Publications

2010
Working Paper

Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal

By: Lara B. Aknin, Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Robert Biswas-Diener, Imelda Kemeza, Paul Nyende, Claire Ashton-James and Michael I. Norton

This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). Analyzing survey data from 136 countries, we show that... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Happiness; Motivation and Incentives; Welfare; Uganda; Canada

Read Now

October 2020
Case

LifeBank Nigeria

By: Brian Trelstad, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Wale Lawal

The aspiration of addressing maternal deaths in Nigeria, which were mostly caused by blood shortages, led Temie Giwa-Tubosun to found LifeBank in 2015. LifeBank developed an online platform that enabled hospitals to connect and purchase blood from local blood banks and... View Details

Keywords: Systems Design; Social Business; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Health Care; Blood; Social Enterprise; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Finance; Health Industry; Transportation Industry; Africa; Nigeria

03 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 3

Katharine LeeHarvard Business School Case 511-049 The case describes in detail the workings of two mobile banking operators in Africa—WIZZIT in South View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Mar 2009
News

Buddy, Can You Spare a Trillion

historic emergence of credit and debt was as important in the rise of civilization as technological invention. In the excerpt that follows, he explains the recently developed symbiotic financial relationship... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

January 2007 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Brazil Under Lula: Off the Yellow BRIC Road

By: Aldo Musacchio

Covers President Lula's challenges to reduce "Brazil cost" and grow like other BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Experts agreed that for Brazil to grow like other BRIC countries, the Brazilian government would have to reduce the cost of doing business... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Poverty; Equality and Inequality; China; India; Russia; Brazil

05 Dec 2016
News

The Dragon’s Tale

McFarlan and asked him to reflect on his experiences in China, and his thoughts about the future of a country he describes as “a fascinating place with great promise, but uncertain prospects for continued economic growth.” What were your... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Micro Insurance Agency: Helping the Poor Manage Risk

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

The notable success of insurance products for low-income clients of its microfinance network leads Opportunity International to launch the first global specialized microinsurance company, the Micro Insurance Agency (MIA). Building on the experience in 10 countries... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost Management; Microfinance; Globalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Nonprofit Organizations; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America

28 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Building Histories of Emerging Economies One Interview at a Time

The corporate histories of Apple, Coca-Cola, and Honda are well-documented stories that offer a window into the nuances of business in a particular place, at a particular time. As such, they're invaluable resources for research that... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

18 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 18

television advertising influences online shopping. We construct a massive dataset spanning $3.4 billion in spending by 20 brands, including measures of brands' website traffic and transactions as well as ad content measures for 1,224... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ashish Nanda

Ashish Nanda’s research focuses on leadership, particularly in the context of professional services and institutions of higher education. He has published case studies and articles on professional services in three primary streams: management of professional service... View Details

Keywords: Professional Services; Professionalism; Strategy; Leadership; Higher Education; Asia; India; Latin America; China

January 2008 (Revised November 2009)
Supplement

China's Evolving Labor Laws (B)

By: Lynn Sharp Paine and Aldo Sesia Jr.

The (B) case describes how the various business groups responded to the Chinese government's invitation to submit comments on its draft labor contract law and details the ensuing global controversy. The (B) case also describes changes made to the working draft and... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Labor; Contracts; Laws and Statutes; Business and Government Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; China

February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

China: Building "Capitalism with Socialist Characteristics"

By: Debora L. Spar

Describes China's phenomenal development from a poor, communist country to a global powerhouse. Provides background on China's history and culture, details the reforms launched in 1978 by Seng Xiaoping, and describes the situation as of 2006, focusing on the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Government and Politics; China

10 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 10

Financial. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/310137-PDF-ENG Google in China (C) John A. QuelchHarvard Business School Supplement 511-024 An abstract is not available at this time.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Dec 2015
First Look

December 1, 2015

for the post-colonial world and challenge Soviet leadership in the international communist movement in mid-1960s. When the wave of post-war decolonization crested in View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2012 (Revised October 2013)
Case

OpenIDEO

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Anne-Laure Fayard, Natalia Levina and Stephanie Healy Pokrywa

The case describes OpenIDEO, an online offshoot of IDEO, one of the world's leading product design firms. OpenIDEO leverages IDEO's innovative design process and an online community to create solutions for social issues. Emphasis is placed on comparing the IDEO and... View Details

Keywords: Social Issues; Product Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Ghana; New Zealand