Publications

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November 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina

By: Mihir A. Desai and Alexandra de Royere

What price should Dow Chemical bid for PBB, a petrochemical complex that is being privatized by the Argentine government? To answer this question, students are forced to consider the role of country risk, the underlying currency exposure of the business, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Bids and Bidding; Privatization; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets; Valuation; Business and Government Relations; Multinational Firms and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Energy Industry; Argentina

Educators

Feb 2014
Report

Partial Credit: How America’s School Superintendents See Business as a Partner

This report presents the findings of the first-ever national survey of school superintendents on U.S. competitiveness and the role of View Details

06 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Updating a Classic: Writing a Great Business Plan

Sean Silverthorne: "How to Write a Great Business Plan" has been one of the most downloaded articles on Harvard Business Publishing since you wrote it View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

About - Business & Environment

materials about business & environment More on Curriculum Leadership Michael Toffel Faculty Chair; Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management Professor Michael Toffel has been interested View Details

21 Feb 2012
News

Sustainability Is Good Business

The recent uproar over the Sierra Club’s acceptance of $26 million in undisclosed donations from an energy company prompted some environmentalists to warn against “sleeping with the enemy.” This sort View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services; Utilities

2014
Article

The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission Drift and Accountability Challenges in Hybrid Organizations

By: Alnoor Ebrahim, Julie Battilana and Johanna Mair

We examine the challenges of governance facing organizations that pursue a social mission through the use of market mechanisms. These hybrid organizations, often referred to as social enterprises, combine aspects of both charity and business at their core. In this... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Hybrid Organizations; Nonprofit; Performance Measurement; Legal Form; Agency Theory; Stakeholder Management; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Accountability

Web

Harvard Business School

integral role in responding to and moving forward the goals of AASU. AASU founders worked closely with Baker and acknowledge his contributions to the organization. "Dean Baker... View Details

Web

Invention of the Polarizer - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School. 6. Land quoted in Robert Lenzner, "Land: The Man Behind the Camera," Boston Globe , October 17, 1976, B7. 7. Land quoted in Philip Taubman, "The Most... View Details

September 2020
Article

The Rise of the Investor State: State Capital in the Chinese Economy

By: Meg Rithmire and Hao Chen

The nature and extent of the role of the Chinese state in the economy is fundamental to many empirical and theoretical debates about that country’s political economy. We document and explain the rise of a novel form of intervention on the part of the Chinese state: the... View Details

Keywords: China's Political Economy; State Shareholding; State-business Relations; State Capitalism; China's Financial System; Economy; Business and Government Relations; Finance; System; China

September–October 2018
Article

The Paradox of Responsive Authoritarianism: How Civic Activism Spurs Environmental Penalties in China

By: Christopher Marquis and Yanhua Bird

Recognizing the need to better understand institutional change processes in authoritarian states, which play an increasingly prominent role in the world economy, we examine the efficacy of civic activism aimed at spurring governmental action concerning the... View Details

Keywords: Civic Activism; Authoritarianism; Regulation; Corporate Sustainability; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Social Issues; Change; China

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January 2024
Supplement

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting—and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Consulting Industry

November – December 2008
Article

Chief Risk Officers at Crunch Time: Compliance Champions or Business Partners?

By: Anette Mikes

Risk management departments in financial institutions have been undergoing major transformations. New regulatory requirements have raised the bar on compliance, and expanded the remit of risk management significantly. The compliance imperative requires banks to... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Managerial Roles; Risk Management; Partners and Partnerships

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

January 2020
Case

Terra Nova: A Social Business Trying to Unlock Land Rights for the Urban Poor in Brazil

By: Julie Battilana, Ruth Costas, Marissa Kimsey and Priscilla Zogbi

Brothers André and Daniel Albuquerque founded the company Terra Nova in 2001 to mediate land disputes between poor families illegally living in urban areas and the official landowners—with the aspiration to improve the lives of the poor. A business-led approach to the... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation; Power and Influence; Social Issues; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Government Relations; Infrastructure; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; Brazil; Latin America

Educators

May 2024
Article

Design of Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Field Experiments and Structural Analysis

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

A significant proportion of the world's population has no access to grid-based electricity and so relies on off-grid lighting solutions. Rechargeable lamp technology is gaining popularity as an alternative off-grid lighting model in developing countries. In this paper,... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Developing Countries and Economies; Consumer Behavior; Poverty; Logistics; Business Model; Utilities Industry

25 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

How Software Platforms Revolutionize Business

Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Transform Industries, available October 4 from MIT Press. Evans is Managing Director of the Global Competitive Policy Practice at LEGC LLC. Hagiu is a professor in the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Video Game; Web Services

Web

Lessons in Economics | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

addition to Henle’s work, Steel Serves the Nation featured photographs from outside sources (including U.S. military forces, picture agencies, and companies using steel) that illustrated steel products from tin cans to skyscrapers. Text and images served to engage... View Details

2006
Working Paper

Managing Functional Biases in Organizational Forecasts: A Case Study of Consensus Forecasting in Supply Chain Planning

To date, little research has been done on managing the organizational and political dimensions of generating and improving forecasts in corporate settings. We examine the implementation of a supply chain planning process at a consumer electronics company, concentrating... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Business or Company Management; Supply Chain Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Planning; Electronics Industry