Publications

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28 Aug 2014
Op-Ed

Government Can Do More to Unfreeze Small Business Credit

(Editor's note: This is the third in a series of articles based on a Harvard Business School working paper by Karen Mills that analyzes the current state of availability of bank capital for small business.) Access to credit is critical to... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking

2024
Working Paper

The Crowdless Future? Generative AI and Creative Problem Solving

By: Léonard Boussioux, Jacqueline N. Lane, Miaomiao Zhang, Vladimir Jacimovic and Karim R. Lakhani

The rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI) open up attractive opportunities for creative problem-solving through human-guided AI partnerships. To explore this potential, we initiated a crowdsourcing challenge focused on sustainable, circular economy... View Details

Keywords: Large Language Models; Crowdsourcing; Generative Ai; Creative Problem-solving; Organizational Search; AI-in-the-loop; Prompt Engineering; AI and Machine Learning; Innovation and Invention

SSRN

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Editorial

Elon Musk's Unusual Compensation Plan Isn't Really About Compensation at All

By: George Serafeim

Earlier this year, Tesla shareholders approved likely the largest compensation package ever awarded to a CEO—for a CEO who clearly doesn’t need the money. Elon Musk is already incredibly rich and also doesn’t seem particularly motivated by further wealth. So why do it?... View Details

Keywords: Tesla; Elon Musk; Innovation; Investor Communication; Investor Relations; Short-termism; Long-termism; Disruption; Executive Compensation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Communication Intention and Meaning; Mission and Purpose

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Europe’s green transition | Institute for Business in Global Society

tackling urgent climate challenges. The discussions revealed how European companies are pioneering new approaches to sustainability, forging unprecedented collaborations, and reimagining business models for... View Details

01 Jun 2000
News

HBS Business Plan Contestants Pin Their Hopes on the Internet

with the right investors," advised Burgstone. Satchu added, "Choose a business model you can be passionate about 24/7, then focus on the product and listen to the customer." View Details

2014
Working Paper

Waste, Recycling and Entrepreneurship in Central and Northern Europe, 1870–1940

By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora

This working paper examines the role of entrepreneurs in the municipal solid waste industry in industrialized central and northern Europe from the late nineteenth century to the 1940s. It explores the emergence of numerous German, Danish, and other European... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Entrepreneurship; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Health; History; Green Technology Industry; Germany; Denmark; Hungary; United Kingdom

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February 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Course Overview Note

Competing through Business Models: Introductory Note for Students (Half-Course Version)

By: Hanna Halaburda and Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Keywords: Business Model; Competitive Strategy

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Business at the Base of the Pyramid - Course Catalog

the base of the pyramid encompasses 5.0 of the 7.5 billion people in the world. In most nations, it accounts for the largest aggregate expenditure of the economy, yet continues to be significantly underserved. This makes possible innovative, View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Passing on knowledge at a new business program in Switzerland

Bob Gebhardt (MBA 1973) is following a long career in international business by helping to launch a business school program in Switzerland modeled after his experience at... View Details

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Driving Social Change | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Impact We recently completed a study of two Bolivian banks—Los Andes and Banco Sol—that compared the differences between an “apprenticeship” model and one that relied on communicating a shared mission to more experienced employees. The... View Details

December 2020 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Komatsu and Smart Construction

By: Rajiv Lal, David J. Collis and Akiko Saito

Komatsu, Japan's leading construction equipment manufacturer, is considering investing in a digital platform "Smart Construction" that will digitise the entire work process on a construction site, allowing for substantial reductions in cost and time while improving... View Details

Keywords: Platform; Digital Business; Construction; Business Model; Strategy; Technology Adoption; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Construction Industry; Japan

Web

Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

to address is clear and the business model is likely to make a substantial contribution toward the solution of the issue it seeks to address and can be sustained for a period of time consistent with... View Details

January 2017 (Revised January 2019)
Case

The Rise and Fall of Lehman Brothers

By: Stuart C. Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

With nearly $700 billion in assets, Lehman was the largest U.S. bankruptcy in history. In 2007, Lehman achieved record earnings of over $4 billion on revenues of $60 billion. By September 2008 the fourth largest investment bank in the world was bankrupt. How had a... View Details

March 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Background Note

Physical Climate Risk

By: Michael W. Toffel, Spencer Glendon and Alison Smart

This note describes how managers can identify and manage their company’s physical climate risks, which can increase their operations and supply chain costs and risks, and affect demand for their goods and services. Can be paired with the video “Preparing business... View Details

Keywords: Resilience; Maps; Climate Risk; Climate Impact; Modeling And Analysis; Climate Change; Risk Management; Demand and Consumers; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Disruption

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An Emerging Entrepreneur | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

validating the model before closing the initial investment round, after which he hopes to scale quickly, with the goal of serving 10,000 students in five years. Reflecting on his time at HBS, Bichara cites the case method’s impact in... View Details

Teaching Interest

Overview

Since coming to HBS, my teaching interests have centered around the intersection of science and business: entrepreneurship, management, and strategy. More recently, i have become more engaged in considering the emergence of new university models for the translation... View Details

Keywords: Science Business; Biotechnology; Pharmaceuticals; Innovation

August 2019 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Family Matters: Governance at the Zamil Group

By: Christina R. Wing, Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

This case focuses on a large Saudi Arabian industrial conglomerate and family business Zamil Group’s corporate and family governance journey. The 12 sons of the founder led and grew the group successfully after taking over from their father in 1961. The secret to their... View Details

Keywords: Middle East; Family Ownership; Family-owned Business; Saudi Arabia; Family Business; Governance; Organizational Structure; Values and Beliefs; Steel Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; Bahrain