 |... View Details

Web

Winners & Runners-Up | New Venture Competition

William Berger Larry Bowden Ken Pearson Lee Avikara Business Track Runner-Up Jadoo Power Systems was founded on the belief that fuel cell technology adoption will occur through niche markets and by a... View Details

Web

Agents of Change: The Founding of the AASU - The Value of Business Education

Building on the Legacy Thought Leadership Andrew F. Brimmer James I. Cash Jr. Linda A. Hill David A. Thomas HBS Faculty Members HBS Doctoral Students Alumni Profiles Research Links Essay on HBS Thought... View Details

23 Jun 2023
News

Highlights from the Spring 2023 Alumni Board Meeting

Centering the education: Keeping the expectations we have of students and faculty high. Making sure we attract the very best: Increasing access by making affordability a priority, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and making... View Details

March 2012 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Foro Energy (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and James McQuade

Foro Energy developed proprietary and patent-pending fiber-laser technologies that could disrupt existing processes and services for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. These breakthrough laser technologies were protected by a strong intellectual... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; United States

February 1998 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Nantucket Nectars

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Jon Biotti

The founders of Nantucket Nectars are trying to decide whether to sell their company. The case describes how the founders started the company and grew the Nantucket Nectars brand name. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

November 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

QuantumScape's Mission to Revolutionize Energy Storage for a Sustainable Future

By: William A. Sahlman, Allison M. Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

QuantumScape CEO Jagdeep Singh juggles the many activities required to lead the next-generation battery pioneer. Founded in 2010, QuantumScape’s mission was to develop new “solid-state” car batteries that would improve upon traditional lithium-ion batteries in key... View Details

Keywords: Batteries; Electric Vehicles; SPACs; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Science-Based Business; Environmental Sustainability; Auto Industry; Energy Industry; California; San Jose

Web

Organizational Behavior Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Ely : Winner of the 2020 Wyss Award for Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students, Harvard Business School. Boris Groysberg : Named a Top 100 HR Tech Influencer by Human Resource Executive and the HR Technology Conference in 2020. Linda... View Details

27 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 27

Intervention Method, Empirical Evidence, and Theory Author:Michael Beer Publication:In Research in Organizational Change and Development. Vol. 19, edited by Richard Woodman, William Pasmore, and Abraham B.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Entrepreneurship Course Online | HBS Online

Description of silent animated video above: Learner scrolls through video interviews from prominent business leaders About the Professors William Sahlman Entrepreneurship Essentials Baker Foundation... View Details

October 2024
Article

Racial Inequality in Organizations: A Systems Psychodynamic Perspective

By: Sanaz Mobasseri, William A. Kahn and Robin J. Ely

This paper uses systems psychodynamic concepts to develop theory about the persistence of racial inequality in U.S. organizations and to inform an approach for disrupting it. We treat White men as the dominant group and Black people as the archetypal subordinate group... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Organizational Culture; Gender; Power and Influence; Employees; Attitudes

Find at Harvard

February 2011
Case

Chegg: Textbook Rental Takes Flight

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, William A. Sahlman and Evan W. Richardson

In late 2010, Silicon Valley-based Chegg, the leading online college textbook rental company, is scaling rapidly. The case recounts Chegg's history from its origins as a distant competitor to Craigslist in college classified listings through a pivot into textbook... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Books; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Service Operations; Renting or Rental; Online Technology; Education Industry; Service Industry; California