Publications

2008
Working Paper

Media versus Special Interests

By: Alexander Dyck, David A. Moss and Luigi Zingales

We argue that profit-maximizing media helps overcome the problem of "rational ignorance" highlighted by Downs (1957) and in so doing makes elected representatives more sensitive to the interests of general voters. By collecting news and combining it with entertainment,... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Government Legislation; Media; Interests; Power and Influence; United States

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March 1992 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Introduction of FM Radio (A): Finally, A ""Staticless"" Radio

Describes the evolution of radio technology and business from the initial days of wireless telegraphy to the advent, growth, and establishment of amplitude-modulated (AM) radio manufacturing and broadcasting. Begins and ends with a description of a decision the Radio... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Product Design; Product Development; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

26 Jan 2024
Blog Post

Career Advice from the Guests of the HBS Climate Rising Podcast

afraid to go deep and specialize if you can identify that intersection point, they said. There are many new areas in the climate arena with a shortage of subject matter experts. Steven Rothstein, Managing Director, Ceres Accelerator for... View Details

01 Oct 1996
News

Mastering the Competition — Michael E. Porter (MBA 1971)

New Jersey, Porter earned all-state honors in football and baseball. He also taught himself golf well enough to eventually win a place on the 1968 NCAA All-American golf team while an undergraduate at Princeton, where he also earned... View Details

Keywords: James E. Aisner

24 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Boards and Corporate Governance: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

compensation to performance, as they often fail to rein in pay when performance suffers. · Expectations placed on board members have increased. Most notably, Sarbanes-Oxley and the new listing requirements of the public exchanges have... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert S. Kaplan & Krishna G. Palepu

15 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: November 15

market-listed and privately held firms in the United States using a rich new data source on private firms. Listed firms invest less and are less responsive to changes in investment opportunities compared to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2018
Supplement

Improving Access at VA

By: Ryan W. Buell and Robert S. Huckman

In 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ran the largest healthcare system in the United States, with over 1,700 sites of care that served nearly 9 million veterans. One year earlier, a scandal had erupted over a cover-up of the excessive wait times veterans... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Service Delivery; Social Issues; Health Care and Treatment; Government Administration; Performance Improvement; Public Administration Industry; Health Industry; United States

2009
Working Paper

Banking Deregulations, Financing Constraints and Firm Entry Size

By: William R. Kerr and Ramana Nanda

We examine the effect of US branch banking deregulations on the entry size of new firms using micro-data from the US Census Bureau. We find that the average entry size for startups did not change following the deregulations. However, among firms that survived at least... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Entry and Exit; Banking Industry; United States

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April 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Level (3) Communications in 2001: The 'Pivotal Year'

Level (3) is one of the most distinctive of the new "fiber backbone" start-ups in the year 2001. Unlike its competitors, Level (3) has built its fiber network--and organization--in such a way that it should be able to utilize future generations of technologically... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Risk Management; Industry Growth; Competitive Advantage; Telecommunications Industry; United States

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10 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Do You Have Change Fatigue?

know-it-all leaders unnecessary for successful change, they often muck it up. Echoing Garvin, Rosabeth Moss Kanter notes that it's very difficult for leaders to spell out in advance precisely what the future state should look like—so many... View Details

Keywords: by Nick Morgan

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Duolingo: On a 'Streak'

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Nicole Tempest Keller and Nicole Luo

In December 2024, Severin Hacker, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Duolingo, reflected on the remarkable evolution of the language-learning app he helped launch in 2011. As the #1 most downloaded education app in the world, Duolingo had over 100 million... View Details

Keywords: Learning; AI and Machine Learning; Growth and Development Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Diversification; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Technology Industry; Education Industry; United States

17 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Can Autonomous Vehicles Drive with Common Sense?

Human error causes at least 90 percent of the 5.25 million accidents in the United States annually. Could driverless cars save lives? Yes, but it may take a long road to get there. “Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are never drunk or tired or... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

27 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 27

participants who were hired before the Roth introduction. In essence, once an employee joins a 401(k) she becomes passive/inattentive, thereby reducing the likelihood of reacting to the introduction of a new Roth option. Conditional on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

buy or sell stock. Read the article: http://hbr.org/2012/07/what-good-are-shareholders/ar/1 Clear and Present Danger: Planning and New Venture Survival amid Political and Civil Violence Authors:Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Luxury Isn’t What It Used to Be

senior advisor at Steuben Glass in New York who operates her own consultancy. "It's a great art to define what relevancy means for your brand while keeping its heritage alive. It's a matter of catering... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products

July 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Joel L. Dawson: Eta Devices

By: Steven Rogers and Derek G. Abrams

After a successful career in research and academia, Joel Dawson decided to pursue entrepreneurship in the semiconductor industry. As one of the growing number of African-Americans in the technology field, Joel Dawson co-founded Eta Devices in 2010 based on new... View Details

Keywords: Joel Dawson; Eta Devices; Semiconductor Entrepreneurship; Decision Theory; Decision Making; Finance; Engineering; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Semiconductor Industry; Boston

May 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

McKesson

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Natalie Kindred

McKesson, a large, diversified drug distribution and health care IT company, is considering development of new business offerings to help private practice physicians remain independent. The company, with $122 billion in 2010 revenues, just made its first foray into... View Details

Keywords: Health Care Industry; Health Care Policy; Organizational Transformations; Health Services; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Service Operations; Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Policy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; United States

July – August 2009
Article

Restoring American Competitiveness

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih

For decades, U.S. companies have been outsourcing manufacturing in the belief that it held no competitive advantage. That's been a disaster, maintain Harvard professors Pisano and Shih, because today's low-value manufacturing operations hold the seeds of tomorrow's... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Value; Production; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Government and Politics; Social Issues; Management Practices and Processes; Investment; Research and Development; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Competency and Skills; Service Industry; United States