Publications

September 2007 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Buildings and Energy

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Nazli Uludere

Presents data on opportunities to conserve energy in buildings, which account for about a third of all energy use. Encourages readers to think about the impediments to energy efficiency in the buildings sector and the ways in which entrepreneurs can profitably surmount... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Energy Conservation; Construction; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Performance Efficiency; Environmental Sustainability; Construction Industry

24 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 24, 2017

By: Kerr, William R., and Ufuk Akcigit Abstract—We build a tractable growth model where multi-product incumbents invest in internal innovations to improve their existing products, while new entrants and incumbents View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 16, 2019

Europe, a private equity investment company, had worked in the family business for a few years but had developed a career mainly outside of the family business. The transfer of the shares’ ownership had tightened the three brothers’ bonds... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2002 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Environmental Power Corporation: Changing Manure Into Gold?

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Laure Mougeot Stroock

In 2002, Environmental Power Corp. (EPC), a small company developing renewable energy projects, was attempting to commercialize its "digester," a facility that extracted methane from manure, reduced manure's environmental impact, and generated electricity. The company... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Projects; Wastes and Waste Processing; Corporate Finance; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry

07 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 7

Holding (BBH) and invest in the former USSR by buying Estonia's biggest brewery, Saku. Purchase this supplement:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/710471-PDF-ENG Central Europe after the Crash: Between Europe and the Euro Diego Comin,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 29, 2008

executives compare the cash flows from innovation against the default scenario of doing nothing, assuming—incorrectly—that the present health of the company will persist indefinitely if the investment is not made. In most situations,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting It Done: Improving Nonprofit Performance

Whereas the for-profit capital markets provide transparent objective criteria for making early- and later-stage investment decisions, balance risks with return, and create a "performance-driving cycle" by rewarding improvements in the top... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

16 May 2016
HBS Case

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

and regions have different food safety standards,” Quelch says. “We’re accustomed to taking food safety for granted. When you peel back the onion, you find a tremendous amount of nuance affecting the reliability and specifics of food safety testing around the world.”... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

31 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

You’re Wasting Your Employees! What You Can Do About It

leaders were trained, sophisticated strategic-planning systems were supposed to help senior managers decide which businesses to grow and which to harvest. 1 Unfortunately, all the planning and investment were unable to stop the... View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

October 2003
Case

Financing Biodiversity Conservation by the Global Conservation Fund

By: Mihir A. Desai and Julia Stevens

The Global Conservation Fund is an international nonprofit organization with a $100 million endowment and an exclusive focus on land preservation. The fund and its director must decide which projects to fund over the next year and what financing mechanism to use.... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Protection; Project Evaluation; Environmental Sustainability; Projects; Finance; Decision Making; Financial Instruments; Nonprofit Organizations