Publications

2021
Working Paper

The Dance Between Government and Private Investors: Public Entrepreneurial Finance around the Globe

By: Jessica Bai, Shai Bernstein, Abhishek Dev and Josh Lerner

This paper examines the interaction between governments and private capital investors when financing early-stage ventures. We first provide a simple conceptual framework to explore when collaboration between governments and private investors is likely to emerge. Using... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Subsidy; Industrial Policy; Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Global Range

SSRN

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October 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Hony, CIFA, and Zoomlion: Creating Value and Strategic Choices in a Dynamic Market

By: Josh Lerner and Yiwen Jin

The private equity group Hony Capital considers what to do with their investment in Zoomlion, which has been successful to date. The question is whether to take their money off the table or to invest in their acquisition of a large Italian competitor. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Strategy; Investment; Emerging Markets; Financial Services Industry; China

2014
Article

An Analysis of the Competitive Advantage of the United States of America in Commercial Human Orbital Spaceflight Markets

By: Greg Autry, Laura Huang and Jeff Foust

The “Public/Private Human Access to Space” / Human Orbital Markets (HOM) study group of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has established a framework for the identification and analysis of relevant factors and structures that support a global human... View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Infrastructure; Emerging Markets; Analysis; Competitive Advantage; Aerospace Industry; United States

Fast Answer

Field Course: Private Equity Projects and Ecosystems: Company, Industry, Market and Transaction Research

reports on industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and China. Industry risk reports are available. Emerging Markets Information System (EMIS) Select a country from the list. Using the... View Details

May 2013
Supplement

Studio Moderna—A Venture in Eastern Europe

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Spreadsheet Supplement for Studio Moderna—A Venture in Eastern Europe (HBS Case #808110). Includes Exhibit 3a, Exhibit 3b, Exhibit 5, and Exhibit 6. View Details

June 2013
Supplement

Studio Moderna - Sandi Cesko, CEO, Video Supplement

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Video Supplement for Studio Moderna - A Venture in Eastern Europe (HBS Case #808110). View Details

2012
Case

Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (B)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Hong Zhang

The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the... View Details

Keywords: Computer Software; Entrepreneurship; Outsourcing; Strategy; China; Information Technology; China

01 Mar 2024
News

Action Plan: Wild at Heart

At first glance, Heather Evans (MBA 1983) might not seem the likeliest candidate for a career in ecological landscaping. A former chief marketing officer and “true urbanist” (“to the extent I used to hate visiting people in the... View Details

Keywords: Christine Speer Lejeune; gardening; entrepreneurship; sustainability

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

November 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

IguanaFix

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Laura Urdapilleta

IguanaFix is a rapidly scaling Latin American startup that provides an online platform connecting consumers with home improvement contractors. The founders have acquired customers through both B2C and B2B methods. But in seeking to grow and scale the business, they now... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Home Improvement Services; Marketing Management; Scaling; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Sales; Online Advertising; Latin America

May–June 2020
Article

Interfirm Ties Between Ventures and Limited Partners of Venture Capital Funds: Performance Effects in Financial Markets

By: Umit Ozmel, M. Deniz Yavuz, Timothy E. Trombley and Ranjay Gulati

We argue that strong indirect ties are conducive to the transfer of private information, which provides an advantage in identifying profitable investment opportunities. In our context, a strong indirect tie is generated between an investor and a focal firm if the... View Details

Keywords: Interfirm Ties; Social Networks; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Performance

2010
Article

The Strategic Use of Brand Biographies

By: Jill Avery, Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Juliet Schor

We introduce the concept of a brand biography to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author a dynamic, historical account of the events that have shaped the brand over time. Using a particular type of brand biography, "the underdog," we empirically... View Details

June 2012 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Marc Rich and Global Commodity Trading

By: Geoffrey Jones and Espen Storli

Examines the career of Marc Rich, the world's leading commodity trader before his criminal indictment in the United States in 1983. The case surveys the historical growth of commodity trading, especially in metals, from the late nineteenth century, and its evolving... View Details

Keywords: Commodity Market; Natural Resources; Metals and Minerals; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Service Industry; Mining Industry; Africa; Europe; Middle East; North and Central America; Israel; South Africa; Iran

2014
Case

Microfinance Services in Rural Areas--Farmers' Self-reliance Branch of CFPA Microfinance in Shangyi County

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Siqun Yang and Meihua Shen

Microfinance is introduced into China in the 1990s. It had gone through 3 phases since the beginning, namely the pilot phase when all Microfinance practices are sponsored by charity funds based on projects, the promotion phase when the government subsidized some... View Details

Keywords: Rural Entrepreneurship; Value Added; China; Risk Management; Microfinance; China

November 2018
Case

Attijariwafa Bank: Egypt Expansion

By: Victoria Ivashina and Alpana Thapar

This case follows Attijariwafa Bank, a leading Morocco-based commercial bank, giving insight into its risk management practices and its international expansion over time. In particular, the case focuses on its planned acquisition of Barclays Bank Egypt in 2017. At this... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Risk Management; Small And Medium Enterprises; Acquisitions; International Expansion; Emerging Markets; Africa; SMEs

July 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Piramal e-Swasthya (C): A New Name, Bigger Scope, and Public-Private Partnerships

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

In 2010, Anand Piramal acquired the Health Management Research Institute (HMRI), a healthcare venture, and merged it with his original digital healthcare startup Piramal e-Swasthya (PeS), so that PeS became Piramal Swasthya. After acquiring HMRI, Piramal Swasthya... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Healthcare; Innovation; Emerging Economies; Scaling; Social Enterprise; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Management; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships; India

28 Feb 2014
News

Doing Business in Afghanistan

Keywords: terrorism; risk; entrepreneurship; Telecommunications; Telecommunications; Information

July–August 2021
Article

Lowering the Bar? External Conditions, Opportunity Costs, and High-Tech Startup Outcomes

By: Annamaria Conti and Maria P. Roche

We assess the heterogeneous impact of economic downturns on individuals’ decisions to bring high-technology ideas to the market in the form of new ventures. We thereby examine how worsening labor market conditions influence individuals’ opportunity costs of starting... View Details

Keywords: Necessity Entrepreneurship; Economic Conditions; Recessions; High-tech Startups; Opportunity Costs; Entrepreneurship; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Business Startups; Information Technology; Performance; Labor

2013
Working Paper

Entrepreneurs, Firms and Global Wealth since 1850

By: G. Jones

This working paper integrates the role of entrepreneurship and firms into debates on why Asia, Latin America and Africa were slow to catch up with the West following the Industrial Revolution and the advent of modern economic growth. It argues that the currently... View Details