Publications

September 2012
Supplement

Hiroshi Mikitani Reflects and Provides Early Updates on Englishnization (November, 2011)

By: Tsedal Neeley

CEO of Rakuten, Hiroshi Mikitani, candidly responds to controversial questions about his Englishnization strategy and implementation across 7,100 employees a year and a half later: Did he make an impulsive move when he mandated English as the company language? Why does... View Details

Keywords: Language; Culture; Communication Barriers; Dynamic Global Marketplace; Rapid Change; Change Management; Ethnicity; Communication; Globalization; Management Teams; Japan

13 Oct 2020
News

Can Entrepreneurs Make Mobile Voting Easy and Secure?

February 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Accounting for Bitcoin at Block

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Seil Kim and Sa-Pyung Sean Shin

Abstract: This case explores Block Inc.'s accounting practices for Bitcoin transactions and their impact on financial reporting. Following a 10% stock price drop after missing revenue estimates in Q3 2024, Block faced scrutiny over its Bitcoin-driven revenue model.... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Bitcoin; Fair Value Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Business Model; Fluctuation; Volatility; Revenue; Standards; Valuation

05 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

The Vanguard Corporation

communities like leeches. The time is ripe for a new corporate model, driven by a new type of business leader, where creating business value also means creating value for society. Surprisingly, Kanter finds models for these so-called... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

April 1997
Background Note

Note on Value Drivers

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Presents a framework for analyzing strategic decisions. Takes as given the practice of value-based management whereby managers use value as a primary criterion when making financial, strategic, or investment decisions. Through a simple valuation model, it shows how... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Equity; Financial Strategy; Investment; Profit; Framework; Growth Management; Value Creation

November 22, 2023
Article

Unifying Your Company Around a Moral Goal

By: Ranjay Gulati

In turbulent times, companies need a reliable anchor to guide decision-making. When organizations become moral communities, underpinned by purpose, they provide that stability for stakeholders as well as a reassuring sense of hope, solidarity, agency, and meaning.... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; Leadership

July 2008 (Revised February 2009)
Case

(PRODUCT) RED (A)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Michael I. Norton and David Chen

Describes the launch and initial results of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, a social marketing initiative conceived by U2's Bono and Bobby Shriver to combat AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The company licensed the (RED) brand to partner companies, which initially included Gap,... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Social Enterprise; Africa

January 2008
Class Lecture

Billions of Entrepreneurs: The Yin and Yang of China and India (FSS)

By: Tarun Khanna

Two emerging nations, China and India, are on the move to wards economic development. They are entering the world economy on their own terms. China's model has received greater attention. India's is a diametrically different model-yin to China's yang-with different... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; China; India

Find at Harvard

17 Feb 2011
News

Business Ready for 'Shared Values,' But Government Lags

28 Jun 2021
News

What's the Rush? A Debate about Remote vs. In-Person Work

08 Jun 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Physician Beliefs and Patient Preferences: A New Look at Regional Variation in Health Care Spending

Keywords: by David Cutler, Jonathan Skinner, Ariel Dora Stern & David Wennberg; Health

April 2025
Case

Radical Transformation at Bayer: Dynamic Shared Ownership

By: Boris Groysberg and Gamze Yucaoglu

In 2023, Bill Anderson became CEO of Bayer AG, a 160-year-old life sciences giant looking to strengthen its pharma pipeline, manage debt, and cut through bureaucracy. His bold response: Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO), a radical model replacing traditional hierarchies... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Business Strategy; Alignment; Innovation and Management; Organizational Structure; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

May 2023
Article

Political Ideology and International Capital Allocation

By: Elisabeth Kempf, Mancy Luo, Larissa Schäfer and Margarita Tsoutsoura

Does investors' political ideology shape international capital allocation? We provide evidence from two settings—syndicated corporate loans and equity mutual funds—to show ideological alignment with foreign governments affects the cross-border capital allocation by... View Details

Keywords: Capital Flows; Syndicated Loans; Mutual Funds; Partisanship; Polarization; Elections; Political Ideology; Banks and Banking; Institutional Investing; Behavioral Finance; Decision Choices and Conditions

Article

New Sales Realities

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Business leaders need to understand that it’s the fit of People, Process, Pricing, and Partners that drives sales effectiveness. As firms confront new buying processes, required sales competencies affect hiring, training, and development (People). Without a coherent... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Performance Effectiveness

January 2023
Article

Social Networks, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship

By: William R. Kerr and Martin Mandorff

We study the relationship between ethnicity, occupational choice, and entrepreneurship. Immigrant groups in the United States cluster in specific business sectors. For example, Koreans are 34 times more concentrated in self-employment for dry cleaning than other... View Details

Keywords: Self-employed; Occupation; Entrepreneurship; Ethnicity; Immigration; Networks

2014
Working Paper

De Gustibus non est Taxandum: Heterogeneity in Preferences and Optimal Redistribution

By: Benjamin B Lockwood and Matthew Weinzierl

The prominent but unproven intuition that preference heterogeneity reduces redistribution in a standard optimal tax model is shown to hold under the plausible condition that the distribution of preferences for consumption relative to leisure rises, in terms of... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Policy; Taxation; Theory; United States

SSRN

December 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Course Overview Note

Managing Networked Businesses: Course Overview for Educators

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Provides an overview for educators of concepts covered in the MBA elective course, "Managing Networked Businesses," (MNB). MNB focuses on management challenges in businesses that exhibit network effects. Such businesses comprise a large and growing share of the global... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Business Organization