Publications

August 2007 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Marketing the "$100 Laptop" (A)

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In 2002, Professor Nicholas Negroponte, a successful venture capitalist, author, and co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, announced his intention to build a PC so cheap as to make it possible to provide... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Marketing Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Developing Countries and Economies; Manufacturing Industry; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; Cambridge

31 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

One Quarter of Entrepreneurs in the United States Are Immigrants

downs of their companies, and the ability of those enterprises to create jobs. “Before this, the most prominent source of information we had was self-employment statistics,” says Kerr. Self-employment, however, can mean many things and is... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

New Paths to Success in Asia

Businesses in the Asia-Pacific region today are caught up in a dizzying swirl of economic, cultural, political, technological, and social change. Enormous opportunities await managers who can harness these power currents to drive their... View Details

Keywords: by Alejandro Reyes & Deborah Blagg

27 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, February 27, 2018

the socially constructed nature of helping behavior. That is, the parties must establish and maintain a helping frame for their interaction, especially when help-givers are high-status external leaders. Second, the model specifies that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Excessive Executive Pay: What’s the Solution?

business. As somebody who loves the free enterprise system, I believe excessive compensation has contributed to lowering the legitimacy of the free market system because it ends up making the system look more like a game than an... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

28 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 28

et al. Publication: British Journal of Social Psychology (forthcoming) Abstract Income inequality undermines societies: the more inequality, the more health problems, social tensions, and the lower View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2006 (Revised May 2006)
Case

JA Worldwide: Managing Change in a Multi-governed Environment

By: Michael Chu and Barbara Zepp Larson

Post-merger, the head of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide must now oversee operations in 98 countries serving 6.6 million students, with over 7,600 local chapter board directors. President and CEO David Chernow's own board has increased to 111 members. Two separate... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance; Business or Company Management; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Balance and Stability

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July 2019 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Backstage at Boston Ballet

By: David G. Fubini, Ryan Raffaelli, Begum Agca Okutgen and Julia Kelley

This case asks students to consider how to prioritize goals when placed in a new leadership role. In August 2014, Meredith “Max” Hodges became the youngest Executive Director (ED) in the Boston Ballet’s 51-year history. In her first year, she was able to claim several... View Details

November 2000
Case

WARDA: Leading a Rice Revolution in West Africa

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

The West Africa Rice Development Association, along with various national and international partners, was developing and transferring new rice technologies to farmers throughout West and Central Africa. While production in West Africa was growing faster than any other... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Problems and Challenges; Research and Development; Nonprofit Organizations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Africa

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28 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 28, 2008

improvements will be exhibited by those shamed firms that face lower-cost opportunities to improve—-and thus are particularly able to respond. We take advantage of a natural experiment, when a major social rating agency expanded the scope... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 9, 2008

Enterprise Community Partners must determine whether to rebuild the Lafitte housing projects in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans and, if so, how to mitigate the risks. Set in January 2007, more than a year after Hurricane Katrina made... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Jun 2018
News

Floor It

the patient’s tissue and data, you will never understand what the new precision medicine targets might be or how to use available drugs,” says Giusti. To improve that access, the accelerator brought together leaders at direct-to-consumer View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; illustration by Mengxin Li

02 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 2

Publications September 2014 Organization Science Social Comparisons and Deception Across Workplace Hierarchies: Field and Experimental Evidence By: Edelman, Benjamin, and Ian Larkin Abstract—We examine how unfavorable View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative

By: Allen S. Grossman and Cathy Ross

Dedicated to accelerating the development of a safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccine, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) pioneered ways of addressing the inadequate incentive structures that prevented progress toward vaccines for AIDS and... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Globalized Firms and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Business and Government Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Social Enterprise; Health Industry

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December 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Migros

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros, is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to 600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Cooperative Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Product Marketing; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland

November 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett

Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing so, the company developed direct... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Sequestration; Operations; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Product Development; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Digital Platforms; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts