Publications

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2020
Working Paper

The Cost of Banking Deserts: Racial Disparities in Access to PPP Lenders and their Equilibrium Implications

By: Jeffrey Wang and David Hao Zhang

Many government support programs for small businesses are designed to pass through banks and credit unions. However, this poses barriers for minority communities that are less connected to financial institutions for obtaining this support. Using the latest program for... View Details

Keywords: Banking Deserts; Minority Communities; Paycheck Protection Program; Banks and Banking; Small Business; Demographics; Race; Government and Politics; Programs

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June 2020
Supplement

Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO (B)

By: Tsedal Neeley and Briana Richardson

With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It’s 2008 and lightning has... View Details

Keywords: Race; Gender; Leadership Style; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; California

Race, Work, and Leadership is a rare and important compilation of essays that examines how race matters in people’s experience of work and leadership. What does it mean to be black in corporate America today? How are racial dynamics in organizations... View Details

September 2022
Article

Regulatory Spillover and Workplace Racial Inequality

By: Letian Zhang

This paper suggests that affirmative action bans in the U.S. public sector may influence racial inequality in the private sector. Since the 1990s, nine states have banned affirmative action practice in public universities and state governments. Though these bans have... View Details

Keywords: Inequality; Regulation; Law; Organizational Norm; CEO; Affirmative Action; Organizations; Private Sector; Equality and Inequality; Diversity; Race; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

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October 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Background Note

Plavix: Drugs in the Age of Personalized Medicine

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Mara G. Aspinall and Rachel Gordon

PIavix, one of the world's best selling drugs in 2010, appears to have a limited future. Its patent was due to expire soon, and recently new data had been discovered that indicated that a small subset of the population would be at risk for stroke, heart attack, or even... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Positioning; Business and Government Relations; Genetics; Competitive Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

June 2021
Supplement

Linda Oubré at Whittier College (C)

By: Debora L. Spar and Haley P. Brown

The case follows President Linda Oubré (HBS MBA Class of 1984) as she seeks to move Whittier College towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus.
In 2020, the student body of Whittier, a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles County, California,... View Details

Keywords: Women And Leadership; Racial Disparity; Higher Education; Education; Diversity; Race; Change Management; Gender; Los Angeles; California; United States

February 2014
Case

BGI: Data-driven Research

By: Willy Shih and Sen Chai

BGI has the largest installed gene-sequencing capacity in the world, and to Zhang Gengyun, general manager of the Life Sciences Division, this represented an opportunity to apply his training as a plant breeder and his early career work as a biochemist to improving... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Start Up Strategy and Management

Bussgang’s research focuses on applying Lean Startup principles to early-stage technology companies as well as the challenges and opportunities when scaling startups. His work led to the creation of the MBA elective course... View Details

June 2021
Case

Linda Oubré at Whittier College

By: Debora L. Spar and Haley P. Brown

The case follows President Linda Oubré (HBS MBA Class of 1984) as she seeks to move Whittier College towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus.
In 2020, the student body of Whittier, a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles County,... View Details

Keywords: Race And Ethnicity; Women And Leadership; Education; Higher Education; Diversity; Race; Leadership; Change Management; United States; California; Los Angeles

Research Summary

Overview

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Start Up Strategy and Management
Bussgang’s research focuses on applying Lean Startup principles to early-stage technology companies as well as the challenges and opportunities when scaling startups. His work led to the creation of the MBA elective... View Details

The Limits of Algorithmic Measures of Race in Studies of Outcome Disparities

We show that the use of algorithms to predict race has significant limitations in measuring and understanding the sources of racial disparities in finance, economics, and other contexts. First, we derive theoretically the direction and magnitude of measurement... View Details

2023
Working Paper

The Limits of Algorithmic Measures of Race in Studies of Outcome Disparities

By: David S. Scharfstein and Sergey Chernenko

We show that the use of algorithms to predict race has significant limitations in measuring and understanding the sources of racial disparities in finance, economics, and other contexts. First, we derive theoretically the direction and magnitude of measurement bias in... View Details

Keywords: Racial Disparity; Paycheck Protection Program; Measurement Error; AI and Machine Learning; Race; Measurement and Metrics; Equality and Inequality; Prejudice and Bias; Forecasting and Prediction; Outcome or Result

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June 2021
Supplement

Linda Oubré at Whittier College (B)

By: Debora L. Spar and Haley P. Brown

The case follows President Linda Oubré (HBS MBA Class of 1984) as she seeks to move Whittier College towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus.
In 2020, the student body of Whittier, a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles County, California,... View Details

Keywords: Women And Leadership; Racial Disparity; Higher Education; Education; Diversity; Race; Change Management; Gender; Los Angeles; California; United States

June 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley and John Masko

With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It’s 2008 and lightning has... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Race; Gender; Leadership Style; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; California

Web

Lehman Brothers Timeline | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Shearson Division of American Express acquires Lehman Brothers. 1987, October 19 Global financial markets plunge on Black Monday. 1994 Lehman Brothers is spun off from American Express into Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. Richard Fuld... View Details

February 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Moleskine Foundation: Can Creativity Change the World?

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Alexandra C. Feldberg and Sarah Gulick

The Italy-based Moleskine Foundation worked with young adults in Africa and Europe to inspire social change through art and creative projects. Adama Sanneh, the newly appointed CEO of the Moleskine Foundation, faced several challenges: First, he had to make his own... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Leadership; Identity; Strategy; Education Industry; Italy; Africa; Europe; United States