Informal Investment - Publications - Faculty & Research

15 Aug 2023
HBS Case

(Virtual) Reality Check: How Long Before We Live in the 'Metaverse'?

development of virtual-reality technologies. In October 2021, Facebook changed its name to Meta and announced it would spend $10 billion a year to “bring the metaverse to life.” Other tech firms that have invested funds in... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Information Technology; Information Technology; Information Technology

July 2024
Case

Jacqueline Cook at Vendasta: Debating an IPO

By: Reza Satchu, Tom Quinn and Andrew Kosc

In May 2021, after a surge in demand for digital services that prompted high valuations for startups across the Canadian tech sector, Saskatchewan-based Vendasta entered the final stages of the initial public offering (IPO) process. COO Jacqueline Cook had invested her... View Details

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January 2014
Case

Social Strategy at Cisco Systems

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Daniel Malter and Aaron Smith

In April 2013, Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager for Learning@Cisco Systems, was planning the future of the Cisco Learning Network, an online platform hosted at Cisco.com. Since its launch in 2008, the Cisco Learning Network provided content to... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Competency and Skills; Learning; Web Services Industry

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16 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

As AI Upends Recruiting, Job Seekers Need a Waze App for Careers

postings and social media and impressions from informal conversations. “Companies invest tens of millions of dollars on user experience for customers, but don't bring any of that discipline to applicant... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Information Technology

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Podcast - Business & Environment

interning in climate-related businesses, from impact investing to a climate tech incubator and climate risk analytics. They also discuss what sparked their interest in the field and how they stay current on View Details

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Technology & Operations Management - Faculty & Research

focused on manufacturing and the development of physical products. Over the past several years, we have expanded our research, course development, and course offerings to encompass new issues in information technology, supply chains, and... View Details

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Finance Curriculum - Faculty & Research

2025 Q1Q2 3.0 Strategies for Value Creation - Abridged (SVC-S) (also listed under Strategy) Scott Mayfield Spring 2026 Q3 1.5 Sustainable Investing Vikram Gandhi , Shawn Cole Spring 2026 Q4 1.5 Doctoral Programs Faculty from the Finance... View Details

12 Sep 2023
Book

Successful, But Still Feel Empty? A Happiness Scholar and Oprah Have Advice for You

this information for people. The whole world is my classroom and I have to treat it as such.” Thinking about thinking Build the Life You Want draws on some 1,000 academic references and begins by detailing the science of emotions and why... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

02 May 2023
What Do You Think?

How Should Artificial Intelligence Be Regulated—if at All?

players, often with unorthodox moves. Sure, at the moment AI causes machines to do dumb things and say things that aren’t true. And yes, AI could spread damaging information even more rapidly and convincingly than social media. Some... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Information Technology; Information Technology

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Supplement

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A2)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

The A1 and A2 versions of the “Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)” split the original A case into two parts. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006. The... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Conflict and Resolution; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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21 Nov 2023
Op-Ed

The Beauty Industry: Products for a Healthy Glow or a Compact for Harm?

In my recently published book Deeply Responsible Business, I write about business leaders since the 19th century who have acted responsibly, often by putting the welfare of their communities above the idea of maximizing profits. I make a sharp distinction between... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Beauty & Cosmetics

January 2017
Case

Flatiron School

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Halah AlQahtani

In late 2016, the founders of Flatiron School, a startup offering 12-week coding bootcamps, are formulating their growth strategy. Their new online-only program has matched the excellent job placement results for their in-person bootcamps. Should Flatiron shift... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Start-ups; Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Diversification; Expansion; Education Industry; United States

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2015
Working Paper

A Normative Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategy, Know-How, and Competition

By: Gary P. Pisano

The field of strategy has mounted an enormous effort to understand, define, predict, and measure how organizational capabilities shape competitive advantage. While the notion that capabilities influence strategy dates back to the work of Andrews (1971), attempts to... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Organizations

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Finding Job Opportunities - Alumni

Careers Finding Job Opportunities Careers Finding Job Opportunities Starting to get the job search underway but feeling overwhelmed? These tools can help you stay organized and informed as you start to explore your options. Finding Job... View Details

September 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Great Lakes Banking Group: Data Management

By: Shane Greenstein and Christine Snively

In May 2016, Michael Rechtin, an expert in international data center law, advised global financial services firm Great Lakes Banking Group (GLBG) on its plans to upgrade its data centers. The bank’s data processing and storage systems were in need of an update, and... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Infrastructure; Operations; Information Management

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Courses - Entrepreneurship

Lou Shipley Spring 2024 Q4 1.5 Field Course: Investing for Impact (also listed under Finance and General Management) Archie L. Jones Emily R. McComb Brian Trelstad Fall 2023 Q1Q2 3.0 Field Course: Scaling Minority Businesses (also listed... View Details

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Podcasts - Managing the Future of Work

He also lays out what organizations can do to get more out of the technology as they invest in the transformation. And he updates his longstanding research into augmenting traditional GDP metrics to capture the value of digital goods and... View Details

March 2008 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Facebook

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Aaron Smith, David Chen and Brian Feinstein

As Facebook topped one billion monthly users in October 2012, the online social network continued to face questions about how best to monetize its surging traffic. The company could invest further in new advertising products, which represented the majority of the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Profit; Open Source Distribution; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry

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11 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Crafting a Nontraditional Path to Venture Capital and Private Equity with Morgan Sheil (MBA 2021)

connections in the ESG investing space. With each formal and informal networking conversation, Sheil asked if there was anyone else they recommended she speak with, taking the “spider web approach” to... View Details

September 1974 (Revised April 1975)
Case

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (A)

At the conclusion of a small-scale pilot survey, management must decide whether to invest in a larger survey or terminate the project. The objective of the study is to use psychographic measurement techniques to study the alternative positions of cranberry sauce.... View Details

Keywords: Surveys; Product Positioning; Mathematical Methods; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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