Publications

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15 May 2019
Research Event

The Unconventional Capitalism That Shapes Business History

Unconventional techniques Fresh thinking requires fresh methodologies, and a session was devoted to unconventional research techniques. One speaker explored thousands of contracts in early modern China to show how tree plantation was... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones; Education

2018
Book

Markets, Morals, Politics: Jealousy of Trade and the History of Political Thought

By: Béla Kapossy, Isaac Nakhimovsky, Sophus A. Reinert and Richard Whatmore

When Istvan Hont died in 2013, the world lost a giant of intellectual history. A leader of the Cambridge School of Political Thought, Hont argued passionately for a global-historical approach to political ideas. To better understand the development of liberalism, he... View Details

Keywords: Morals; Politics; Istvan Hont; Jealousy Of Trade; Enlightenment; Economic Nationalism; Markets; Moral Sensibility; Government and Politics; Trade; History

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28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51195 Spring 2016 Business History Review California Fair Trade: Antitrust and the Politics of 'Fairness' in U.S. Competition Policy By: Sawyer, Laura Phillips Abstract—In the decades before... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Aug 2007
Op-Ed

Company Town: Fixing Corrupt Governments

Corporations could do a good job of running corrupt Third World governments. Corruption rules in too many of the world's democratically elected governments. From Achocalla, Bolivia, to Mayuge, Uganda, voters... View Details

Keywords: by Eric Werker

2018
Introduction

Introduction

By: Sophus A. Reinert

BOOK ABSTRACT: When Istvan Hont died in 2013, the world lost a giant of intellectual history. A leader of the Cambridge School of Political Thought, Hont argued passionately for a global-historical approach to political ideas. To better understand the development of... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Moral Sensibility; Government and Politics; Trade; History

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May 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Edward B. Berk and Nate Schwalb

In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to small telecom... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Initial Coin Offering; ICO; Business Startups; Finance; Currency; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

13 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding

large corporations, such as Apple and Google, are careful to retain their underdog roots in their brand biographies." A forthcoming article coauthored by Keinan for the Journal of Consumer Research, "The Underdog Effect: The... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

11 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Economic Jitters Push Pandemic Job Seekers to Big Companies, Not Startups

market against the more incumbent and larger companies, particularly during times with great uncertainty.” About the Author Rachel Layne is a writer based in the Boston area. [Image: coldsnowstorm] Related... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Henry Schein: Doing Well by Doing Good?

By: Rebecca Henderson, Raffaella Sadun, Aldo Sesia and Russell Eisenstat

Henry Schein Inc., a distributor of supplies to dentist, physician, and veterinary practices, had sales approaching $9 billion and employed nearly 16,000 people. The company had experienced impressive growth under the leadership of Stanley Bergman and his executive... View Details

September 2013 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Living Proof: Are We a Technology Company or a Beauty Company?

By: Willy Shih

Jon Flint came up with the idea of a science-based beauty company while talking with his hairdresser about the problems with typical hair and skin care products. Together with a small team that included Professor Robert Langer of MIT, he committed to assemble a team... View Details

03 Sep 2020
Op-Ed

Why American Health Care Needs Its Own SEC

sales of publications by market participants, and fees. (Its 2019 budget of $63 million seems meager in relation to its influence.) As an independent agency with a singular focus, the SEC is accountable for... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger; Health

13 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Science: The Unlikely Frontier for New Business Ideas

shrinking product lifecycles and rapidly changing technology are under pressure to bring new goods to market faster. Corporate spending on research and development (R&D) in the United View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Stop Thinking of Climate Change as a Religious or Political Issue

one time we didn't have markets for fish in the sea or trees in the woods: there were few of us and many of them, and it didn't matter which of us owned them. That's not true... View Details

Keywords: by Forest Reinhardt; Energy; Utilities

March 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Redefining Mogul

By: George Serafeim, Ethan Rouen and Sarah Gazzaniga

Tiffany Pham taught herself to code and created a technology platform, Mogul, with the goal of providing girls and women around the world with information and opportunities. After several years Mogul had reached more than 146 million women around the world and had... View Details

Keywords: Women; Inclusion; Technology; Branding; Social Impact; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Information; Knowledge Dissemination; Gender; Diversity; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Strategy; Media; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

November 2018 (Revised June 2022)
Teaching Note

AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Nathaniel Schwalb

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-097. In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Initial Coin Offering; ICO; Business Startups; Finance; Currency; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

December 2004 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Cutlass Capital, L.P.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Brian DeLacey

David Hetz and Jon Osgood are forming a new venture capital fund in 2001 to invest in health care start-ups. Describes their fundraising activities at a time when venture capital investing has reached an all-time high. Although their background skills and experiences... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Negotiation Process; Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Health Care and Treatment; Business Startups; Health Industry; United States

09 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

A Playbook for Small-Business Job Creation

faced her whole career: How can the United States drive innovation and turn it into jobs? She believes the answer to that question is key to the country's long-term economic growth, and will help create an ecosystem that fosters... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Banking; Financial Services

July 2022
Case

A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

The North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association (the Mutual) was founded in 1898 as a for-profit entity selling life insurance catering to the Black community. The Mutual was entering a field crowded with established White-owned competitors that largely refused to... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Insurance; History; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Insurance Industry; United States