Publications

September 1999
Background Note

Revolution in the Communications Switching Industry

By: Jay O. Light, Lynda M. Applegate and Daniel J. Green

As data packet switches threatened the voice circuit switch industry in 1999, major switch and router vendors began paying high premiums to acquire venture-backed switch companies. This note explains what a switch is and suggests why large vendors might be so anxious... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Restructuring; Capital; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Communications Industry; Electronics Industry

06 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 6

while respecting its unique hybrid business model that combined a collaborative open source community with more traditional strategic research services. The case follows CGTI from its initial goal of establishing a road map for the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

1366 Technologies

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Ramana Nanda and David Kiron

Just months after declaring their intent to become a solar cell equipment supplier, van Mierlo and Sachs were again revisiting the issue of what the company should be. Becoming a successful solar cell manufacturer would potentially be much more lucrative than becoming... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Commercialization; Corporate Strategy; Green Technology Industry

July 2014 (Revised December 2016)
Case

EcoMotors International

By: John D. Macomber and Hermes Alvarez

Eco-Motors, funded in part by Khosla Ventures, has to decide how to go to market with a new technology for internal combustion engines for automotive and industrial use. The OPOC engine has opposed pistons and is a two-stroke engine, as compared to a more traditional... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Engineering; Manufacturing Industry; Green Technology Industry; Auto Industry

1999
Chapter

From Planning to Growth and Beyond: A Cross Industry Analysis of Entrepreneurial Priorities

By: Myra M. Hart, C. Brush and P. Greene

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Plan; Business Growth and Maturation

September 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Technical Note

Last Mile of Broadband Access, The: Technical Note

By: Jay O. Light, Lynda M. Applegate and Daniel J. Green

Provides an overview of broadband access technology. Includes technical overviews of cable, DSL, fixed wireless, and satellite systems, and suggests the technical suitability of each to accommodate broadband applications. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology

Find at Harvard

04 Apr 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Why Private Investors Must Fund 'New Nuclear' Power Right Now

us. If you act slowly, we all lose. Related Reading: Teaching Climate Change to Skeptics The Business of Climate Change Response to Readers: Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking What do you think? What are your... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Lassiter; Green Technology; Green Technology

19 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

LEED-ing by Example

Unit at Harvard Business School. "For example, procurement policies could serve a demonstration role that would stimulate private demand by making people more aware of green buildings. They might also cover... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

2010
Working Paper

Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Ramana Nanda

We examine the extent to which venture capital is adequately positioned for the rapid commercialization of clean energy technologies in the United States. While there are several startups in clean energy that are well-suited to the traditional venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Energy Generation; Venture Capital; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Technological Innovation; Competition; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States

Read Now

17 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Navigating Tradeoffs: How Purpose Becomes a Company's ‘Lighthouse in the Storm’

Every business leader faces difficult tradeoffs when working to make a company both profitable and purposeful. But leaders who articulate a company’s deep purpose can tap into that broader vision to help them navigate short-term decisions... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

Aug 2011 - 2011
Conference Presentation

Institutional Heterogeneity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in the U.S. Biodiesel Fuel Sector

By: Shon R. Hiatt

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Entrepreneurship; Business Ventures; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry

June 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Case

U.S. Department of Energy & Recovery Act Funding: Bridging the "Valley of Death"

By: Michael J. Roberts, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Ramana Nanda

The case focuses on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the $38 billion of stimulus funding the DOE received to encourage clean tech. They focus on "bridging the valley of death" (i.e., helping young, innovative companies finance technically risky and very capital... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Government and Politics; Innovation and Invention; Programs; Business and Government Relations; Climate Change; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry

November 1995
Case

InterZine Productions, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Brian Henley founded InterZine Productions to develop interactive multimedia content for America Online (AOL) and the Internet. With funding and support from AOL's Greenhouse program, Henley has launched Golf, a unique interactive golf service. While he has operated on... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Capital; Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Management Teams; Innovation and Invention; Media and Broadcasting Industry

Find at Harvard

July 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Sycamore Networks

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Daniel J. Green

Founders Desh Deshpande and Dan Smith reflect on Sycamore's sales strategies and consider how going public might affect the morale of its key employees. In the optical networking sector, technological change and exploding demand has created a market for talent in which... View Details

Keywords: Applied Optics; Entrepreneurship; Sales; Business Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Retention; Employees; Communication Technology; Technological Innovation; Communications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

August 2009 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Nanosolar, Inc.

Nanosolar is a start-up company in the clean tech sector. It expects to be one of the first manufacturers to produce thin-film solar panels using copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) technology. Although this technology is less efficient in producing electricity... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Renewable Energy; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Europe; United States

September 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

ReMo Energy: Sizing Up Investors

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Tom Quinn

In 2023, executives with ReMo Energy (founded 2020) were deciding which size ammonia plant to build as their first project. Their innovative model produced ammonia—useful for making fertilizer and for energy storage—from renewable energy, and they had received funding... View Details