Publications

March 27, 2017
Article

How the Water Industry Learned to Embrace Data

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amir Peleg

Most current talk about “big data” seems to assume the disintermediation or replacement of physical assets by digital technologies. But a bigger and more impactful trend is the use of online tools to improve physical asset utilization in many traditional off-line... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Analytics and Data Science; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Utilities Industry

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01 Apr 2021
Video

The Business and Societal Impacts of Drinking Water

23 Sep 2012
News

Flotation market sails on choppy waters

December 2016
Case

Blue Sky: Investing in Water

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Dawn H. Lau

Keywords: Australia

04 May 2010
News

Schools Respond to Water Crisis

27 Sep 2010
News

Managing Water as Scarcity Looms

Keywords: Water, Sewage and Supply Systems; Utilities

12 May 2021
Working Paper Summaries

Accounting for Product Impact in the Water Utilities Industry

Keywords: by George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

Fast Answer

Drinking water purification technology: market overview

Where do I find market overviews of drinking water purification technologies? Top resources: BCC Research provides market reports with good technical background information. Frost & Sullivan provides technological... View Details

July 2012 (Revised July 2012)
Case

The Madera Ranch and Water Bank

By: Andre F. Perold and Geoffrey Bernstein

The protagonist is trying to decide whether to purchase and develop an aquifer lying beneath rural land near Fresno, California. The project could fill a void for local farmers as well as surrounding municipalities and a variety of other customers throughout... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Assets; Decision Making; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California

24 Apr 2014
News

Clean water that provides a trickle-down effect

improving the city's wastewater service. In 1997, the Philippine government enlisted Ayala Corporation to assume control of the water and sewer systems of Manila's east zone, where more than 60 percent of the View Details

25 Apr 2014
News

Tapping into more effective water technologies

Laura Shenkar (MBA 1992) is helping companies and governments apply the most important innovations in water. "Providing solutions to tackle water scarcity is one of the greatest business opportunities of our time," says Shenkar, founder... View Details

July 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Hidrovias do Brasil: Navigating Unchartered Waters

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Since its founding eight years earlier, Hidrovias do Brasil (“Hidrovias”), an integrated logistics provider serving corporate customers exporting products from South America via the Atlantic Ocean, had grown to 900 employees and $253 million in annual revenues.... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Private Equity; Brazil; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Operation Management; General Management; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Growth and Development; Leadership; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Transportation; Human Capital; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Brazil

28 Apr 2021
News

Get the Message: Reduce Water Use

June 2022
Teaching Note

Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

By: Elie Ofek

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 522-043. View Details

December 2010
Teaching Note

Urban Water Partners (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Karthik Ramanna and George Serafeim

Teaching Note for 111016 and 111029. View Details

Keywords: Health Industry; Utilities Industry; Dar es Salaam

October 2023
Case

Kevin O'Leary: Building a Brand in Shark-infested Waters

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

For more than fifteen years, successful Canadian entrepreneur and investor Kevin O’Leary had developed his brand into a global powerhouse. Since his first appearance on the Canadian television program Dragons’ Den in 2006 and his meteoric rise to stardom through the... View Details

Keywords: Personal Brand; Crisis; Brands and Branding; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Social Media; Public Opinion; Power and Influence; Financial Services Industry