Publications

05 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 5, 2006

which patents are assigned with the firm names in the Census Bureau's SSEL business registry. Through the Census Bureau's file structure, this R&D platform can be linked to the operating performances of each firm's establishments,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Why Doesn't Capitalism Flow to Poor Countries?

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

We show that capitalism is far from common around the world. Outside a small group of rich countries, heavy regulation of business, leftist rhetoric, and interventionist beliefs flourish. We relate these phenomena to the presence of corruption, with causality running... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Voting; Economic Systems; Fairness; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Emotions

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Program

Family Office Wealth Management—Virtual

Summary Wealth management for high-net-worth families has grown increasingly complex. For some families, the responsibility of wealth management has shifted to younger generations who have less experience investing. For other families, the early liquidation of View Details

29 Oct 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Robots in the Boardroom

the businesses they deal with. Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small BusinessArtificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data is transforming financial services for small-business. Companies... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

October 2019
Case

Agility Africa

By: Juan Alcacer, Caroline M. Elkins and Esel Çekin

This case illustrates the challenge and opportunities that firms face when developing and executing new business models in high-risk, low-infrastructure, low-trust countries. It features a global logistics group, Agility, that aimed to become the leader in supplying... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Expansion; Emerging Markets; Decision Choices and Conditions; Real Estate Industry; Distribution Industry; Africa

April 1991 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Southland Corp. (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Examines Southland's financial difficulties following the LBO in 1987 up to the first restructuring plan in July 1990. The teaching objectives are: to explore the complexities of a failed leverage buyout and the operating restrictions that result from financial... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Crisis Management

07 Nov 2023
Blog Post

Get to Know the HBS Armed Forces Alumni Association

In honor of Veterans Day, we checked in with the HBS Armed Forces Alumni Association, the club on campus for student veterans. The mission of the Armed Forces Alumni Association (AFAA) is to help talented veterans transition out of the military to Harvard View Details

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—Middle East

Summary Change is everywhere in the Middle East today, as many countries seek to diversify their economies and encourage new industries. The region's complex business environment includes distinct political and economic conditions in each... View Details

November 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Wallbox

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Max Hancock

Enric Asunción co-founded Wallbox, a private EV charger company, in Spain in 2015. As CEO, Asunción transformed the company from a small start-up, focused on the European market, to a multimillion-dollar enterprise with offices on three continents. In 2021, a private... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Going Public; Acquisition; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Startups; Entrepreneurial Finance; Spain; United States; United Kingdom

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Does Spirituality Drive Success?

Executives from a wide range of industries trooped to Harvard Business School to discuss how their spirituality helps them be powerful leaders. The stories emerged from three panel sessions at the Möbius Leadership Forum, held April... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace, Sean Silverthorne & Wendy Guild

16 Jul 2020
News

Black Lives Matter and the promise of entrepreneurship

July 2008 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Amazon: The Brink of Bankruptcy

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Enables a thorough analysis of the Amazon.com business model and its evolution from 1994 to 2001. The case ends with the company poised on the brink of bankruptcy and enables discussion of how to turnaround the company and leverage proprietary assets. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Restructuring; Entrepreneurship; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Business History; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy

March 27, 2025
Article

How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base

By: Sunil Gupta and Frank V. Cespedes

The software company SAP successfully leveraged AI tools to begin selling to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) market, which had previously been uneconomical for its in-person sales approach. By mapping the customer journey and deploying over 40 AI tools, SAP... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Sales; Business Strategy; Market Entry and Exit

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01 Apr 2022
News

How Can Individual People Most Help Ukraine?

January 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

The Galaxy Dividend Income Growth Fund's Option Investment Strategies

By: W. Carl Kester

This case is designed to provide an elementary introduction to options and option pricing for beginning finance students. Analysis of the case requires students to compare the prices of put and call options with various exercise prices and maturity dates on two... View Details

Keywords: Options; Option Contract; Option Pricing; Derivatives; Mutual Funds; Call Options; Put Options; Stock Options; Risk and Uncertainty; Volatility; Financial Services Industry; United States

February 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Cimetrics Technology (A-1)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jose Royo

Jim Lee, president of Cimetrics (a young, fast growing, software start-up) is reevaluating his small company's geographically dispersed product development model. To take advantage of talented low-cost labor in Russia, the company has relied on two software engineering... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Applications and Software; Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Labor and Management Relations; Product Development; Performance Evaluation; Information Technology Industry; Russia; Canada; United States

October 2021
Article

Can Self-Regulation Save Digital Platforms?

By: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer and David B. Yoffie

This article explores some of the critical challenges facing self-regulation and the regulatory environment for digital platforms. We examine several historical examples of firms and industries that attempted self-regulation before the Internet. All dealt with similar... View Details

Keywords: Self-regulation; Government Regulation; Digital Platforms; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

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May 2010
Column

Block-by-Blockbuster Innovation

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Executives often find themselves debating the merits of incremental innovations versus game-changers, but that's a false dichotomy, says HBR columnist Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Even if a company is lucky enough to come up with the next Kindle, Swiffer, or smartphone,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Resource Allocation; Product; Business Processes; Risk and Uncertainty

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