Publications

04 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 4

most rigorous extant methodologies for detecting "tunneling," or efforts by firms' controlling owner managers to take money for themselves at the expense of minority shareholders. We find that, in contrast to prior views, Indian... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Dean Srikant Datar’s 2022 Commencement Remarks | About

qualities. You were resilient. After all, not even COVID could stop you from coming to HBS. Resilience will give you greater confidence to attempt things that are difficult, and to take on challenges because they help you grow. You were flexible. Once here, you View Details

February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Aquion Energy

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and David Kiron

Leaders at Aquion Energy, a Pittsburgh-based battery start-up, are deciding on a market entry strategy. Should they pursue the large but unproven grid utility market or a smaller, but higher margin market? View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Production; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Performance Capacity; Energy Industry

May 2006 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Codon Devices

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron

In December 2005, 40-year-old John Danner was about to make his first presentation to the board of directors of Codon Devices, a one-year-old biotechnology start-up based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a month as the company's CEO, Danner was prepared to lay out... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Intellectual Property; Governing and Advisory Boards; Genetics; Competitive Advantage; Science-Based Business; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Cambridge

February 2000 (Revised November 2002)
Case

QuickenInsurance: The Race to Click and Close (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate

ES Technologies started in 1976 as a storefront in Tempe, Arizona selling personal computer kits to hobbyists. Twenty years later, revenues exceeded $3.5 billion, and the business had evolved from a computer store to a master reseller and full-line integrator of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; Arizona

06 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

The Determinants of Corporate Venture Capital Success

produce a machine based on the recently developed process named xerography. Invented by the patent lawyer Chester Carlson, xerography involved a process by which images were transferred from one piece of paper to another by means of static electricity. Rapid View Details

Keywords: by Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner

08 Mar 2016
First Look

March 8, 2016

manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. This case follows Bob Nease, chief scientist at Express Scripts, as he considers methods to promote... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 9

investigate how changes in the management of the organ waiting list might impact the donation rate. We find that an organ allocation policy giving priority on waiting lists to those who previously registered as donors has a significant... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2000
Book

Merchants to Multinationals

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book examines the evolution of multinational trading companies from the eighteenth century to the present day. During the Industrial Revolution, British merchants established overseas branches which became major trade intermediaries, and later engaged in foreign... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Governance; Growth and Development; Human Resources; Information Management; Relationships; Corporate Strategy; Africa; Asia; Latin America

16 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 16, 2018

companies offer a direct stake in the company's performance through stock, a share in profits, or both. Companies with employee stock ownership plans report significantly higher sales growth and higher revenue per employee than do... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

The Founding CEO’s Dilemma: Stay or Go?

Noam Wasserman is an assistant professor and MBA Class of 1961 Fellow in the entrepreneurial management unit at Harvard Business School. His paper "Founder-CEO Succession and the Paradox of Entrepreneurial Success," published in... View Details

May 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Humana Commits to Value-Based Care

By: V.G. Narayanan, Henry Eyring and David Lane

In late 2023, CEO Bruce Broussard reviewed health insurer Humana’s transformation into a value-based care ecosystem. Under its CenterWell brand, the several millions of members in Humana Medicare Advantage plans now had access to Humana-provided primary care, home... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Units; Financing and Loans; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Partners and Partnerships; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

Article

Alfred D. Chandler: His Vision and Achievement

Among historians, Alfred Chandler's influence is by far the greatest, as he has affected economics, sociology, and business administration. Chandler never took short cuts, never stinted, and never published until he was satisfied that he had done his very best.... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Mission and Purpose; Success; Books; Demand and Consumers; Power and Influence; Economic Growth; Ethics; Knowledge Sharing; Product Positioning; Market Transactions; Fair Value Accounting

April 2003 (Revised July 2003)
Teaching Note

Singapore Inc. (TN)

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Teaching Note for (9-703-040). View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Growth and Development Strategy; Taxation; Industry Clusters; Competitive Strategy; Foreign Direct Investment; Policy; Organizational Culture; Saving; Performance Productivity; Balance and Stability; China; Singapore

July 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Case

American Express Interactive

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Follows the protagonist, Sonia Sharpe, as she and her American Express Interactive Team attempt to develop and market an interactive, on-line, corporate travel service in a highly competitive environment. Looks at the possible resources and partnerships a company needs... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Global Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Vertical Integration; Financial Services Industry; Travel Industry

02 May 2023
Blog Post

From Harvard Business School to Spotify: Four Lessons in My Journey to Land My Dream Job

full-time Product Manager to accelerate my growth as a product leader. These experiences ultimately helped me be a strong candidate for Spotify when the right opportunity arose. This piece first appeared on... View Details

16 May 2016
HBS Case

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

Business School and Professor in Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Even though Chipotle’s supply chain is shorter, with fewer intermediaries between supplier and restaurant, the use of local... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

08 Nov 2024
Op-Ed

How Private Investors Can Help Solve Africa's Climate Crisis

budget is only about $31 billion, and that amount is intended to cover all areas of concern in all nations, according to the World Bank Group. Furthermore, the entire gross domestic product of Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, is only about $37 billion—and that... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Green Technology; Energy

December 2023
Case

Davivienda Bank's Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2022, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda— a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and reskilling... View Details