Publications

05 Sep 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Performance Responses to Competition Across Skill-Levels in Rank Order Tournaments: Field Evidence and Implications for Tournament Design

Keywords: by Kevin J. Boudreau, Constance E. Helfat, Karim R. Lakhani & Michael E. Menietti.

24 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 24

Michalopoulos Abstract—Is financial innovation necessary for sustaining economic growth? To address this question, we build a Schumpeterian model in which entrepreneurs earn profits by inventing better... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Apr 2012
News

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus Inspires Students at Harvard Business School

November 2012 (Revised July 2014)
Supplement

Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (B): Sam Cartwright of Mothercare

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Alex Godden

The "Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd" case series focuses on entrepreneurial selling, and is based on an older case study, "Deaver Brown and Cross River Inc." (9-394-042). It concerns two entrepreneurs, Andrew Sullivan and Hope Abasi, who have designed an innovative... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Sales; Marketing; Management; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom

Competing in the Age of AI

Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani show how reinventing the firm around data, analytics, and AI removes traditional constraints on scale, scope, and learning that have restricted business growth for hundreds of years. From... View Details

September 2010 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Grameen Danone Foods Ltd., a Social Business

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

Grameen Danone is a joint venture between the Grameen Group (a sister company of Grameen Bank) and Groupe Danone, a $2 billion (revenues) French food company. The company's goal was to provide nutritional yogurt (brand name Shoktidoi) for the nearly 50 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Food; Distribution; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; Bangladesh; France

September 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Pinduoduo

By: Feng Zhu, Krishna G. Palepu, Bonnie Yining Cao and Dawn H. Lau

Founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur, Colin Huang, Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) had become China’s fastest-growing e-commerce platform in history. PDD pioneered a new approach to online shopping that allowed shoppers to share products, invite friends to form shopping teams,... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Strategy; E-commerce

November 2024 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Polish Agro: Where Do We Grow From Here?

By: Willy C. Shih, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

By July 2024, Polish Agro had grown into one of Poland’s fastest-growing agribusinesses, with €230 million in revenue, 82 employees, and operations across Northern Poland. The company supported farmers with essential agricultural inputs like fertilizers and seeds,... View Details

November 2012 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Alex Godden

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Sales; Management; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom

22 May 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Componential Theory of Creativity

Keywords: by Teresa M. Amabile

28 Apr 2022
Blog Post

Harvard Team Wins Second Place in MIINT Impact Investing Competition

(MBA 2023) shared his experience: “I joined the MIINT competition to learn how I could capitalize on my background as an investment professional to drive impact in emerging markets. The experience enabled me to gauge societal and community impact as well as learn about... View Details

12 Apr 2016
First Look

April 12, 2016

By: Agrawal, Ajay, Christian Catalini, Avi Goldfarb, and Hong Luo Abstract—Traditional innovation models assume that new ideas are developed up to the point where the benefit of the marginal project is just... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding Innovation: Is Your Firm Doing it Wrong?

Here's a cautionary tale of innovation woe: Nokia has consistently outspent Apple on phone-related research and development over the past decade, especially in the years leading up to the launch of Apple's iPhone. Between 2004 and 2007,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

March 2016
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Doug Rauch and the Daily Table

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Peter Zimmerman and Penelope Rossano

Former Trader Joe’s President Doug Rauch developed an innovative idea to address the challenge of food insecurity, food waste, and nutrition. His concept was a new retail grocery model, offering nutritious affordable food to a food insecure population in the inner city... View Details

Keywords: Food Waste; Poverty; Food Security; Food Labeling; Nonprofit; Food; Social Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Nutrition; Health

April 2007
Case

The Boeing Company: Moonshine Shop

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Shannon O'Donnell

Describes how the "Moonshine Shop," a group of plant-savvy creative generalists, is helping a great industrial company become more innovative. Chronicles the history of the Moonshine Shop, its successes and failures, and describes innovations they've helped put in... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Model; Saving; Programs; Creativity; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Research and Development; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Business Processes; Aerospace Industry

10 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 10, 2008

governance, voluntary public-private partnerships and self-regulation programs have proliferated. However, because few have been subjected to robust evaluation, little is known about whether these innovative approaches are achieving their... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2021
Case

Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (A)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

In 2011, Daniel Herrero, CEO of Toyota Argentina (TASA) since 2010, was about to meet with the Secretary-General of the union representing automotive industry workers in the country. The company produced vehicles in Argentina since 1997 at their plant at Zárate, and,... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Bargaining; Production; Performance; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Fairness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina

November 2012 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd (C): Anthony Pierce of John Lewis

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Alex Godden

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Management; Sales; Marketing; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom

May–June 2025
Article

Sustainability as a Business-Model Transformation

By: Ivanka Visnjic, Felipe Monteiro and Michael L. Tushman

Many global companies have made public commitments to sustainability targets. Fulfilling these commitments will require firms to transform their business models and organizational architectures. A few pioneers are leading the way, demonstrating that companies can make... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business Model