Publications

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18 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Embracing Activism for Social Change

COVID-19 has reminded us, private corporations rely on public programs and policy for financial assistance during times of crisis. In contrast, ‘good’ corporate strategy often emphasizes minimizing tax... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Changing the way the world sees Africa

of Africa.com to both be a tremendous opportunity and a great responsibility,” she says. Clarke acquired the domain name when she was teaching corporate finance at Wits Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa, and serving on the... View Details

1999
Chapter

The Financial Perspective: What Should Entrepreneurs Know?

By: William A. Sahlman

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Corporate Finance

June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

How Serial Entrepreneurs Build and Manage a Board of Directors in a Venture-Backed Start Up

By: Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Sasha Novakovich

This case includes structured interviews with four serial entrepreneurs about the way in which they built and used their boards in each of their companies and what they have learned through that process. These entrepreneurs were asked similar questions, such as "How do... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards

June 2014
Teaching Note

Steve Carpenter at Cake Financial

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

After investing $9 million of venture capital, Cake Financial had failed to reach critical mass. In early 2010 Cake's assets were sold and the company was dissolved. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco-based Internet company allowed users to monitor their investments... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry

January 2014
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

Steven Carpenter reflects on the successes and failures of his recent venture, Cake Financial. Carpenter had just sold the four-year-old startup and was at work on a new business plan. But first, he wanted to understand why Cake Financial, a service that allowed users... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry

April 2007 (Revised March 2018)
Case

M-TRONICS (A)

By: Joseph L. Bower and Lynda M. Applegate

The new CEO of a small manufacturing firm pursues growth through the launch of Entrepreneurial Subsidiaries. While the firm grows revenues from $600 million to over $2 billion in 10 years, problems surface as the subsidiaries are integrated into the established... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Integration

April 1999
Case

Trexel

Describes an interesting plastics technology and an entrepreneur's attempts to build a business around it. Highlights issues around managing technical and market risk. Teaching purpose: Highlights difficult decisions around building a business off of an unproven... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Business Startups; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Technology; Corporate Entrepreneurship

Web

Blog | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Curriculum Social Enterprise Student Club Social Entrepreneurship Summer Fellows Technology for Good Transformative Impact Tri-Sector Impact Social Enterprise Summer Fellowship - Do It! Kiernan Schmitt 13 Jul 2017 Imagine if, when it came... View Details

March 2000
Case

Heartport, Inc.

By: Gary P. Pisano and Shoshana Dobrow

Heartport, an entrepreneurial medical device maker, has introduced several innovative systems for conducting less-invasive cardiac surgery. Despite initially high expectations, the company has struggled to get its technology adopted by cardiac surgeons. The company's... View Details

Keywords: History; Product Positioning; Knowledge Acquisition; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technology Adoption; Health Care and Treatment

March 1996 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Change Agent Program at Siemens Nixdorf, The

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, John F. McGuire and Afroze A Mohammed

To change its culture, the German computer giant Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems launched a program to train 21 "change agents" who would lead entrepreneurial projects designed to get results and to serve as models of a new style. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Culture; Training; Leadership Development; Programs; Human Resources; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Computer Industry; Germany

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1988
Chapter

Encouraging Innovation and Entrepreneurs in Bureaucratic Companies

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design

11 Dec 2014
News

Revolutionizing digital medical records

licensed (for free) by Bushkin’s Health Record Corporation enjoy a material new revenue stream—they are paid each time they update a patient’s medical record by sending notes or test results to HRC. Searchable PDFs are then made available... View Details

21 Sep 2016
News

Ideas with Economic and Social Impact

Corporation (IFC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Her report, Financing High-Growth Firms, the Role of Angel Investors, written for and published by the OECD in 2011, has attracted interest from... View Details

February 2010
Case

Shurgard Self-Storage: Expansion to Europe (Abridged)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Shurgard, a U.S.-based firm that rents storage facilities to consumers and small businesses, is considering financing options for rapid expansion of its European operations. Five years after entering Europe, Shurgard Europe has opened 17 facilities in Belgium, France,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Growth and Maturation; Multinational Firms and Management; Logistics; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Trade; Equity; Corporate Finance; United States; Europe

06 Jan 2020
Blog Post

Brandon Lovell (MBA 2020) Talks Growing Up in the South Bronx, Year Up, and the Value of a Supportive Community

Gerald Chertavian, places urban youth in corporate internships. After successfully completing his internship, Brandon was admitted into and graduated from New York University, he established his business, Movers with a Smile, and applied... View Details

November 2004
Case

ClozeX Medical (A): The New Standard of Wound Closure

By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis

Describes a set of decisions confronting the founder of a company with a revolutionary new wound-closure product. He must decide how to finance and exploit his venture. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Medical Specialties; Corporate Finance; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry