Publications

May 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Edward B. Berk and Nate Schwalb

In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to small telecom... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Initial Coin Offering; ICO; Business Startups; Finance; Currency; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

12 Mar 2024
HBS Case

How Used Products Can Unlock New Markets: Lessons from Apple's Refurbished iPhones

Some of Apple’s most loyal customers think nothing of upgrading to the latest iPhone every time one comes out. But what about consumers who can’t splurge on a $1,000 iPhone 15 Pro? And what about the electronic waste that would accrue if people threw away functional... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Electronics; Information Technology

02 Apr 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Making the Move to General Manager

People achieve success in the early years of their career by specializing and becoming functional experts—in essence, they succeed by knowing more and more about less and less, says Benjamin C. Esty, chair of the General Management Program at Harvard View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

21 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 21, 2006

existing teams improve or adapt. Second, some have argued that teams play a crucial role in organizational learning. These interests have produced a growing and heterogeneous literature. Empirical studies of learning by small groups or... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

March 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Cummins, Inc.: Building a Home Community for a Global Company

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Norris

In 2010, Tom Linebarger, president and COO of Cummins, Inc., the Columbus, Indiana-based manufacturer of diesel engines, has to decide where to locate the company's new manufacturing line for high horsepower engines. He has three choices to decide from: Seymour,... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Competitiveness; Competition; Education; Business and Community Relations; Manufacturing Industry; United States

30 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash

contributed far more “repos” (software packages placed and held in a repository) during the run-up to their payout than those who didn’t participate. Yet, once paid, a sponsored user’s community-driven contributions and long-term engagement tanked, finds recent... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

30 Oct 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Housing Collateral, Credit Constraints, and Entrepreneurship-Evidence from a Mortgage Reform

Keywords: by Thais Laerkholm Jensen, Søren Leth-Petersen & Ramana Nanda; Construction; Real Estate; Financial Services

22 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

How to Make AI 'Forget' All the Private Data It Shouldn't Have

underpin this technology typically subsume the information that users enter, helping the software provide better answers over time. Working Knowledge spoke with Seth Neel, an expert on machine “unlearning” who is an assistant professor at Harvard View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

November 1994 (Revised May 2002)
Case

K-III: A Leveraged Build-Up

By: George P. Baker III, Nicola Bamford and Nicolas Greenspan

Explores the strategy, financing, and governance of a new type of organizational form, dubbed the Leveraged Build-Up by its inventor, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. The company makes leveraged acquisitions of small publishing companies, managing them in a very... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Financial Management; Leveraged Buyouts; Cash Flow; Organizational Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Publishing Industry

30 Jan 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Cost of External Finance and Selection into Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Ramana Nanda

September 2020
Case

Minerva 2020: Clinical Trials

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In March 2020, Dr. Cynthia Bamdad, founder and CEO of Minerva Biotechnologies Inc. (Minerva), was reviewing the first results of human clinical trials for the company’s novel CAR-T drug therapeutic, one of the first ever to target solid cancer tumors. The results... View Details

Keywords: Biotechnology; Strategic Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Health Testing and Trials; Decision Choices and Conditions; Strategy

September 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Strategic Services at Andersen Consulting

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Catherine M. Conneely and Abby J. Hansen PHD

Bill Copacino, Andersen Consulting's managing partner of Strategic Services Americas, needed to submit his recommendation to Peter Fuchs, Strategic Services worldwide director, for the operating plan for Strategic Services Americas for fiscal year 1999. Strategic... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Recruitment; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Business Units; Consulting Industry

18 Jun 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How Natural Winemaker Frank Cornelissen Innovated While Staying True to His Brand

Keywords: Re: Tiona W. Zuzul; Food & Beverage; Agriculture & Agribusiness

21 May 2012
Research & Ideas

OSHA Inspections: Protecting Employees or Killing Jobs?

killing jobs at a time when the United States can ill afford to lose them. Few regulatory agencies have a more direct effect on businesses than the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal agency responsible for... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2018 (Revised June 2022)
Teaching Note

AirFox (A): Embracing the Blockchain and an ICO

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Nathaniel Schwalb

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-097. In summer 2017, Victor Santos, CEO of AirFox, considered whether to pivot his startup towards a new product built with blockchain—a quickly growing technology at the time. AirFox was an early stage startup that sold... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Initial Coin Offering; ICO; Business Startups; Finance; Currency; Strategy; Decision Making; United States

February 2023
Teaching Note

Bangladesh: Into the Maelstrom

By: Reshmaan Hussam, Sophus A. Reinert and Jaya Y. Wen

In the fall of 2018, Rohima Begum considered her options as the small island, or “char,” on which her family’s house rested slowly but inescapably eroded into the mighty Brahmaputra River in northern Bangladesh. Should she move to another island or into the city on the... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Geographic Location; Bangladesh