by William Kerr - Publications - Faculty & Research

25 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Beauty Entrepreneur Madam Walker

By 1910, however, with the new name Madam C.J. Walker, Breedlove had accrued a sizable fortune and considerable influence. This daughter of adversity was now well known and respected among the nation's African Americans as a savvy... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Beauty & Cosmetics

21 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 21

Entrepreneurship and Urban Growth: An Empirical Assessment with Historical Mines Authors:Edward L. Glaeser, Sari Pekkala Kerr, and William R. Kerr Abstract Measures of entrepreneurship, such as average... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 21, 2008

Entrepreneurship: How Much of the Spatial Distribution Can We Explain? Authors:Edward L. Glaeser and William R. Kerr Abstract Why are some places more entrepreneurial than others? We use Census Bureau data... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

Panama Canal: Troubled History, Astounding Turnaround

Congress's wheels in approving the Panama route for the canal, William Cromwell, convinced Stevens to take the job. Stevens accepted on condition that he "was not to hampered or handicapped by anyone,... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Transportation

30 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

How Technology Adoption Affects Global Economies

It's not often that a best seller inspires academic research. If anything, it's usually the other way around. But Harvard Business School Associate Professor Diego A. Comin was motivated by reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond's... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

28 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Supply Chain Risk: Deal With It

Back in the early 1990s, managers of U.S. companies were justifiably proud of the well-oiled machines they'd made of their supply chains. Over the previous fifteen to twenty years, they'd wrung costs from the mechanisms and processes by... View Details

Keywords: by David Stauffer

27 Feb 2014
HBS Seminar

Rakesh Khurana, Harvard Business School

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

Williams. 6. Move from transactional to transformational messaging. The most critical part of this process is rethinking your motivations and messaging, Williams says. Move away from justifying diversity programs View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

22 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

The Immigrant Technologist: Studying Technology Transfer with China

Assistant Professor William R. Kerr teaches the required first-year MBA course, The Entrepreneurial Manager, in addition to Executive Education courses at Harvard Business School. One of his core research... View Details

Keywords: Re: William R. Kerr; Technology; Computer

15 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Solving the Health Care Conundrum

services. Health plans will eliminate their restrictive networks, allowing members to choose in a competitive (and regional or even national) marketplace the providers that offer the best value for their condition. Plans will help patients make the best decisions View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter; Health

16 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

The Times Captures History of American Business

chapter on consumption, for example, is by the late columnist William Safire, who wrote about how he came to own 38 shirts. His column is grouped with a reader's response and a set of stories about... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Journalism & News

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Box Office Power of Stars

owned by Cantor Index Holdings, mimics a real supply-and-demand-based stock exchange like the NYSE. HSX acts as the market maker—its technology is set up so that when there is high demand for a certain stock, prices will automatically go... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

31 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Why These Business School Professors Oppose Trump's Executive Order on Immigration

The tech industry has thrived by capturing our best students—regardless of origin—and giving them exciting jobs, which helps make America one of the most innovative countries in the world. Restricting the free movement of talent does not... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

05 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles and Working Papers 2008

Here are the 20 most popular stories published by HBS Working Knowledge in 2008, and the five most-read working papers authored by HBS faculty. Most Popular Articles 1. Creating a Positive Professional Image... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

13 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Diagnosing the Public Health Care Alternative

liabilities, estimated at about $34 trillion. They are omitted from Medicare's costs because the government uses cash accounting. If Medicare followed the accrual accounting, which private sector insurers must use, its administrative costs would increase View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

01 Sep 2023
News

Money Does Grow on (Family) Trees

For 17 years, Andre Kearns (MBA 1999) has been tracing his family tree. One by one, he has added branches, grounding himself in a long and sometimes complicated lineage. Through family stories, forgotten heirlooms, and vital records, Kearns has traveled back through... View Details

Keywords: April White; Illustrations by Fabio Consoli; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

10 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty Views on Debt Crisis

ironic, given that in 2008 and 2009, they were given a hard time for issuing excessively positive ratings of structured products based on home mortgages that turned sour. Whatever they do, someone gets mad. That said, the mistakes on structured products were a historic... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

19 Aug 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The Optimal Taxation of Height: A Case Study of Utilitarian Income Redistribution

Keywords: by N. Gregory Mankiw & Matthew Weinzierl

12 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 12, 2009

R. Kerr Publication:The American Economic Review (forthcoming) Abstract Why do firms cluster near one another? We test Marshall's (1920) theories of industrial agglomeration by examining which industries... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2022
Case

NIO: A Chinese EV Company's Global Strategy

By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin and Noah B. Truwit

Founded in November 2014 and based in Shanghai, NIO designed, jointly manufactured, and sold premium “smart” EVs. Its mission was to “shape a joyful lifestyle by offering high-performance smart electric vehicles and being the best user enterprise. At NIO Day 2021,... View Details