Publications

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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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07 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

value. One participant in China described how "twenty-somethings" joined C-suite meetings to share their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of various digital projects under consideration. 4.... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

01 Jun 2009
News

Crisis and Creativity

waste.” He’s correct. Now more than ever is the time for innovative managers and entrepreneurs to come up with ideas that lead to opportunities to launch new ventures. There is considerable anecdotal... View Details

Keywords: Bhaskar Chakravorti

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

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Article

The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose

By: Ranjay Gulati

Most forward-thinking executives have embraced the notion that purpose-driven companies can solve social and environmental problems while also generating wealth, creating win-win outcomes that benefit everyone. But ideal solutions are rare. Many purpose-driven... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Sustainability; Mission and Purpose; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Profit; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Decision Making

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June 2022
Case

Mossadeq’s Gambit: The US, UK, and Iranian Oil Nationalization

By: Jeremy Friedman and Jingyu Liu

Many of the West’s political problems in the Middle East and in Iran in particular can be traced to the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh by military forces supported by the American CIA and the British MI6 in August 1953. Mossadegh, at the head of a... View Details

Keywords: Neo-imperialism; History; Conflict Management; War; Globalized Economies and Regions; Natural Resources; National Security; Government and Politics; Globalized Markets and Industries; Middle East; Iran

January 1996 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, Inc.: A Period of Transition

By: David J. Collis and Melinda B. Conrad

Bob Holland takes over as CEO of this iconoclastic ice cream company in February 1995 when it faces a major crisis. Holland must now develop a strategy that both adapts to the external environment and is consistent with the company's unique heritage. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Strategy; Adaptation; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Mar 2008
News

THE 6 MYTHS OF CREATIVITY

Creativity’s reputation as a mysterious, unknowable trait (something of a myth in itself) has led to some erroneous ideas about what it is and how it functions in organizations. Here, Professor Teresa... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Sports, Language, Driving, and Other Schools; Arts, Sports, Language, Driving, and Other Schools; Arts, Sports, Language, Driving, and Other Schools

October 2016
Case

Addicaid: Scaling a Digital Platform for Addiction Wellness and Recovery

By: Robert S. Huckman and Sarah Mehta

In 2013, Sam Frons founded Addicaid—a mobile application (app) that allowed people in addiction recovery to track their progress, check in with counselors, and connect with others in recovery programs. The app was grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy and used the... View Details

Keywords: Digital Health Interventions; Substance Use Disorder; Addiction Treatment; Addiction Recovery; Scale; Innovation; Health; Health Disorders; Health Industry; New York (city, NY)

17 Aug 2011
News

Breath of Life

parts will be used to replace diseased internal organs such as coronary arteries, the esophagus, and the ureter. Playing a key role in this landmark moment for regenerative medicine was Harvard Bioscience, Inc. View Details

Keywords: stem cell research; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

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

22 Mar 2010
Research & Ideas

One Strategy: Aligning Planning and Execution

middle managers and line employees attempt to execute the explicit strategy. Unfortunately, these strategies often diverge. They are not aligned. And so the potential View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Video Game; Web Services

March 2024 (Revised June 2025)
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

May 2011
Background Note

Scale Effects, Network Effects, and Investment Strategy

By: Willy Shih

This technical note discusses scale economies, and direct and indirect network effects in the context of building better business models. Some of the great business disasters of the dot.com bubble were companies that scaled their infrastructure without working through... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Investment; Price; Crisis Management; Network Effects; Multi-Sided Platforms; Strategy

02 Nov 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Making the Numbers? ‘Short Termism’ & the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disaster

Keywords: by Nelson P. Repenning & Rebecca M. Henderson

04 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 4, 2018

the popular choice. Our findings are consistent with optimal distinctiveness and middle-status conformity theories and have implications for designing normative marketing campaigns. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

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