Publications

2017
Working Paper

Business and Green Knowledge Production in Sweden 1960s–1980s

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Kristina Söderholm

This working paper contributes to the burgeoning historical literature that has transformed our understanding about the relationship between big business and the environmental regulation. Previously, it was believed that corporate managers resisted the extra costs... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Research and Development; History; Sweden

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05 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

The Changing Face of American Innovation

science and engineering workforce and nearly 50 percent of those with science and engineering doctorates. And at the Ph.D. level, ethnic... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Technology

April 2013
Case

Luca de Meo at Volkswagen Group

By: Linda A. Hill and Dana M. Teppert

Luca de Meo, chief marketing officer of Volkswagen Group, reflects on his time leading the marketing department at Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. In particular, he thinks about the environmental sustainability initiative launched by marketing called "Think Blue" and... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Sustainability; Branding; Leadership; Change Management; Environmental Sustainability; Auto Industry; Germany

September 2012 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Inkaterra

By: Diego Comin, Rohan Gopaldas and Diego Rehder

The case presents the unique business model of Inkaterra, a leading eco-tourism organization in Peru, and the different strategies the company can pursue to grow. Through the experience of Inkaterra the case studies two general issues. First, it discusses the potential... View Details

Keywords: Inkaterra; Ecotourism; Tourism; Environment; Peru; Informal Sector; Regulation; Economic Development; Bottom Of The Pyramid; Technology Diffusion; Competitiveness; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Natural Environment; Market Entry and Exit; Conflict Management; Tourism Industry; Peru

27 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Creating Leaders for Science-Based Businesses

effort. "To maintain a leadership position globally, the United States needs high value-added products and services to be the engine of its economy," says HBS professor emeritus Kent Bowen, organizer of the colloquium. "One... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Biotechnology; Health

06 Sep 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Mixing Students and Scientists in the Classroom

Despite earning two engineering degrees at Stanford, HBS associate professor Lee Fleming says he always knew he "wanted to study more than electrons." Even so, the former professional musician and bike racer, who worked at... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg; Education

26 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 26

Publications August 2014 Management Science Smart People Ask for (My) Advice: Seeking Advice Boosts Perceptions of Competence By: Brooks, A.W., F. Gino, and M.E. Schweitzer Abstract—Although individuals can derive substantial benefits... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

The University of Utah and the Computer Graphics Revolution

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

Computer science departments were new to universities in the 1960s, and the one created at the University of Utah by David Evans and Ivan Sutherland had a research mission to invent the field of computer graphics. Details the research process that led to many of the... View Details

Keywords: Engineering; Entrepreneurship; Management Practices and Processes; Mission and Purpose; Research and Development; Technology Adoption; Computer Industry; Education Industry; Utah

12 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 12, 2018

workers with heterogeneous human capital interface with machine learning, relative to the older Boolean search technology. We randomly assign individuals with and without computer science and engineering... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2012 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Mexico City Water Shortage

By: John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar, Griffin H. James and Frederik Nellemann

In this case, a property company, a water privatizer, and municipal engineers explore the causes of and solutions to a severe water shortage in Mexico City, a great global capital. The protagonist is a real estate investor doing due diligence on the magnitude of the... View Details

Keywords: Infrastructure; Environmental Sustainability; Urban Development; Mexico City

01 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Immigrant Innovators: Job Stealers or Job Creators?

and unemployment rates," the paper states. The researchers studied not only the program's effect on American jobs, but also its effect on innovation in general. "The bigger goal was to try to understand the impact of science and View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology

08 Dec 2015
First Look

December 8, 2015

The UPower founders, Jake DeWitte and Caroline Cochran, were recent graduates from MIT's Nuclear Science and Engineering Department. They chose to attend Palo Alto–based Y Combinator's accelerator program to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2018
Case

Environmental Technology Fund Partners and E-Leather

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Aldo Sesia

It is 2014 and Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF) Partners, a UK-based venture capital firm, has an opportunity to invest in a privately held UK company that manufactured engineered composition leather extracted from waste leather using an environmentally friendly... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Venture Capital; Investment Strategy; Investment; Strategy; Ownership; Valuation; Energy Conservation; Equity; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Performance Efficiency; Manufacturing Industry; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Product Development at OPOWER

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Rob Go

OPOWER, a software startup that helps utilities engage their customers in ways that reduce energy consumption, is scaling rapidly. The company's new head of product management has designed a system to address a point of constant tension: whether to build custom... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Product Development; Sales; Customization and Personalization; Energy Conservation; Environmental Sustainability; Information Technology Industry; Utilities Industry

November 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

QuantumScape's Mission to Revolutionize Energy Storage for a Sustainable Future

By: William A. Sahlman, Allison M. Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

QuantumScape CEO Jagdeep Singh juggles the many activities required to lead the next-generation battery pioneer. Founded in 2010, QuantumScape’s mission was to develop new “solid-state” car batteries that would improve upon traditional lithium-ion batteries in key... View Details

Keywords: Batteries; Electric Vehicles; SPACs; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Science-Based Business; Environmental Sustainability; Auto Industry; Energy Industry; California; San Jose

February 2015 (Revised June 2016)
Case

Solar Geoengineering

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Stephanie Puzio

On December 8th 2013, as Dr. David Keith was leaving the set of the Colbert Show, he couldn't help but replay the interview over and over in his mind. Did he actually get his point of view on solar geoengineering across or had he just added to the stereotype that he... View Details

Keywords: Geoengineering; Carbon; Carbon Emissions; Energy; Nuclear; Nuclear Energy; De-extinction; Climate Change; Engineering; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Energy Sources; Green Technology Industry; Energy Industry

December 2001 (Revised July 2005)
Case

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company: The Conoco Split-off (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan

After taking 30% of its Conoco oil and gas subsidiary public in the largest domestic initial public offering (IPO) in U.S. history, management of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont) is considering divesting its remaining interest in Conoco. This goal is to be... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business Subsidiaries; Restructuring; Non-Renewable Energy; Chemicals; Assets; Initial Public Offering; Business and Shareholder Relations; Diversification; Value; Chemical Industry; United States