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Browse All Articles, Research, & Case Studies - HBS Working Knowledge

Eisenhower, and Robert McNamara. 08 Nov 2024 Op-Ed How Private Investors Can Help Solve Africa's Climate Crisis by John Macomber Africa faces escalating climate risks that threaten its people and businesses. While governments and development finance institutions lack... View Details

March 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Kashat: Navigating the Uncertainties of the Egyptian Fintech Market

By: Paul A. Gompers and Ahmed Dahawy

Karim Nour, the founder of Kashat, an Egyptian nano-lending fintech company, is contemplating how to manage the growth of his startup. Over the summer of 2022, Kashat's loan disbursements had grown by nearly 40%, fueled by macroeconomic instability in Egypt. However,... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Model; Developing Countries and Economies; Acquisition; Business Exit or Shutdown; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Capital; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Egypt

05 Feb 2024
What Do You Think?

How Do You Hire for Attitude?

(AdobeStock/Mediteraneo) For years, my colleagues and I have advised anyone who would listen to hire for attitude, train for skills. Organizations that get it backward pay a heavy price. One of my favorite quotes is that of Richard Fairbank, CEO of View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

11 Feb 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting

Keywords: by Lisa D. Ordóñez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky & Max H. Bazerman

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Angels Face the Innovator’s Dilemma

The venture capital industry is ripe for disruption: just like other leading mainstream companies have been for years, according to HBS professor Clayton M. Christensen. As a keynote speaker at the conference and author of the managerial... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

November 1995
Case

InterZine Productions, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Brian Henley founded InterZine Productions to develop interactive multimedia content for America Online (AOL) and the Internet. With funding and support from AOL's Greenhouse program, Henley has launched Golf, a unique interactive golf service. While he has operated on... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Capital; Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Management Teams; Innovation and Invention; Media and Broadcasting Industry

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Accounting & Management, Marketing, Strategy, Technology & Operations Management) PHD in Health Policy Management PHD in Organizational Behavior Attend an Outreach Event Join our staff at a virtual informational session.... View Details

March 2011
Case

MorphoSys AG: The Evolution of a Biotechnology Business Model

By: Gary P. Pisano, Ryan Johnson and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the biotech world, the 18-year-old Munich-based company MorphoSys was a rarity: it was profitable. The company achieved this profitability not by developing and selling its own drugs, but by licensing access to its proprietary library of human antibodies. Recently,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Profit; Intellectual Property; Rights; Risk Management; Digital Platforms; Product Development; Business and Shareholder Relations; Vertical Integration; Biotechnology Industry; Munich

September 1985 (Revised January 1986)
Case

Peter Wendell

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting an employee of IBM in late 1981. Should he leave IBM to become head of a new venture capital fund which will specialize in technology investments? The case is designed to expose students to the nature of the opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Jobs and Positions; Opportunities; Valuation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Resignation and Termination; Venture Capital; Financial Services Industry; Computer Industry

21 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

Strategy and Execution for Emerging Markets

Emerging markets such as the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—entice and intimidate. When managers are asked what is special about emerging markets, they typically point to rapid economic growth, potential competitors, and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

February 2007 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Punjab and Kerala: Regional Development in India

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Between 2000 and 2004, India's economy grew by 6.35%. Focuses on the states of Punjab and Kerala, which emphasized sharply different development strategies. The states had to decide whether to focus their investment efforts on physical capital or improving social... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Capital; Investment; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Social Issues; Kerala; Punjab

November 1999 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Fresh Connections

Mary Alice McKenzie is facing numerous issues in growing her Vermont-based fresh-prepared foods business. She must address immediate operational problems--such as bottlenecks and capital equipment decisions--as well as decide on a long-term strategic position. This... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Production; Food and Beverage Industry; Vermont

May 2022
Case

Byte

By: Boris Groysberg, Katherine Connolly Baden and Julia Kelley

In January 2021, Byte co-founders Scott Cohen and Blake Johnson reflected on how far their Los Angeles-based direct-to-consumer (DTC) orthodontics company had come since launching its clear aligners just a little over two years earlier. Cohen and Johnson were both... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Customer Experience; Customer Focused Organization; Innovation; DTC; Growth Management; Expansion; Entrepreneurship; Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

November 2018
Case

David Hysong and SHEPHERD Therapeutics

By: Ananth Raman, John Masko and Aldo Sesia

In 2016, David Hysong, at age 27, found out he had a rare, incurable cancer. Rather than wait around to die, Hysong, a recent graduate of Harvard Divinity School, decided to launch a biotechnology company called Shepherd Therapeutics to development treatments for his... View Details

Keywords: Cancer; Therapeutics; Drugs; Health Care and Treatment; Business Startups; Product Development; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development Strategy; Problems and Challenges