Publications

May 2018 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Urban Us

By: Mitchell Weiss and Phoebe Peronto

Shaun Abrahamson and Stonly Baptiste aimed to invest in what they called "urbantech superheroes." At Urban Us, the seed-stage urban technology-focused venture capital firm the two started in 2012, they looked for startups innovating around the future of cities. By... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Govtech; Urbantech; Seed Investing; Urban Us; Shaun Abrahamson; Stonly Baptiste; Remix; One Concern; Starcity; SeamlessDocs; Venture Capital; Public Sector; City; Urban Development; Entrepreneurship; Miami; San Francisco; New York (city, NY)

February 2003 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Flextronics: Deciding on a Shop Floor System for Producing the Microsoft Xbox

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Jim McCusker must guide a group decision-making process aimed at getting input and buy-in from key people in California, Mexico, and Austria to choose a shop floor IT system for Flextronics. McCusker is Flextronics' account manager for the Microsoft Xbox project.... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Power and Influence; Geographic Location; Problems and Challenges; Leadership; California; Mexico; Austria

20 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Maybe Uber isn't God's Gift to Mankind

lies in the past. As a cautionary tale with a twist of hope for the future, Edelman reminds us of a company that had a lot in common with Uber: It was a celebrated California startup; it offered groundbreaking peer-to-peer technology; it... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Transportation; Insurance

June 2018 (Revised July 2018)
Teaching Note

Mark43

By: Thomas Eisenmann, Mitchell Weiss and Matt Higgins

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-016. The founders of Mark43, an early-stage startup that provides software for law enforcement agencies, must decide whether to bid on a request for proposals (RFP) from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). On the one hand, LAPD would... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Making; Technology Industry; District of Columbia; Los Angeles

18 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 18

Publications August 2013 Social Science & Medicine Who Donates Their Bodies to Science? The Combined Role of Gender and Migration Status Among California Whole-body Donors By: Asad, Asad L., Michel Anteby, and Filiz Garip... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2017
Teaching Note

Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Teaching Note for HBS No. 316-154. View Details

Keywords: On-demand Economy; Sharing Economy; Technology Startup; Technology; Growth Strategy; Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Strategic Planning; Service Industry; United States; Boston; Cambridge; New York (city, NY); California

29 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 29

field experiment to examine how workplace safety inspections affected injury rates and other outcomes. We compared 409 randomly inspected establishments in California with 409 matched-control establishments that were eligible, but not... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Chasing Stars: Why the Mighty Red Sox Struck Out

Sox starting pitcher Lackey, a star performer in his eight years with the Angels. Transported from laid-back Southern California to hot-cauldron Boston, Lackey posted a mediocre earned run average of 4.40 in 2010, and a league-worst 6.41... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Sports; Banking

12 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 12, 2006

meat in California to bans on dwarf tossing in France. An example of special interest will be the widespread laws against the buying and selling of organs for transplantation. The historical record suggests that while repugnance can... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Yahoo: Both Sides of the Stamped Deal

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Lisa C. Mazzanti

In 2012, Marissa Mayer became the CEO of Yahoo!, a tech giant with a tumultuous past. When Mayer tries to reinvigorate the company, she hires Jacqueline Reses, who has a private equity background, to head both human resources and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). As part... View Details

Keywords: Mobile App; Acquisition-hire; Exit Strategy; Start-up; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Mergers and Acquisitions; Human Resources; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Product Development; Technology Industry; Sunnyvale; New York (city, NY)

01 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 1

explore CEO decision making. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2326452 Government Green Procurement Spillovers: Evidence from Municipal Building Policies in California By: Simcoe, Timothy, and Michael W. Toffel Abstract—We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 6, 2007

on California and Silicon Valley, we exploit Michigan's inadvertent reversal of its non-compete enforcement legislation as a natural experiment to investigate the impact of non-competes on mobility. Using the U.S. patent database and a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Case

San Francisco Ballet: On 'Pointe' for the Future

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Nicole Tempest Keller

The SF Ballet was regarded as one of the top ballet companies in the world. It had an enviable earned revenue percentage of almost 50% and had an internationally recognized ballet school. However, by 2019 the Ballet faced a number of challenges. Ballet was a European... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Demographics; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Social Enterprise; Cultural Entrepreneurship; United States; San Francisco

March 2007
Article

The Evolution of Inventor Networks in the Silicon Valley and Boston Regions

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Networks; California; Boston

Find at Harvard

10 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 10, 2009

which do not match investors' risk tolerance, can have substantial welfare costs. Breaking up Is Never Easy: Planning for Exit in a Strategic Alliance Authors: Ranjay Gulati, Parth Mehrotra, and Maxim Sytch Publication: California... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Jeffrey Deitch: Art Entrepreneur

By: Henry McGee, Rohit Deshpandé and Sarah Gulick

Jeffrey Deitch is an influential gallery owner and art entrepreneur. An HBS alumnus generally credited with developing the field of bank art advisory and financing services, Deitch has had a storied career in both the commercial and non-profit art world. Wrestling with... View Details

Keywords: Cultural Entrepreneurship; Arts; Personal Development and Career; Fine Arts Industry; New York (city, NY); Los Angeles

July 2011
Teaching Note

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penelope Rossano

Teaching Note for 409036 and 411085. View Details

Keywords: Revenue; Business Offices; Attorney and Client Relationships; Customer Focus and Relationships; Initial Public Offering; Organizations; Change; Consulting Industry; Boston; Hong Kong; Singapore; San Francisco

March 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Perch

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Stacy Straaberg and Julia Kelley

In May 2021, Perch CEO Chris Bell needed to decide whether his e-commerce aggregator company, which bought and scaled Amazon Marketplace brands, should acquire up to three acquisition targets. The prospective acquisitions, Web Deals Direct, HomeCo, and Future Brands,... View Details