Giving Back - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 May 2002
Research & Ideas

Profits for Nonprofits: Earning Your Own Way

assumed that because it had a business it didn't need their support anymore. The bakery helps not only individuals but also the organization as a whole, Ekstrom insisted. Individuals "get the incredible motivation from being able to participate in the building of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

11 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Adding Time to Activity-Based Costing

time-driven ABC projects pay back in less than a year. It's quite impressive to take companies with millions of transactions and customers, and be able to prepare detailed and accurate profit and loss statements, at various levels of... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

The Knowledge Coach

begin with the basics. Rekhi's approach is to give novices advice, often as rules of thumb, such as "focus"—and then send them out to put the rules into practice. If they are smart enough to act on his advice and come View Details

Keywords: by Dorothy Leonard & Walter Swap

10 May 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon Web Services Changed the Way VCs Fund Startups

“The benefit is that [today] more firms are being funded,” says Nanda. “In the past, you would be less likely to fund a long-shot bet because it would not be profitable. Now, because it’s so cheap to start companies, you can be willing to View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Banking; Financial Services; Information Technology

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

Transparency: Its official motive of transparency allows citizens more control of information that affects them. Giving "power to the people" puts a new set of eyes and ears on government and holds officials more accountable.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

eventually lost out. In this case, says Ahuja, the company may have been better off giving up its product and instead profiting by licensing the idea to Gillette or another large company. "Companies patent something to prevent others... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

14 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Andy Grove on the Confident Leader

well understand that you don't know what you're doing. Christensen: If you look back in history at companies that have successfully launched new disruptive-growth businesses, with only a couple of exceptions they were run by the founder.... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kiechel; Technology

02 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Where Does Apple Go From Here?

generate cash very quickly. So Jobs' first great attribute was extreme focus. There is a window right now for a desktop alternative to Microsoft in many markets around the world.— David Yoffie Number two; he went back to creating sizzle... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

22 Apr 2002
Lessons from the Classroom

Entrepreneurship: It Can Be Taught

organization, no matter what its age or size. Richard Hamermesh: The theory and concepts about entrepreneurship—the research and the knowledge—have been around HBS for a long time. I would give particular credit to Howard and Bill Sahlman... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

07 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 7

gives rise to (i) a commons problem (to better satisfy their individual preference for variety, users have an incentive to consume more applications than the number that maximizes joint utility); (ii) an equilibrium selection problem... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 May 2018
What Do You Think?

Should Intellectual Property be Protected in International Trade?

other party ” Questions of national economic interest, he continued, “should take a back seat to questions of individual interest when considering this issue.” Rick Mueller countered this argument. “IP developed in this country is largely... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

11 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 11, 2007

Authors:Ruth Klendauer, Richard Gelvin, and Daniel J. Isenberg Abstract In recent studies, the success rate of software development projects has been found to be low (about 29%). The majority of the challenges can be traced back to the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Who is Boss in the Sharing Economy?

all about incentives. Whichever party's nontransferable incentives are more important should be given control over transferable decisions. "If the way employees behave is super important to revenues, then you should move to a platform model," says Hagiu. "That means... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service; Technology

05 Jul 2017
What Do You Think?

Can Innovation Save Us From Ourselves?

Summing Up Do We Need to Give More Attention to the Dark Side of Innovation? Innovation may be able to help us deal with problems such as famine, pollution, and even global warming. But unless it can prove to be just as effective in... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

21 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Parable of the Bungled Baggage And the Unhappy Customer

Sasser's presentation is part of the Faculty Seminar Series sold through Harvard Business School Publishing.One of the companies I've had chance to work with is a large global air carrier. And working for an air carrier is really great, the chance to fly first class...... View Details

Keywords: by W. Earl Sasser

28 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

It's that paradox—that struggle can be both something to overcome on the way to success and something to embrace for the meaning it gives our lives—that motivated Harvard Business School Professor Joseph Badaracco to take a closer look at... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

What Really Drives Your Strategy?

Professor Bower, since 1970 you have articulated views on the resource allocation process and how it fundamentally shapes corporate strategy. Could you give us a brief overview of the resource allocation process? Bower: Organizations of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

06 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Should Entrepreneurs Pitch Products or Ideas for Products?

In trying to secure financial backing for a new product, independent innovators generally face the question of how much to invest in development before showing it around. Should they create, say, a working prototype (and maybe even... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Motion Pictures & Video; Entertainment & Recreation; Banking

08 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 8

assets; they aren't hamstrung by substantial resource allocation decisions, giving them remarkable flexibility. Now incumbent firms are seeing their competitive position eroded by technology, alternative staffing models, and other forces.... View Details