Publications

November 1982 (Revised February 1985)
Case

Ruth M. Owades

By: Howard H. Stevenson, Richard O. von Werssowetz and Robert W. Kent

Ruth Owades developed a concept for a new mail order venture offering gardening products. Her current employer turned down the idea, so with permission to try it independently, she has begun the process of raising funds and preparing for a separate operation. She still... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Borrowing and Debt; Resignation and Termination; Operations; Risk and Uncertainty

September 2024
Technical Note

How to Pay Family Employees in a Family Business

By: Christina R. Wing, Maryann G Bell and Kara A Perusse

Family businesses play a pivotal role in global economies, contributing significantly to employment and wealth creation. However, managing compensation for family members within these enterprises can be complex. Family employees frequently intertwine their roles as... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Fairness; Compensation and Benefits; Business or Company Management

September 2005 (Revised January 2009)
Case

E-Duction, Inc.

By: Peter Tufano

E-Ductions, a small privately held start-up, developed a new voluntary employee benefit: a payroll-deduction-linked credit card. The CLEAR card provided workers, especially low-income and credit-challenged employees, access to a card with tight credit limits, zero APR,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Credit; Credit Cards; Compensation and Benefits; Employees

2009
Working Paper

Clusters of Entrepreneurship

By: Edward L. Glaeser, William R. Kerr and Giacomo A.M. Ponzetto

Employment growth is strongly predicted by smaller average establishment size, both across cities and across industries within cities, but there is little consensus on why this relationship exists. Traditional economic explanations emphasize factors that reduce entry... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Entrepreneurship; Cost; Employment; Market Entry and Exit

Read Now

August 1997 (Revised September 2004)
Case

South Africa: Getting in GEAR

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

In 1997, Thabo Mbeki is contemplating South Africa's performance since the end of Apartheid in 1994. The economy has done fairly well, but the government's macroeconomic strategy calls for higher growth and employment creation. The case describes the country's history,... View Details

Keywords: History; Strategy; Development Economics; Social Issues; Macroeconomics; South Africa

Find at Harvard

22 Nov 2021
News

Manage Your Talent Pipeline Like a Supply Chain

28 Jun 2022
News

Why Companies Think Paying for Abortion Travel Is Worth It

March 2007 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Anne Dwojeski, William Grundy, Erica Helms and Katherine Miller

Madam C. J. Walker, who has been credited as the first self-made African-American woman millionaire, created a hair-care empire after years spent as a laundress in St. Louis, Missouri. Decades before the Civil Rights movement, her company gave employment to thousands... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business History; Race; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Saint Louis

October 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

"Friendly Skies, The": Welfare-to-Work at United Airlines

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ellen Pruyne

In 1997 United CEO Gerald Greenwald was appointed chairman of the national Welfare-to-Work Partnership by President Clinton and committed United to hiring from the welfare rolls. A welfare-to-work recruitment program was rapidly established and soon followed by a... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Selection and Staffing; Retention; Employees; Recruitment; Welfare; Air Transportation Industry

12 Mar 2021
News

Powering the Innovation Flywheel in the Digital Era

08 Jan 2018
News

How Degree Inflation Weakens The Economy

08 Oct 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Clusters of Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Edward L. Glaeser, William R. Kerr & Giacomo A. M. Ponzetto

Working Paper

Electrification to Grow Manufacturing? Evidence from Mini-Grids in Nepal

By: Robyn C. Meeks, Hope F. Thompson and Zhenxuan Wang

Firms in developing countries often identify electricity as a major constraint to operations. Decentralized renewable energy sources could help alleviate these constraints. We investigate whether electrification in Nepal -- via microhydro plants and their mini-grids --... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Renewable Energy; Infrastructure; Economic Growth; Employment; Manufacturing Industry; Utilities Industry

SSRN

12 Jul 2019
News

Can Apprenticeships Keep Up With The Kardashians?

December 1996 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Kidder, Peabody & Co.: Creating Elusive Profits

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

On April 17, 1994, Kidder, Peabody & Co. announced a $350 million charge against earnings resulting from the discovery of false trading profits. That same day, the termination of Joseph Jett's employment with the company was made public. By illustrating the mechanics... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Governance Controls; Crime and Corruption; Financial Reporting; Profit; Financial Strategy

March 2011 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey - Managing in the Shadow of Health Care Reform

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Raffaella Sadun and Richard G. Hamermesh

Per the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which President Obama signed in 2010, states would be required to create state-wide health insurance marketplaces - the Health Benefit Exchanges (HBEs) - in which individuals and small employers could choose... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Emerging Markets; Risk and Uncertainty; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; New Jersey