Publications

Program

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

Summary The vast majority of the world's most valuable companies today are platforms: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and many other firms have built their fortunes... View Details

March 2008
Supplement

Patel Food and Chemicals Private Limited (B)

By: Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Alok Patel, the founder and chairman of a Gujarat-based, privately held edible oils processor, has hired a CFO and the company is doing extremely well. He wants to add a new plant to process oilive oil, but estimates he will need $20 million. He must decide among... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Financing and Loans; Investment; Financial Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Gujarat

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March 1991 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Steve Mariotti and NFTE

Less than three years ago, Steve Mariotti created NFTE, a nonprofit organization for teaching entrepreneurship to disadvantaged youths. The organization has gained national recognition, and offers a variety of programs on a budget of nearly half a million dollars. It... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Teaching; Business Startups

11 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 11, 2018

relationship that favored all parties. We discuss implications for research in the economics and management of MSPs. Specifically, we argue that the literature would benefit... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

October 2012
Case

Hill Country Snack Foods Co.

By: W. Carl Kester and Craig Stephenson

Hill Country Snack Foods, located in Austin, Texas, manufactures, markets, and distributes snack foods and frozen treats. The CEO is passionate about maximizing shareholder value and believes in keeping tight control over costs and operating the business as efficiently... View Details

Keywords: United States; Financial Strategy; Debt Management; Retail Trade; Risk Management; Food; Capital Structure; Corporate Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas

01 Mar 2024
News

Unlocking the Power of Community

When Tara Fung (MBA 2016) explains Co:Create, the company she cofounded in 2022 and now leads as CEO, she doesn’t mention Web3 first. “We help innovative brands and creators... View Details

Keywords: April White

January 2024
Case

The Financial Times (FT) and Generative AI

By: Andrew Rashbass, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

In September 2023, John Ridding, CEO of the Financial Times, was considering the possible impact of Generative AI on the industry and his business. Having navigated successfully the seismic shift from print to digital, and reporting record results, the company... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Change Management; Journalism and News Industry

15 Oct 2014
Blog Post

HBS Class of 2016

Information Day – with more than 45 companies on campus - kicks things off in just a few weeks and marks the start of our recruiting season. While this is a very exciting time,... View Details

23 Apr 2024
In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

With each month clocking record-breaking temperatures across the planet, this Earth Day reflected the renewed urgency of regulators and businesses to find climate-change solutions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted new rules that will mandate... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

2017
Working Paper

Business and Green Knowledge Production in Sweden 1960s–1980s

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Kristina Söderholm

This working paper contributes to the burgeoning historical literature that has transformed our understanding about the relationship between big business and the environmental regulation. Previously, it was believed that corporate managers resisted the extra costs... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Research and Development; History; Sweden

SSRN

19 Aug 2021
Op-Ed

Don't Ignore Your Employees' Misery—TAKE Control

officers—some of the military’s most senior leaders—sometimes assume that great officers leave the military for the private sector because they want to make more money. In reality, some of those officers... View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and MaShon Wilson

Article

Act Like a Scientist: Great Leaders Challenge Assumptions, Run Experiments, and Follow the Evidence

By: Stefan Thomke and Gary W. Loveman

Though they’ve been warned for decades about the dangers of overrelying on gut instinct and personal experience, managers keep failing to critically examine—much less challenge—the ideas their decisions are based on. To correct this problem they need to think and act... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Decision Making; Science; Leadership Style

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July–September 2012
Article

The (Un)Hidden Turmoil of Language in Global Collaboration

By: Tsedal Neeley, Pamela J. Hinds and Catherine D. Cramton

Companies are increasingly relying on a lingua franca, or common language (usually English), to facilitate cross-border collaboration. Despite the numerous benefits of a lingua franca, our research reveals myriad challenges that disrupt collaboration and contribute to... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Loss; Spoken Communication; Performance Productivity; Research; Global Range; Problems and Challenges; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

13 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding

real-world challenges and anxieties faced by increasing numbers of Americans.” As HBS professor Anat Keinan explains, "Today, underdog brand biographies are being used by both large View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2014
Working Paper

Adding Value Through Venture Capital in Latin America and the Caribbean

By: Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, James Tighe and Susana Garcia-Robles

Venture capital (VC) investment has long been recognized as an engine for economic growth and development. Unlike bank loans, where the entrepreneur receives money and is left alone as long as the payments arrive on the pre-arranged schedule, venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Value; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Latin America; West Indies

Web

The Gift of Global Talent

Bill argues, is the world’s most precious resource. Featured Article Navigating Talent Hotspots William R. Kerr SEP-OCT 2018 | HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW How can companies most effectively harness the benefits View Details

01 Jun 2016
Blog Post

Reflecting and Digesting

Work in an emerging market Do something I have no clue about Explore a new destination Throughout my search and conversations with Kurt Piemonte, an amazing career coach, I reached Global Fashion Group (GFG). A fashion e-commerce View Details

Keywords: Technology; Consumer Products / Retail

March 2024
Teaching Note

CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

By: Frank Nagle and Maria P. Roche

This teaching note is the companion to case N9-624-010 CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub, which takes place in late 2021. The case briefly describes the history of both GitHub and Microsoft with a particular focus on open source software (OSS)—software... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Open Source Distribution; Product Development; Commercialization; Competition; Resource Allocation; Technology Industry