Publications

March 2014
Technical Note

Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector

By: Ramana Nanda and Shikhar Ghosh

In this note, we examine the extent to which venture capital is adequately positioned for the rapid commercialization of clean energy technologies in the United States. The need for a revolution in clean energy is driven not just by environmental consequences of energy... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Financial Services Industry

October 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

The CRISPR-Cas9 Quarrel

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew G. Preble

In mid-2016, the Broad Institute and the University of California, Berkeley were in the middle of a contentious patent dispute over which entity controlled a breakthrough gene editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9. With CRISPR-Cas9, scientists might soon be able to... View Details

Keywords: CRISPR; Broad Institute; University Of California Berkeley; Intellectual Property; Patents; Law; Lawsuits and Litigation; Science; Genetics; Entrepreneurship; Biotechnology Industry; United States

13 Jun 2017
Blog Post

Benefits of the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences Program

in two years, and will have the chance to combine these two skill sets in a really structured way.” Though there are many students interested in technology and entrepreneurship at HBS, Damjan admits he would... View Details

December 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Wyndham International: Fostering High-Touch with High-Tech

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Gabriele Piccoli

Examines a hotel chain's attempt to use information technology to achieve market dominance and build customer loyalty during a period of global industry decline. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Competitive Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Accommodations Industry

August 2016 (Revised August 2017)
Case

AnswerDash (Abridged)

By: Elie Ofek and Jeffrey D. Shulman

It is 2014 and AnswerDash, a startup backed by venture capital, has not seen the widespread adoption of their online self-service customer support solution that they were expecting based on early success in helping clients save and generate substantial amounts of... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Economic Value Estimation; Price Metrics; Organizational Selling; Innovation Adoption; Business To Business; Marketing; Customer Lifetime Value; Venture Capital; Customer Relationship Management; Price; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Technology Adoption; Business Startups; Sales; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry

June 2016 (Revised August 2017)
Case

AnswerDash

By: Elie Ofek and Jeffrey D. Shulman

It is 2014, and AnswerDash, a startup backed by venture capital, has not seen the widespread adoption of their online self-service customer support solution that they were expecting based on early success in helping clients save and generate substantial amounts of... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Economic Value Estimation; Price Metrics; Organizational Selling; Innovation Adoption; Business To Business; Marketing; Customer Lifetime Value; Venture Capital; Customer Relationship Management; Price; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Technology Adoption; Business Startups; Sales; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry

2015
Working Paper

Wisdom or Madness? Comparing Crowds with Expert Evaluation in Funding the Arts

By: Ethan Mollick and Ramana Nanda

In fields as diverse as technology entrepreneurship and the arts, crowds of interested stakeholders are increasingly responsible for deciding which innovations to fund, a privilege that was previously reserved for a few experts, such as venture capitalists and... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Decision Choices and Conditions; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

SSRN

Read Now

03 Apr 2019
News

Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small Business

April 2009 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Oprah Winfrey

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Erica Helms, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox

The case explores the entrepreneurial journey of Oprah Winfrey, examining how she built an audience for one of the most successful television shows in history; how she created the company, Harpo Productions, that produces that show as well as other media offerings; how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

Web

Curriculum | MBA

Business School Financial Reporting and Control Harvard Business School Leadership & Organizational Behavior Harvard Business School Marketing Harvard Business School Technology & Operations Management Harvard Business School More on the... View Details

27 Jun 2017
Blog Post

Why I Would Have Applied to the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences Program

Watch Video We recently sat down with entrepreneur and HBS alumnus Robb Fitzsimmons (MBA 2016) to talk about the new MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences Program - and the ways it will benefit future leaders of technology ventures. Here's what he... View Details

June 2016 (Revised November 2021)
Case

chotuKool: 'Little Cool,' Big Opportunity

By: Rory McDonald, Derek van Bever and Efosa Ojomo

In 2013, a team led by Gopalan Sunderraman, vice president of corporate development at Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.—one of the companies owned by Godrej Group, a large Indian conglomerate—was preparing to launch an innovative low-cost refrigerator. Developed expressly... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; India

Christopher Stanton is Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit. Professor Stanton's research streams focus on personnel economics, organizational economics, labor markets, and entrepreneurship. His MBA... View Details

March 2012 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Foro Energy (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and James McQuade

Foro Energy developed proprietary and patent-pending fiber-laser technologies that could disrupt existing processes and services for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. These breakthrough laser technologies were protected by a strong intellectual... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; United States