Publications

SSRN

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21 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 21, 2008

door-to-door marketing of a home water purification solution. We find that higher prices screen out those who use the product less. By contrast, we find no consistent evidence of sunk-cost effects. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2025
Working Paper

Bringing Science to Market: Knowledge Foundations, Inventor-Founders, and Performance

By: Justine Boudou and Maria Roche

In this paper, we examine how a startup’s knowledge foundations—embedded in its core technology—influence its performance in the exit market. Using a dataset of 1,006 biomedicine startups founded between 2005 and 2015, we focus on two key factors: (1) the degree of... View Details

Keywords: Firm Performance; Knowledge Foundations; Exits; Academic Startups; Inventor-founder; Specialized Scientific Knowledge; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Research; Information Publishing; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship

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Live from Klarman Hall - Alumni

Research Sham Kakade Co-Director Harvard University Kempner Institute Armen Mkrtchyan Origination Partner Flagship AI and Marketing Join Sir Martin Sorrell and Associate Professor Ayelet Israeli for a discussion about the profound impact... View Details

Web

Positions - Faculty & Research

later date. Entrepreneurial Management The deadline for applications for July 2025 openings has passed. Interested applicants for positions starting July 2026 should check back again at a later date. Finance The deadline for applications... View Details

January 1992 (Revised March 2006)
Case

The DAG Group

Chris Hackett and Val Rayzman have spent six months after graduating from business school exploring the possibility of building a chain of upscale drycleaners. This fragmented industry looked ripe for an innovative new entrant. Chris and Val have researched the... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Acquisition; Service Industry

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Big Companies, Big Opportunities—Big Questions

Opportunities abound for large companies looking to expand into Latin America. But risks remain, and the development of better capital markets is needed to attract more investment, according to panelists at the "Growth Opportunities... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

09 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Overcoming the Challenges of Selling Brand New Technology (Hey, Need a 3-D Printer?)

“Nothing sells itself,” says Frank Cespedes, senior lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School. “When companies introduce new products, they are offering something that by definition is going to replace... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Consumer Products; Electronics; Industrial Products; Information Technology; Manufacturing; Medical Devices & Supplies; Retail

Dwight B. Crane

Mr. Crane was a member of the Finance Faculty at Harvard Business School for a number of years, working primarily in the field of financial institutions and corporate governance. He taught in the MBA and executive education programs at the School, most recently... View Details

Don't Just Survive - Thrive: Leading Innovations in Good Times and Bad

Battered by contracting markets and frozen credit, many businesses today are fighting for survival. Indeed, the current global financial crisis provides a mandate for restructuring. But survival is not the end goal. In fact, cost cutting and restructuring are simply... View Details

November 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Cisco in 2012: Reorganizing for Efficiency and Flexibility

By: Ranjay Gulati, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Luciana Silvestri

In 2012, Cisco was under intense pressure to show results: growth in its core business was decelerating and a number of exploratory ventures and acquisitions had not proven as profitable as expected. CEO John Chambers vowed to restore the company's health in a way that... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Adaptation; Performance Efficiency; Emerging Markets; Information Technology Industry

10 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 10

time and markets. Specifically, we build a model in which two firms that differ in their capabilities enter sequentially into two markets with different potentials for profit. The model is solved using game theory under three learning... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Mar 2016
First Look

March 8, 2016

rhetoric and symbolic activities in the process of creating new markets. This study analyzes how entrepreneurial firms use these cultural strategies to position themselves in a nascent market category they... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 20, 2007

numerical tests, sales forecasts from our model are more accurate than forecasts from time-series models that ignore inventory and price as well as forecasts from financial analysts. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-056.pdf International Financial... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Mercado Libre: The Best Is Yet to Come

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Fernando Fragueiro, Carla Larangeira and Mariana Cal

In 2024, Marcos Galperín, CEO and co-founder of Mercado Libre, reflected on its 25-year rise as Latin America’s largest marketplace, fintech leader, and most valuable public company. With operations spanning 18 countries and a robust ecosystem combining e-commerce,... View Details

Web

Courses - Entrepreneurship

including entrepreneurial management. The Entrepreneurial Manager Entrepreneurial managers transform opportunities into companies and institutions that make a difference in the... View Details

April 2013 (Revised June 2016)
Case

AIG and the American Taxpayers (A)

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Explores the decision faced by AIG's board on whether to join shareholder and ex-CEO Maurice Greenberg's lawsuit against the U.S. government. The suit, argued by super-lawyer David Boies (of Bush v. Gore and California Gay Marriage fame), claims that in September 2008... View Details

Keywords: Property Rights; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Financial Crisis; Property; Insurance Industry; United States

2009
Working Paper

Don't Just Survive - Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad

By: Lynda M. Applegate and J. Bruce Harreld

Battered by contracting markets and frozen credit, many businesses today are fighting for survival. Indeed, the current global financial crisis provides a mandate for restructuring. But survival is not the end goal. In fact, cost cutting and restructuring are simply... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk Management; Leading Change; Innovation and Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy