Publications

Read Now

2022
Working Paper

Buy Now, Pay Later Credit: User Characteristics and Effects on Spending Patterns

By: Marco Di Maggio, Justin Katz and Emily Williams

Firms offering "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) point-of-sale installment loans with minimal underwriting and low interest have captured a growing fraction of the market for short-term unsecured consumer credit. We provide a detailed look into the US BNPL market by... View Details

Keywords: Household Finance; Fintech; Consumer Credit; Credit; Consumer Behavior

Web

Lehman Brothers Timeline | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Library Search Search Search Lehman Brothers: 1850 - 2008 Exhibition Lehman Brothers Timeline 1844 Henry Lehman emigrates from Rimpar, Germany, and settles in Montgomery, Alabama, where he opens a general store specializing in dry goods. 1850s Henry Lehman is joined... View Details

February 2014 (Revised July 2016)
Case

Iora Health

By: William A. Sahlman and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan

The Iora Health case looks at a new approach to the management and delivery of primary care. Instead of having a doctor, half a nurse and two accountants, Iora deploys a doctor, a nurse and several health coaches, all operating as an integrated team. Iora focuses on... View Details

Keywords: Management; Service Delivery; Groups and Teams; Financing and Loans; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

November 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Khanmigo: Revolutionizing Learning with GenAI

By: William A. Sahlman, Allison M. Ciechanover and Emily Grandjean

Already a leader in the edtech space since its 2008 launch, Khan Academy was now one of the first edtech organizations to embrace generative artificial intelligence ("genAI"). In March 2023, Khan Academy began beta testing Khanmigo, a genAI “guide” and tutor built with... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Leading Change; Entrepreneurship; Risk and Uncertainty; Education; AI and Machine Learning; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Education Industry; Technology Industry; United States; San Francisco

13 Mar 2018
News

Manufacturing a Renaissance in the Deep South

October 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Khan Academy 2018

By: William Sahlman and Nicole Tempest Keller

Founded in 2008, Khan Academy was a global educational nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone anywhere in the world. By 2018, the organization had expanded into numerous content areas, product areas, and geographic markets.... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Sustainability; Scaling; Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Education; Entrepreneurship; Teaching; Education Industry; California

Web

Faculty & Research | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Administration William A. Sahlman Baker Foundation Professor Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus George Serafeim Charles M. View Details

Web

Spangler Center | About

event rooms, the Meredith Room and the Williams Room, and a beautifully landscaped courtyard. About the Name Meredith & C.D. (“Dick”) Spangler (MBA 1956) Spangler Center was made possible by a gift from C.D.... View Details

The Founder's Dilemmas

Often downplayed in the excitement of starting up a new business venture is one of the most important decisions entrepreneurs will face: should they go it alone, or bring in... View Details

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

Addict TuneIn Pandora Audacy Deezer JioSaavn 18 Jun 2025 Climate Rising Closing the Loop by Recycling Apparel: Reju CEO Patrik Frisk Patrik Frisk, CEO of ReJu, joins Climate Rising to discuss his company’s mission to recycle textile waste... View Details

30 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 30

are discussed. The Role of Experience in the Gambler's Fallacy Authors:Greg Barron and Stephen Leider Publication:Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 23, no. 1 (2009) Abstract Recent papers have demonstrated that the way people acquire information about a decision... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Entrepreneurship - Faculty & Research

Publications Faculty William R. Kerr Lynda M. Applegate William A. Sahlman Thomas R. Eisenmann Geoffrey G. Jones Ramana Nanda Myra M. Hart Rosabeth M. Kanter Joseph B. Lassiter... View Details

Web

The Founding of U.S. Steel and the Power of Public Opinion | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

the Power of Public Opinion The Founding of U.S. Steel and the Power of Public Opinion: Intro By the late 1800s, the steel industry in the United States had surpassed the capacity of Britain’s steel production. In 1901, through the merger... View Details

Web

Connect with Clubs - Recruiting

Hire Talent Connect with Clubs Hire Talent Connect with Clubs Partner with a HBS Student Club Reach targeted groups of students by connecting with over 50 career-related student clubs. Work with club leaders to sponsor events, advertise... View Details

Web

Healthy Outcomes - Managing the Future of Work

02 Mar 2019 | Business Insider Axiom Business Book Awards 2019 Results 20 Feb 2019 | Axiom Business Book Awards Global Migration & Offshore Outsourcing William R. Kerr 19 Feb 2019 | Stanford Social Innovation Review The $4.8 trillion... View Details

Web

Find a Club - Alumni

Clubs Find a Club Don’t See Your Club Listed? Harvard Business School Clubs and Association is currently not accepting applications for new clubs. If you do not see a regional club or SIG listed, please begin by checking the Harvard... View Details

April 2006 (Revised April 2012)
Background Note

The Role of Private Equity Firms in Merger and Acquisition Transactions

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Explores the importance of private equity firms in merger and acquisitions activity around the globe. In many countries, these firms now account for one quarter of the total merger and acquisition activity of all firms. The larger private equity firms generate fees for... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Value Creation

January 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

ByteDance: TikTok and the Trials of Going Viral

By: William C. Kirby and John P. McHugh

In 2020, TikTok became the most valuable start-up ever. The short-form, video-sharing social media platform emerged as the crown jewel of the Chinese technology firm ByteDance, realizing 850 million monthly users and an estimated worth of $180 billion. However, a... View Details

November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Purple Innovation, Inc.: The Online to Offline Marketing Challenge

By: Elie Ofek and Nakisha Williams

This case focuses on Purple Innovation Inc. (Purple), a company that started out in the Direct to Consumer (DTC) mattress space. In late 2018, after a successful launch and IPO with sales predominantly originating from its website, Purple was looking to sustain its... View Details

Keywords: Offline Sales; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry