Publications

December 2018
Case

CIR Group: Passing Wealth through the Generations

By: Lauren Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Elena Corsi

Rodolfo, Marco, and Edoardo De Benedetti had received from their father his controlling shares in COFIDE, a publicly listed holding company that held 45.8% of CIR Group, another publicly listed holding. The latter held majority shares in GEDI, Italy’s largest print... View Details

Keywords: Succession Planning; Transferring Shares; Wealth Management; Holding Structures; Family Ownership; Ownership Stake; Management Succession; Governing and Advisory Boards; Policy; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Health Industry; Italy

01 Jun 2016
What Do You Think?

When Business Performance Falters, is Culture Change the Fix?

Original Article A recent article in Harvard Business Review, “Culture Is Not the Culprit,” by Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague noted that “When organizations get into big trouble, fixing the culture is usually the prescription.” The article... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

2007
Book

Commentaries and Cases on the Law of Business Organization

By: William T. Allen, Reinier Kraakman and Guhan Subramanian

Keywords: Cases; Law; Organizational Structure

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January 31, 2019
Article

The Backlash to Larry Fink's Letter Shows How Far Business Has to Go on Social Responsibility

By: Mark R. Kramer

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor with $6 trillion under management, evoked heated controversy with his remarks last week that his company would change its hiring and potentially its compensation structure to advance diversity and ensure that... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose

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01 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

How Foundations Think: The Ford Foundation as a Dominating Institution in the Field of American Business Schools

Keywords: by Rakesh Khurana, Kenneth Kimura & Marion Fourcad; Education

2013
Dissertation

Designing Freemium: A Model of Consumer Usage, Upgrade, and Referral Dynamics

By: Clarence Lee, Vineet Kumar and Sunil Gupta

Abstract. Over the past decade "freemium" (free + premium) has become the dominant business model among internet start-ups for its ability to acquire and monetize a large install-base with limited marketing resources. Freemium is a hybrid strategy where a firm offers... View Details

Keywords: Discrete-Continuous Choice Dynamic Structural Models; Bayesian Estimation; Word-of-Mouth; Digital Services; Freemium; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Motivation and Incentives; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Reference Programs; Business Startups

31 Oct 2019
News

Business Success Means Community Success in Wisconsin; GNN Roundup

Clubs News Clubs News Wisconsin executives share success More than 100 alumni and guests of the HBS Club of Wisconsin gathered on October 8 at the Fiserv Forum, home arena of the Milwaukee Bucks, to explore how two local business leaders... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

01 Jun 2001
News

Group Therapy: The Role of Business Groups in Emerging Economies

Look beyond the United States and Great Britain and you are likely to find networks of companies — ranging from Latin America’s grupos to India’s business houses to Japan’s keiretsu — that are integral parts of the global economy. For HBS... View Details

Keywords: Peter K. Jacobs; Market Research, Photo, Translation, Veterinary and Other Services; Professional Services

13 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

Does Business Get Done the Same Way in Emerging and Developed Countries?

On September 12, 1980, the military launched a coup on the government in Turkey. For many executives, such instability is the worst nightmare of doing business in a developing country. But for Turkish entrepreneur Hamdi Akin, usually on... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

July 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Erin L. Henry, Andreas Georgoulias and Natalie Bartlett

Building Strong Partnerships at the Inter-American Development Bank details the development of the bank's new Office of Outreach Partnerships to sustain a culture of innovation through maintaining and generating partnerships in order to fulfill the bank's greater... View Details

March 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Governing OpenAI (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan and Will Hurwitz

In late November 2023, OpenAI’s new board of directors took stock of the situation. The company, which sought to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI)—computer systems with capabilities exceeding human abilities—was looking to regain its footing after a chaotic... View Details

Web

An Educated Investment | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

An Educated Investment Safeena Husain was the first in her family to attend university overseas—so being admitted to the London School of Economics was cause for celebration, even if her father had to sell his business to pay for tuition... View Details

Web

The Ownership Project | Institute for Business in Global Society

The Ownership Project More Research Projects The Ownership Project explores how structuring ownership of key elements in the economy can help businesses and communities address pressing societal challenges... View Details

February 2012
Case

Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Laura Winig

In July 2008, Luis Morales, president of Kent Chemical International, is proposing a third reorganization effort after two failed attempts to better align his business with its U.S.-based parent company. With a global expansion strategy placing increasing demands on... View Details

Keywords: International Business; Organizational Change; Multinational Corporations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Global Strategy; Chemical Industry; United States

29 Jul 2021
Blog Post

Exploring the Intersection of Business & Health Care: Summer Fellow Derek Soled (MD/MBA 2022)

Equity Team in the Vaccine Operations Center, whose goals are to achieve maximum vaccination levels in New York City, to close the vaccination gap between different boroughs and ethnic groups, and to tackle structural racism in healthcare... View Details

2021
Working Paper

Spiritual Philanthropy in Emerging Markets

By: Valeria Giacomin and G. Jones

This working paper discusses the ethics and drivers of philanthropic foundations in emerging markets. A foundation organizes assets to invest in philanthropic initiatives. Previous scholarship has largely focused on developed countries, especially the United States,... View Details

Keywords: Foundations; Philanthropy; Business Leaders; Spirituality; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Emerging Markets; Ethics; Values and Beliefs

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January 2017 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Earl Gordon - Eastern Circle

By: Steven Rogers and Greg White

This case follows an African-American entrepreneur through the process of sourcing a potential acquisition, valuing a company, and securing the funding to purchase the company. This entrepreneur must decide if he should close the deal and which financing term sheet to... View Details