Publications

September 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Doing Business in China

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Michael Shih-ta Chen, Nancy Dai and G.A. Donovan

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China. It highlights China's remarkable economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2012 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case summarizes the main obstacles faced... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; China

03 Nov 2008
HBS Case

Economics of the Ethanol Business

What happens when a group of Missouri corn farmers gets into the energy business? With consumers paying more than double for gasoline than they did a year ago, turning crops into fuel, not food, seems like a good way to go—but not so fast. In "Mid-Missouri... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Energy

21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

Most books about the nation's financial crisis tell us what happened. In his new book, HBS senior lecturer Robert Pozen tells us how to fix the system. A financial industry veteran and chairman of MFS Investment Management, a Boston firm that oversees more than $170... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

2013
Report

Competitiveness at a Crossroads: Finding of Harvard Business School's 2012 Survey on U.S. Competitiveness

By: Jan Rivkin, Michael E. Porter and Rosabeth M. Kanter

Harvard Business School gleaned responses from nearly 7,000 alumni and more than 1,000 members of the general public. The survey not only provides an updated view of the U.S. business environment, but also illuminates specific actions that business leaders and... View Details

Keywords: PK - 12 Education; U.S. Competitiveness; Competition; Education; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; United States

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24 Nov 2008
Research & Ideas

Harvard Business School Discusses Future of the MBA

For the school that so boldly launched the MBA 100 years ago and went on to become the bluest of blue-chip brands in business education, it seemed only fitting that Harvard Business School should mark its centennial year by examining the future of the degree it... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson & HBS Bulletin; Education

14 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Getting Down to the Business of Creativity

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.—Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Inauguration Day, 1933 Creativity, a quality more traditionally associated with artistic endeavors, has been slow to find... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Entertainment & Recreation

February 2012 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Rospil.info

By: Paul Healy, Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

What should business leaders do about corruption? In December 2011, four HBS alumni met to debate how to engage the unprecedented protests against Vladimir Putin's corrupt government, which had erupted in Russia in response to alleged fraud in the recent parliamentary... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Crime and Corruption; Government and Politics; Social and Collaborative Networks; Blogs; Information Industry; Russia

15 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Coming Transformation of Social Enterprise

sector. In a way they become the catalysts for internal change. Q: Many alumni get involved with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Critics of CSR often cite Milton Friedman, who famously said that "the social... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

2020
Working Paper

Do Judge-Lawyer Relationships Influence Case Outcomes?

By: Tianwang Liu and David Hao Zhang

We examine whether law school alumni relationships between the lawyers and judges affect case outcomes. We show that in the context of medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida, the plaintiff lawyer sharing the same law school as the judge increases the chances of... View Details

Keywords: Law; Relationships; Judgments; Outcome or Result

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January 2022
Case

Hybrid Classroom - an Opportunity or a Threat?

By: V.G. Narayanan

When the Covid pandemic struck in the spring of 2020, HBS pivoted to remote instruction while maintaining the interactive and engaged discussions which distinguished the case system pedagogy. In fall 2020 HBS adopted a hybrid approach, fitting out its classrooms with... View Details

Keywords: Education; Teaching; Higher Education; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Adaptation; Opportunities; Education Industry

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

personal connections amongst U.S. politicians have a significant impact on Senate voting behavior. Networks based on alumni connections between politicians are consistent predictors of voting behavior. We estimate sharp measures that... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

2013
Article

Inflated Applicants: Attribution Errors in Performance Evaluation by Professionals

By: S. A. Swift, D. Moore, Z. Sharek and F. Gino

When explaining others' behaviors, achievements, and failures, it is common for people to attribute too much influence to disposition and too little influence to structural and situational factors. We examine whether this tendency leads even experienced professionals... View Details

Keywords: Evaluations; Correspondence Bias; Selection Decisions; Attribution; Prejudice and Bias; Selection and Staffing; Decision Choices and Conditions; Performance Evaluation; Cognition and Thinking

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July – August 2011
Article

Evolve (Again)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Frenzy over social networks and interactive media can produce equally overhyped predictions that everything will change, not to mention money-losing investments in silly ventures. Separating enduring strategic lessons from the hype can help avoid a new crash. Hint: the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Investment; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships

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Teaching Interest

MBA Elective Curriculum Business Marketing and Sales

Business markets differ from consumer markets in important ways. Typically, the buying process is more complex, the buying units and purchase criteria differ, and marketing decisions are more closely interrelated with firm-wide strategic choices. In addition,... View Details

11 Mar 2009
HBS Case

The Energy Politics of Russia vs. Ukraine

In a virtual replay of events this past January, in 2006 Russia's energy giant Gazprom cut off its supply of natural gas to Ukraine's energy company in the depths of winter. The move confirmed the fears of many in the West that the wounded Russian bear, smarting from... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Energy; Utilities

20 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, March 20, 2018

women, three are African-American, and not one is an African-American woman. What’s going on? The authors studied the careers of the roughly 2,300 alumni of African descent who have graduated from Harvard Business School since its... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2012
Case

Owen's Precision Machining

By: Ramana Nanda and James McQuade

For the second time in fourteen months, Christopher Owen, the second-generation owner of Owen's Precision Machining (OPM), found himself running out of cash. Owen wondered what he was doing wrong. How much additional money would he need to raise to get OPM through the... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Cash Flow; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts