Small Companies - Publications - Faculty & Research

22 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 22, 2019

advantages of scale for innovation, companies need the right combination of strategy, systems, and culture. Based on more than three decades of the Pisano's research, teaching, and experience, Creative Construction offers a set of... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Companies, Cultures and the Transformation to the Transnational

power in a small socio-economic class. Such an environment was less tolerant of the elitism and paternalism found in large, family-dominated companies in Britain. A corporate meritocracy emerged that... View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

16 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

The Most Successful Startups Have Hands-On Founders

the researchers, is intensive mentoring and monitoring of staff. “Because many young companies face both technological and market risks, founders may prioritize dealing with these challenges rather than the more mundane aspects of human... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

What Would It Take to Unlock Microfinance's Full Potential?

indications to academics that small changes to the structure of microfinance contracts could have big consequences for how people spend the money and its impact on their businesses and their livelihoods. “Ten years ago, India didn’t have... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Financial Services

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

business model for small independents is often elusive. So when a crisis of the magnitude of the COVID-19 global pandemic forces restaurants to close, and their revenue drops to zero overnight, things get particularly dire. Unlike the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

30 Sep 2019
Book

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees

workers and offers advice to black employees who seek to advance in their careers. It also provides these recommendations for companies that are intent on building diverse workplaces: 1. Encourage employees to talk about race After two... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

How to Put Meaning Back into Leading

relatively benign forms, such as small acts of nonconformity. But it can also emerge more brutally and with quite dysfunctional consequences. Without meaning, individuals tend to become rigid and hollow. Society itself seems shallow and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

Events - Business & Environment

participants in a series of 7 minute 1:1 conversations with other alumni. Download to Calendar Keywords: Alumni Program; Mar 03 Careers in Climate & Sustainability: Small Group Chats with Professor Jim Matheson Organizers: Business and... View Details

Web

Entrepreneurial Management Curriculum - Faculty & Research

became founders 5-14 years after leaving HBS, and the balance started companies 15+ years after graduation. But studying startups and small firms conveys powerful lessons about general management for those... View Details

01 Mar 2024
News

Game On

It’s raining in Sarasota. And not a light sprinkle but a proper, Florida drenching, so the outdoor courts at the Pickleball Club’s Lakewood Ranch location are deserted. Inside is a different story. Most of the 12 courts are in play. With four people to a court, all... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; photographed by Edward Linsmier; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation

where its unique capabilities will be uniquely valued. Forced to keep its fixed costs low, the new business can serve small customers who would not meet the needs of a high fixed cost structure. Managers in large View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor & Scott D. Anthony

18 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Will Global Demand for Oil Peak This Decade?

Is the globe’s thirst for oil finally topping out? A major international energy watcher says yes, predicting last month that demand for global oil for transport will peak around 2026, plateau for all uses by 2028, and possibly hit a zenith by the end of the decade.... View Details

Keywords: by Alvin Powell, Harvard Gazette; Energy; Industrial Products; Auto; Green Technology

August 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Amandla Capital: Real Estate in Côte d‘Ivoire

By: John D. Macomber, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Dilyana Botha

This case describes Amandla Capital, a fledgling company in Cote d’Ivoire, facing three opportunities in the real estate and hospitality industries in Africa. It introduces students to several concepts: decision-making and cost-benefit analysis in real estate,... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost vs Benefits; Finance; Assets; Asset Management; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Project Finance; Relationships

Citation

Educators

Purchase

16 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.

offering refunds, deferred payments, and no charges to small businesses experiencing financial hardship, knowing these companies are likely to continue as long-term clients. Turn threats into opportunities.... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim; Retail; Service

16 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

The Messy Link Between Slave Owners and Modern Management

This led owners to experiment with ways of increasing the pace of labor, Rosenthal explains, such as holding contests with small cash prizes for those who picked the most cotton, and then requiring the winners to pick that much cotton... View Details

Keywords: by Katie Johnston

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang

Launching Technology Ventures
Launching Technology Ventures (LTV) is designed for students who are actively working on their own startups or who will work at early-stage startups. The course material is, in particular, focused on new businesses in the... View Details

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

Initiation to Graduation By: Raisch, Sebastian, and Michael Tushman Abstract—Large companies initiate many new businesses, but few of them reach scale. The ambidexterity literature describes how companies... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2017
Case

Imprimis (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karen Elterman and Marc Appel

This case examines the strategic choices and evolving business model of Imprimis Pharmaceuticals from the perspective of CEO Mark Baum. The (A) case provides a brief history of the company and of the compounding business, outlining the challenges faced by Imprimis in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Healthcare; Drug Compounding; Pharmaceuticals; Compounding; Drug Development; Decision-making; Mark Baum; Imprimis; Small Business; Decisions; Cost vs Benefits; Business Strategy; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States