Publications

March 2009
Article

Risk Management and Calculative Cultures

By: Anette Mikes

Enterprise risk management (ERM) has recently emerged as a widespread practice in financial institutions. It has been increasingly codified and encrypted into regulatory, corporate governance and organisational management blueprints. A burgeoning literature of... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Practice; Banks and Banking; Corporate Governance; Value; Business and Shareholder Relations; Managerial Roles; Culture; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business or Company Management; Financial Services Industry

Many professionals aspire to work for a start-up. Executives from large companies view them as models to help them adapt to today’s dynamic innovation economy. Yes, start-ups look magical, but they can also be chaotic and inaccessible. Many books are written for... View Details

December 2007
Article

Adoption of Information Technology under Network Effects

By: Deishin Lee and Haim Mendelson

Because information technologies are often characterized by network effects, compatibility is an important issue. Although total network value is maximized when everyone operates in one compatible network, we find that the technology benefits of the users depend on... View Details

Keywords: Network Effects; Standards; Competitive Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Information Technology; Technology Adoption

For the past 20 years, the theory of disruptive innovation has been enormously influential in business circles and a powerful tool for predicting which industry entrants will succeed. Unfortunately, the theory has also been widely misunderstood, and the "disruptive"... View Details

Web

Creating a Successful Strategy - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Strategy Strategy Strategy Explained Business Strategy Creating a Successful Strategy Corporate Strategy The Role of Leaders Related Topics Creating a Successful St... Creating a Successful Strategy Unique Value Proposition Distinctive Value Chain Making... View Details

16 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

What Customers Want from Your Products

frequently bought milk shakes. Next, they invited people who fit this profile to evaluate whether making the shakes thicker, more chocolaty, cheaper, or chunkier would satisfy them better. The panelists gave clear feedback, but the... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott Cook & Taddy Hall; Consumer Products

2018
Book

Business and the Natural Environment: A Research Overview

By: Andrew J. Hoffman and Susse Georg

The fields of corporate environmentalism, green business and corporate sustainability have grown significantly over the past twenty-five years, such that the academic research domains of business decision-making, accounting, organizational behaviour, and the protection... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Regulation; Research

2017
Book

Entering StartUpLand: An Essential Guide to Finding the Right Job

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Many professionals aspire to work for startups. Executives from large companies view them as models to help them adapt to today's dynamic innovation economy, while freshly minted MBAs see magic in founding something new. Yes, startups look magical, but they can also be... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Managerial Roles; Job Search

10 Feb 2016
HBS Seminar

Chris Blattman, Associate Professor, Columbia SIPA

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

selection and gradual learning regarding the entrepreneurial earnings process. The model accurately fits entry patterns into self-employment by age. The option value of returning to paid work is found to constitute a substantial portion... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Portrait Project

Daniella Bertolotti

ceased being myself. To fit in. To not feel ridiculous. I pursued others’ view of success, and I strove to become reasonable, even admirable. And when I did, it felt worse than ever. It took me 28 years, chronic anxiety, and a burnout to... View Details

09 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Slim Chance: Drugs Will Reshape the Weight Loss Industry, But Habit Change Might Be Elusive

Year after year, millions of people make a new year’s resolution to lose weight. But because success traditionally depends on making major lifestyle changes, like eating healthier and exercising more, many people fall short of their View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Health; Pharmaceutical

2022
Conference Presentation

Organizational Competition: A Catalyst for Workplace Diversity and Desires for Uniqueness

By: Samantha N. Smith, Edward H. Chang, Erika L. Kirgios and Katherine L. Milkman

Competition is prevalent in organizations. For example, people often compete against their colleagues for status and recognition in the workplace or for opportunities for advancement. Workers also compete against others to get hired into organizations in the first... View Details

Keywords: Status and Position; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior

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

Educators

June 2021
Case

HelloSelf: Launch

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In April 2021, Charles Wells, founder and CEO of HelloSelf was reflecting on the company’s progress since it launched two years earlier. HelloSelf’s goal was to help the mentally ill recover and those who were mentally fit to stay well and feel even better. To do this,... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Health Care and Treatment; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Great Britain

Educators