Publications

Research Summary

The Business of Stem Cells

In 2004, the topic of stem cell research made both medical and moral headlines. Buoyed by a series of technological breakthroughs, stem cell scientists grew increasingly convinced that they would eventually be able to use embryonic stem cells -- the pluripotent cells... View Details

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Faculty - Race, Gender & Equity

Assistant Professor of Business Administration Lumumba Seegars is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches the Leadership and Organizational Behavior course (LEAD) in the MBA Required... View Details

December 1994
Case

Being There: Sony Corporation and Columbia Pictures

In September 1989, Sony Corp. of Japan bid $3.4 billion for Columbia Pictures. It was the highest bid ever by a Japanese company for any U.S. property. The case examines the validity of Sony's objectives in making this purchase, and also the political uproar that the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States

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February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

China: Building "Capitalism with Socialist Characteristics"

Describes China's phenomenal development from a poor, communist country to a global powerhouse. Provides background on China's history and culture, details the reforms launched in 1978 by Seng Xiaoping, and describes the situation as of 2006, focusing on the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Government and Politics; China

Research Summary

AIDS in Africa: Life, Death and Property Rights

In the final years of the twentieth century, the world was hit by a plague of epidemic proportions--the plague of AIDS, a life-threatening disease that remained stubbornly immune to any cure or vaccine. In the developed nations of the West, AIDS was slowly brought... View Details

01 Sep 2023
News

Global Outposts Expand HBS’s Intellectual Footprint

Since taking over as CEO of Tata Steel in 2013, T. V. Narendran had sought to transform India’s oldest steel manufacturing firm to ready it for a rapidly evolving business world. He instilled financial discipline, acquired new businesses, and launched digital... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

01 Dec 2001
News

BOOK: Ruling the Waves

by Debora L. Spar (Harcourt) In her new book, Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Internet, HBS... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

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Podcast - Business & Environment

Williams Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School Carter Roberts, President & CEO, World Wildlife Fund Debora L. Spar, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business... View Details

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Business in Global Society - Alumni

new Institute for Business in Global Society , which will accelerate and amplify the School’s work on issues at the intersection of business and society. An Ambitious New Institute Professor Debora Spar... View Details

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HBS Alumni Conference: Accelerating Climate Solutions - Alumni

Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change Faculty Presenters: Debora L. Spar (PMD 62, 1991) , Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration; Senior... View Details

June 2002 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Life, Death, and Property Rights: The Pharmaceutical Industry Faces AIDS in Africa

In the final years of the 20th century, the world was hit by a plague of epidemic proportions--AIDS, a life-threatening disease that remained stubbornly immune to any cure or vaccine. In the developed nations of the West, AIDS was slowly brought under control through a... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Health Pandemics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Pharmaceutical Industry; Africa

July 2022
Case

General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Alicia Dadlani

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused... View Details

Keywords: Race; Decisions; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Minneapolis; Minnesota; United States

July 2022
Supplement

General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (B)

By: Debora L. Spar and Alicia Dadlani

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused... View Details

Keywords: Race; Decisions; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Minneapolis; Minnesota; United States

January 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Afghanistan 2006: Building a Brand New State

By: Noel Maurer, Debora L. Spar and J. Gunnar Trumbull

In 2006, Afghanistan remains a country in turmoil. It has a newly elected democratic government, a rebounding economy, and considerable economic potential. But the country is still torn by rival factions and dominated by the opium trade. Explores how Afghanistan has... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Policy; Government and Politics; Political Elections; Organizations; Outcome or Result; Afghanistan

August 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Novo Nordisk Foundation

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

In 2024, Novo Nordisk A/S was one of the most profitable firms in the world, thanks largely to just two GLP-1-based drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Unusually, this incredibly profitable firm was controlled not by individual private shareholders, but by a non-profit... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Diabetes; Obesity; Foundation; Non-profit Management; Profit; Corporate Governance; Business or Company Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Expansion; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Denmark; Europe