Publications
Publications
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(3,712)
- Faculty Publications (505)
- July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
India Stack: Digital Public Infrastructure for All
By: Tarun Khanna, Anjali Raina and Rachna Chawla
Amitabh Kant, India Sherpa in the year of India's G20 Presidency, and Nandan Nilekani iconic tech entrepreneur wondered how to share India's model of digital public infrastructure to build social and economic inclusion. 'India Stack', the umbrella term for India's DPI... View Details
- July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service
By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer
The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of millions of single-use take-out food... View Details
Keywords: Climate Risk; Digital; Platform Strategies; Data; Packaging; Sustainability; Start-up; Startup; Entrepreneur; Impact; Circular; Growth Strategy; Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; Resource Allocation; Risk Management; Adoption; Strategy; Performance Productivity; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Distribution; Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Green Technology Industry; Service Industry; Retail Industry; Germany; Europe
- June 2023
- Case
Grittiness at Convene
By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
Based in New York, Convene was founded in 2009 by Ryan Simonetti and Chris Kelly. Convene was founded on the question: “What if you ran an office building like a hotel?” The company offered a premium corporate events and workspace product. Convene initially took a... View Details
- June 19, 2023
- Article
Should You Start a Generative AI Company?
Many entrepreneurs are considering starting companies that leverage the latest generative AI technology, but they must ask themselves whether they have what it takes to compete on increasingly commoditized foundational models, or whether they should instead... View Details
- June 2023
- Article
Gaining Organizational Adoption: Strategically Pacing the Deployment of Digital Innovations
By: Rebecca Karp
Scholars have long suggested that to foster adoption for their innovative products and services, entrepreneurs should engage with customers to better understand their unmet needs. Yet, customers frequently reside in organizations, and organizational members may not be... View Details
- May–June 2023
- Article
Should Your Start-up Be For-profit or Nonprofit?: A Guide for Social Entrepreneurs
By: Cait Brumme and Brian Trelstad
Years ago the line between nonprofit and for-profit enterprises was clear, but that has changed. Nonprofits now offer products that compete with those of the best for-profits, and for-profits can deliver as much social value as charities. Despite the blurred... View Details
- January 2023
- Article
The Dark Side of Machiavellian Rhetoric: Signaling in Reward-Based Crowdfunding Performance
By: Goran Calic, Rene Arseneault and Maryam Ghasemaghaei
In this study, we explore the impact of Machiavellian rhetoric on fundraising within the increasingly important context of online crowdfunding. The “all-or-nothing” funding model used by the world’s largest crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, may be an attractive... View Details
- April 2023
- Case
Twitter: The Freedom to Speak Freely and Be Heard
By: Randolph B. Cohen, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mel Martin
In April 2022, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk announced that he would be interested in purchasing the social media site Twitter for $44 billion. With more than 100 million twitter followers, Musk had historically leveraged the site to engage with the customers of his... View Details
- March 2023 (Revised June 2023)
- Case
Metaverse Wars
By: Andy Wu, David B. Yoffie and Matt Higgins
In 2023, the term metaverse — a combination of “meta” and “universe” — had become a catch-all for a diverse set of expectations about online virtual worlds and the future of the internet. To some, the metaverse conjured images of a massive participatory videogame... View Details
- 2023
- Book
Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership
By: Geoffrey Jones
Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase the challenges and upside of deeply responsible business. Should... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Business Ecuation; Socially Responsible Investing; Business Education; Ethics; Leadership; Business History; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Religion; Social Enterprise; Social Issues; Wealth and Poverty; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Banking Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Computer Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Education Industry; Fashion Industry; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Green Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United Kingdom; Germany; United States; Japan; India; Latin America
- March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
- Technical Note
Technical Note: The Traits of Entrepreneurs
By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo
Why do some entrepreneurs succeed and others do not? Are there personality traits that lead someone to become an entrepreneur? Although many questions still remain, there has been significant research on the “entrepreneurial personality.” This note provides an... View Details
- March 2023 (Revised November 2023)
- Module Note
The Social Purpose of the Firm
By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
The Social Purpose of the Firm (SPF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to “make a difference in the world” – that is, to address a significant societal problem as a... View Details
- March 2023 (Revised April 2023)
- Case
Shelly Sun at BrightStar Care: The Evolution of a Leader
By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Sarah L. Abbott
Shelly Sun had founded BrightStar Care, a home health care and medical staffing agency, 20 years earlier and had grown the business to over 300 franchised locations and $654 million in annual system-wide sales. Sun had spent years working to get “the right people in... View Details
- February 2023 (Revised March 2025)
- Case
Doing Business in Accra, Ghana
By: Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Leonard Schlesinger and Namrata Arora
This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Ghana. It highlights Ghana economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles... View Details
- February 2023
- Teaching Note
Colette Phillips and GetKonnected: Creating Inclusive Ecosystems
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 323-035. View Details
Keywords: Diversity; Ecosystem; Inclusion; People Of Color; Network; Racial Bias; Gender Bias; Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Change; Change Barriers; Change Leadership; Community; Innovation; Pandemic; Impact; Systemic Racism; Minority-owned Businesses; Social and Collaborative Networks; Equity; Race; Small Business; Prejudice and Bias; Boston
- February 2023
- Case
Seemore Meats & Veggies
By: Lou Shipley, Patricia Favreau and Mel Martin
Cara Nicoletti was an emerging food entrepreneur that had recently launched her first product, a sustainably sourced, vegetable-infused meat sausage. Brooklyn, New York City-based Seemore Meats & Veggies had seen promising signs of success in local markets and pockets... View Details
- 2023
- Working Paper
Networking Frictions: Evidence from Entrepreneurial Networking Events in Lomé
By: Stefan Dimitiadis and Rembrand Koning
Spatial proximity between firms plays a crucial role in entrepreneurship by creating knowledge spillovers, enabling resource sharing, and sparking productivity gains. Building on these insights, research has explored whether institutions and organizations can engineer... View Details
- December 2022
- Article
Social Skills Improve Business Performance: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial with Entrepreneurs in Togo
By: Stefan Dimitriadis and Rembrand Koning
Recent field experiments demonstrate that advice, mentorship, and feedback from randomly assigned peers improve entrepreneurial performance. These results raise a natural question: what is preventing entrepreneurs and managers from forming these peer connections... View Details
- November 2022 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change
By: George Serafeim, Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
In 2016, Swedish entrepreneurs Carl-Erik Lagercrantz and Peter Carlsson founded an electric battery company called Northvolt with the dual goals of creating a company to address climate change and bringing battery manufacture to Europe. Northvolt, which succeeded in... View Details