Publications

2024
Working Paper

The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance

By: Nicholas G. Otis, Rowan Clarke, Solène Delecourt, David Holtz and Rembrand Koning

Scalable and low-cost AI assistance has the potential to improve firm decision-making and economic performance. However, running a business involves a myriad of open-ended problems, making it difficult to know whether recent AI advances can help business owners make... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Performance Improvement; Small Business; Decision Choices and Conditions; Kenya

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Alumni - Business & Environment

monthly newsletter and receive information about business & environment teaching, research, and engagement. Sign up Initiatives focus on societal challenges that are too complex for any one discipline or View Details

October 2017
Case

The Transformation of Microsoft

By: C. Fritz Foley, E. Scott Mayfield and F. Katelynn Boland

In early 2015, Amy Hood, CFO of Microsoft, and the rest of the senior leadership team faced a set of fundamental choices. The firm had opportunities to serve customers in ways that would be associated with higher growth but lower margin. Some of these opportunities... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Corporate Finance; Valuation; Growth Management; Communication Strategy; Transformation; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

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The Railroads: The First Big Business - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

Horses drew wagons along rails made of wood and later iron. In the 1820s, the English introduced the first successful steam locomotive engine. As routes were carved out, mining areas transformed into industrial centers and coastal sites... View Details

March 2019 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Fetchr: A New Way of Last Mile Delivery

By: V.G. Narayanan and Eren Kuzucu

By mid-2016, five years of aggressive growth had transformed Fetchr from a small logistics startup to a 1,000-employee, full-fledged last-mile delivery company operating across four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Already beneficiaries of the... View Details

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Career Networking - Alumni

Careers Career Networking Careers Career Networking Connect with Alumni Build and maintain relationships that will propel your career forward One of the most valuable resources of HBS is the alumni community. Here you can connect with former classmates, network into a... View Details

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HBS Alumni Conference: Accelerating Climate Solutions - Alumni

industry conferences. Recently retired as CEO of TotalEnergies Ventures, Nadkarni has served as advisor to the World Economic Forum and was on the selection committee for the WEF Technology Pioneers for... View Details

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All Functions - Recruiting

Class of 2024 Class of 2023 Class of 2022 Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Sort By: A-Z A-Z Highest to Lowest Lowest to Highest Industry by % Median Base Salary Median Signing Bonus Median Variable Bonus Business Development 8% $145k 25th... View Details

July 2021
Teaching Plan

Shorefast: A Strange and Familiar Way to Reimagine Capitalism

By: Brian Trelstad, Wendy Smith and Natalie Slawinski

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 320-098. In 2006, Zita Cobb and two of her brothers, Alan Cobb and Tony Cobb, native Newfoundlanders, launched Shorefast to help grow another leg of Fogo Island’s economy. Like so many rural communities, Fogo Island’s fate was tied... View Details

Keywords: Place Making; Non-profit; Hotel; Economic Development; Tourism; Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Tourism Industry; Canada

April 2020 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Shorefast: A Strange and Familiar Way to Reimagine Capitalism

By: Brian Trelstad, Wendy Smith and Natalie Slawinski

In 2006, Zita Cobb and two of her brothers, Alan Cobb and Tony Cobb, native Newfoundlanders, launched Shorefast to help grow another leg of Fogo Island’s economy. Like so many rural communities, Fogo Island’s fate was tied directly to one primary resource—in this case... View Details

Keywords: Place Making; Non-profit; Hotel; Economic Development; Tourism; Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Tourism Industry; Canada

20 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Solving the Riddle of How Companies Grow Over Time

leaders answer such important questions as: Why do some companies grow while others stagnate? Why do some firms grow in spurts while others grow steadily over time? Does a lack of growth mean failure? Should a company judge itself against competitors, against the View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

December 2008 (Revised February 2011)
Supplement

Evan Williams: From Blogger to Odeo (B)

By: Noam T. Wasserman and Louis-Philippe Maurice

For several months, founder-CEO Evan Williams has felt trapped, unable to control Odeo and its strategic direction. He longs for the “simple” days of Blogger, the previous venture he had co-founded. Although his Blogger experiences had included a major blow-up with his... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Business Strategy

March 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Doubling Down: Elon Musk's Big Bets in 2022

By: David Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

2021 was a banner year for Elon Musk. CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, the aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, and a few smaller startups, Musk became the richest person on Earth after Tesla reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion and SpaceX a private... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Transportation; Strategic Planning; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; United States; Europe; China

June 2015 (Revised April 2018)
Case

WeChat: A Global Platform?

By: Willy Shih, Howard Yu and Feng Liu

WeChat was developed by Tencent Holdings as a lightweight messaging platform. As it grew quickly to become the most popular messaging app in China, it added a range of products and services that sat on top that were designed to appeal to a broad range of consumers and... View Details

Keywords: Online Platforms; China; WeChat; Tencent Holdings; Globalization; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; China

March 1993 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Intel Corporation: Going into OverDrive

In May 1992, Intel Corp., the leading supplier of microprocessors for IBM-compatible personal computers, announced the retail availability of OverDrive processors, a new line of performance upgrades for the Intel 486 series of microprocessors. The case chronicles the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Expansion; Product Marketing; Computer Industry; Computer Industry; Computer Industry

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Request the Data - Leadership

(Europe) Other (Middle East) Other (South America) United States How would you like to use the database?* General Information Company Research Academic Research Forthcoming Publication (include title if known) Other (please specify) I... View Details

01 Dec 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is Quality of Labor? And How Is It Achieved?

Philippines, or Brazil, companies should consider knowledge capacities and not price whenever they decide to use such ('cheap') labor . The only companies that still look at labor through the same eyes as during the industrial age are... View Details

Keywords: by by Jim Heskett

March 2017 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Floodgate: On the Hunt for Thunder Lizards

By: Rory McDonald, Alix Burke, Emma Franking and Nicole Tempest

Founded in 2008, Floodgate pioneered the “micro-VC” category, a new type of investment firm that raised smaller funds and made earlier, smaller investments in technology startups than traditional venture-capital firms. By 2015, Floodgate had raised three funds totaling... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Business Models; Angel Investors; Crowdfunding; Incubators; Accelerators; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Information Technology; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy

October 2022 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Ginkgo Bioworks vs. Scorpion Capital: The Debate Over Related-Party Revenues

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, Suraj Srinivasan and Annelena Lobb

Ginkgo Bioworks, a synthetic biology company based in Boston, Massachusetts, faced divergent views on its revenue possibilities and accounting practices. After a report emerged accusing it of fraudulent accounting and lack of innovation, its share price plunged. But... View Details

Keywords: Fraud Allegations; Revenue; Reports; Accounting Audits; Innovation and Management; Investment; Biotechnology Industry; Boston