Publications

Web

Driving Social Change | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Impact We recently completed a study of two Bolivian banks—Los Andes and Banco Sol—that compared the differences between an “apprenticeship” model and one that relied on communicating a shared mission to more experienced employees. The... View Details

July 2012 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Warby Parker: Vision of a 'Good' Fashion Brand

By: Christopher Marquis and Laura Velez Villa

In its third year of existence and poised to double its workforce, Warby Parker attributed its success to an innovative approach in the eyewear industry and to the company culture that supported it. With a mission combining social and business goals, the company had... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Business And Society; Social Responsiblity; Organizational Behavior; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Marketing Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Health Industry; United States

February 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Course Overview Note

Competing through Business Models: Introductory Note for Students (Half-Course Version)

By: Hanna Halaburda and Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Keywords: Business Model; Competitive Strategy

Web

Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

to address is clear and the business model is likely to make a substantial contribution toward the solution of the issue it seeks to address and can be sustained for a period of time consistent with... View Details

January 2014
Supplement

Patagonia (B)

By: Forest Reinhardt, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Lauren Barley

Patagonia produces high-quality environmentally friendly garments that command significant price premiums. In Spring 2010, Patagonia rolled out a new, radical environmental initiative called "Product Lifecycle Initiative" (PLI), which was committed to lengthening the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Environmental Management; Business Models; Beliefs; Product Differentiation; Product Lines; Yvon Chouinard; Rose Marcario; Retailing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Apparel Manufacturing; Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

Web

Impact of the New Medium - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Polaroid Land Camera, Model 95," November 1948, 1 and 5, Polaroid Corporation Administrative Records, Box I.314, Folder 3, Baker Library, Harvard Business School. 73. "Report to Stockholders," Polaroid... View Details

27 Oct 2016
HBS Seminar

Andrea Pratt, Richard Paul Richman Professor of Business and Professor of Economics, Columbia University

25 Mar 2025
Blog Post

ClimateCAP 2025 & ClimateCAP Fellowship

ClimateCAP is an initiative manage by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business whose mission is to prepare business leaders to understand and respond to the climate challenge. They provide learning resources for MBA students interested in the intersection of business... View Details

August 2016
Case

Collective Academy

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

This case is about making the decision to become an entrepreneur and early challenges in setting up a business model and team. In 2015, Pato Bichara co-founded Collective Academy to create an affordable, three-year undergraduate experience to infuse innovation into... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage; Team Building; Business Startup; Trade-offs; Risk; Founders' Agreements; Education; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Business Startups; Decision Making; Technology Industry; Mexico; Latin America; United States

October 5, 2023
Column

A Smarter Way to Design Business Strategies to Serve the Poor

By: Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Ioanna Popescu, Serguei Netessine and Rowan P. Clarke

Keywords: Poverty Reduction; Technology; Business Model; Strategy; Renewable Energy; Consumer Behavior; Developing Countries and Economies; Poverty; Africa; Rwanda

Read Now

January 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

onefinestay: Building a Luxury Experience in the Sharing Economy

By: Jill Avery, Anat Keinan and Liz Kind

onefinestay was a two-sided marketplace that offered high-end home rentals to travelers who sought a more authentic and local experience than a typical upscale hotel might provide. After five years of rapid growth, it was time to do a comprehensive analysis of the... View Details

June 2023
Case

Block: Creating an Ecosystem of Ecosystems

By: Lauren Cohen, Richard Ryffel, Grace Headinger and Ruoshi Qi

At Investor Day 2022, Block announced a new vision for its businesses: creating an ecosystem of ecosystems. Outside the norm for many public growth companies, Block had recently acquired a variety of new business streams in the creator economy and Bitcoin despite a... View Details

Web

Polaroid Films - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Clubs Faculty & Research Business & Environment Business History Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning Entrepreneurship Faculty & Research Global Healthcare HBS Working Knowledge Institute for Strategy... View Details

Web

Introduction - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

and making possible an unparalleled level of commerce. The railroads, unprecedented in size and complexity, became the model on which modern business would be based. While few dispute the transformative... View Details

01 Apr 2025
Blog Post

Alumni in Climate Networking Series: Miami

Are you interested in connecting with other alumni leveraging their careers to confront climate change? BEI invites HBS Alumni to join our Alumni in Climate Networking Series for a chance to connect with local alumni to discuss ideas, trends, opportunities, and... View Details

January 2017 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Classtivity: Payal's Pirouette

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

A few months after launching a new fitness technology product, the small staff of New York startup Classtivity gathers on a Saturday in April 2013 to take stock. With one successful pivot under its belt, Classtivity is finally generating revenue and enthusiasm among... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Prof. Altman's research interests include innovation, strategy, organizational change, platform-based businesses and their related ecosystems. Her work focuses on the impact to incumbent organizations as platform-based highly networked business models become more... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Management; Multi-sided Platforms; Business Ecosystems; Organizational Change; Paradox; Organizational Identity

February 2015 (Revised June 2016)
Case

AltSchool: School Reimagined

By: John J-H Kim, Kyla Wilkes and Christine S. An

Max Ventilla and his team launches in 2013 AltSchool, a new network of tech-savvy independent K-8 "micro-schools." AltSchool is born out of Ventilla's frustration with the education options available for his young daughter. During his search, Ventilla comes to the... View Details

Keywords: Education Technology; School Models; Product Development; Entrepreneurship; Talent Development And Retention; Social Impact Investment; Information Technology; Business Model; Education; Business Startups; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; United States

July 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Upwork: Creating the Human Cloud

By: Dylan Minor and David Yoffie

Stephane Kasriel, the new CEO of Upwork, the leading platform for freelance labor, needs to decide on how to redesign its business model. While the firm has been growing rapidly since the merger of Odesk and eLance, the newly combined firm continues to face problems of... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Platform; Platform Businesses; Technology; Business Model; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Labor