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2022
Article

Missing Novelty in Drug Development

By: Joshua Krieger, Danielle Li and Dimitris Papanikolaou

We provide evidence that risk aversion leads pharmaceutical firms to underinvest in radical innovation. We introduce a new measure of drug novelty based on chemical similarity and show that firms face a risk-reward trade-off: novel drug candidates are less likely to... View Details

Keywords: Drug Development; Risk Aversion; Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Investment; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

NovoCure Ltd.

By: William A. Sahlman and Sarah Flaherty

Venture capitalist William Doyle must raise $35 million for a portfolio company with a promising, novel cancer therapy, just as global capital markets are imploding in the fall of 2008. NovoCure, Ltd., has developed an electrical-field-based therapy, called Tumor... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Technological Innovation; Financial Services Industry

A native of North Dakota, Dr. Goldberg received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1948, his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1950 and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1952.

... View Details

Keywords: agribusiness; agriculture; fast food; food; food processing; forest products; grocery; high technology; information; restaurant; retailing; soft drink; textiles; tobacco; transportation; wholesale; wine

2024
Working Paper

Private Regulation, Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change: A Business History Perspective

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones

Private regulatory systems, including voluntary efforts by firms to restrain their own behavior are the primary form of global climate change governance. However, when environmental challenges first rose up on the scientific and political agendas during the 1970s, the... View Details

Keywords: Certification; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Business History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy

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October 2007
Case

Blue River Capital

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Richard Bullock

Examines the strategy and experience of Indian private equity firm Blue River Capital. Blue River was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India

08 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Joel Waldfogel, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

August 2019 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Family Matters: Governance at the Zamil Group

By: Christina R. Wing, Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

This case focuses on a large Saudi Arabian industrial conglomerate and family business Zamil Group’s corporate and family governance journey. The 12 sons of the founder led and grew the group successfully after taking over from their father in 1961. The secret to their... View Details

Keywords: Middle East; Family Ownership; Family-owned Business; Saudi Arabia; Family Business; Governance; Organizational Structure; Values and Beliefs; Steel Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; Bahrain

November 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Moonfare and the Democratization of Private Equity

By: Victoria Ivashina and Srimayi Mylavarapu

Founded in 2016, Moonfare headquartered in Europe, was a pioneer in the “democratization” of private equity investments. Historically, private equity was accessible only to institutional investors like pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and large family... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Customers; Wealth; Business Strategy; Segmentation; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Financial Services Industry; Europe

19 Sep 2023
HBS Case

How Will the Tech Titans Behind ChatGPT, Bard, and LLaMA Make Money?

want to have people inside your company who are on top of the different technologies and experimenting with different things. You need to give them a pathway to communicate with the CEO and top management team about which technologies to View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

January 2024
Technical Note

Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds: A Primer

By: Jo Tango and Christina Wallace

How do venture capital and private equity funds actually work? This Technical Note covers the "when, who, and how" details:

"When": fund length, extensions, and when investors can no longer initiate new investments.
"Who": who is in the General... View Details

Keywords: Fund Flows; Fund Management; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds

21 Nov 2023
Op-Ed

The Beauty Industry: Products for a Healthy Glow or a Compact for Harm?

In my recently published book Deeply Responsible Business, I write about business leaders since the 19th century who have acted responsibly, often by putting the welfare of their communities above the idea of maximizing profits. I make a sharp distinction between... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Beauty & Cosmetics

October 1995
Case

Johnson-Grace: March 1994

Johnson-Grace is a cash-strapped start-up company negotiating a licensing agreement with America OnLine (AOL), a leading provider of on-line services in the United States. The Johnson-Grace technology would enable AOL to transmit visual images to its customers more... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Online Technology; Negotiation; Business Startups

06 Aug 2019
News

The Misunderstood $22 Trillion Market: Why Banks Have Missed The Mark On Gen-X

22 Oct 2018
News

New Health Options for Small-Business Employees

2012
Working Paper

The Cost of Friendship

By: Paul A. Gompers, Yuhai Xuan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

This paper explores two broad questions on collaboration between individuals. First, we investigate what personal characteristics affect people's desire to work together. Second, given the influence of these personal characteristics, we analyze whether this attraction... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Investment; Performance; Personal Characteristics

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19 Jul 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Towards a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategic Choice, Learning, and Competition

Keywords: by Gary P. Pisano

Research Summary

Overview

By: Paul M. Healy

My current research examines the role that boards of directors and senior management play in governing an organization. My interests focus on two areas. First, I examine factors that increase the effectiveness of board governance. And second, I explore how leadership... View Details

February 2009 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Tata Motors in Singur: Public Purpose and Private Property (B)

By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Namrata Arora

In October 2008, Tata Motors canceled their car manufacturing plant in West Bengal state, in the face of widespread farmer protests over land acquisition issues. This meant abandoning a project in which the company had invested $300 million and delaying the launch of... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Rights; Emerging Markets; Property; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; West Bengal

January 1999 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

International Entrepreneurship: Managing and Financing Ventures in the Global Economy - Overview

International Entrepreneurial Finance is the study of allocation of scarce resources by and to entrepreneurs in international settings. This note provides an overview of "International Entrepreneurial Finance," a second-year MBA course developed and taught at Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Finance