Small Business - Publications - Faculty & Research

10 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Time to Move On? Career Advice for Entrepreneurs Preparing for the Next Stage

Over the past year, I have watched several firms going through periods of transition. Some have been cofounders who realized that it was time for a more experienced leader to take their business to the next level. Some were just ready for... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

10 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Entrepreneurs: Lessons for Government Policy

start a new business because they don't have access to capital," says Nanda. "Yes, it's a real problem that we do in fact have this 10 percent of low wealth, high human capital individuals who are unable to launch a new... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Banks Ditch Coal: The Impact Is 'More Than Anyone Thought'

Consumers who are eager to mitigate climate change can take many actions, such as reducing the number of airline flights they take or installing solar panels on their homes. But the planet is in a race against time, and individual action alone won’t help most countries... View Details

Keywords: by Barbara DeLollis; Financial Services; Mining

October 2016
Supplement

24 Hour Fitness (B): Ownership Changes, 2005–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, 24 Hour Fitness was the number-two fitness chain in the United States, generating revenues of $1.4 billion from 441 clubs serving 3.8 million members. Based in San Ramon, California, 24 Hour Fitness operated clubs in 13 states. Having grown rapidly to become... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Age; Training; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Market Entry and Exit; Media; Organizational Design; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Welfare or Wellbeing; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Software; Web Sites; Value; Valuation; Health Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

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08 May 2020
Research & Ideas

We’ve Now Been Asking “What Do You Think?” for 20 Years

friends. As a member of the committee, I was asked to write a monthly column highlighting management research findings by HBS faculty members and colleagues at other schools. It occurred to me that the column might represent an opportunity to emulate, in some View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

20 Aug 2024
Book

Why Competing With Tech Giants Requires Finding Your Own Edge

The following is an excerpt that was adapted and lightly edited from chapter nine of Smart Rivals: How Innovative Companies Play Games That Tech Giants Can't Win, written by Feng Zhu and Bonnie Yining Cao and published August 20, 2024. In today's global digital and... View Details

Keywords: by Feng Zhu; Technology; Information Technology

15 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Political Dysfunction Makes America Less Competitive

results of surveys of global business leaders and the general public, says the US is “failing the test of competitiveness.” Overall prosperity may be growing slowly—but only for a small slice of the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

When Good Incentives Lead to Bad Decisions

employment and economic growth," Cole explains. "But they often find it hard to get access to financing because they lack the large amounts of collateral that banks typically require. So we were interested in studying this small... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Banking

11 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

Is A/B Testing Effective? Evidence from 35,000 Startups

inexperience in how to apply the methodologies. Another possibility? Their ideas just weren’t that good. “I think one of the coolest findings in our paper is that experimentation doesn’t necessarily drive startup growth,” says Rembrand Koning, an assistant professor in... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

09 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 9, 2018

Harvard Business School 519-017 Tailor Brands: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Branding Using proprietary artificial intelligence technology, startup Tailor Brands set out to democratize branding by allowing View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

11 Jun 2019
Book

These Aren't Beach Books, but Managers Should Read Them Anyway

A Good Place to Start Driving Digital StrategySunil Gupta explores how traditional businesses can make the leap into the digital age. American Capitalism: New HistoriesHistorians are taking a new look at capitalism in light of its... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

20 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Here’s How Businessman Trump Is Likely to Approach the Presidency

benefiting small business Karen Mills, Former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and now a senior fellow at HBS and at... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese

2015
Working Paper

The Impact of Funds: An Evaluation of CDC 2004-12

By: Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, Steve Dew and Dong Ik Lee

CDC was founded in 1948 as part of the U.K. government's efforts to develop the economic resources of Britain's remaining colonies. Since then, CDC has pursued a series of strategies to "do good without losing money," as its original mission was phrased. Its approach... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Great Britain

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19 Jan 2021
In Practice

Leadership Advice for Biden: Restore a Sense of Calm

widely distributed, and small businesses and ordinary workers get support to keep going. In the short term, an end to the worst of the pandemic will unleash pent-up demand. Then the Biden administration will... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

26 Feb 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Barriers to Acting in Time on Energy and Strategies for Overcoming Them

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman; Energy; Utilities

19 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Designing Cities for a Sustainable Future

On a June day in Manhattan with temperatures heading into the 90s, a straphanger named Mike is taking his customary subway ride to work. People are grumbling about the heat, but hey, it's summer, it's supposed to be hot, and besides, "Whaddya gonna do?" New Yorkers... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Construction; Real Estate

20 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Five Discovery Skills that Distinguish Great Innovators

and Alvy Ray, who headed up a small computer graphics operation called Industrial Light & Magic (the group created special effects for George Lucas's movies). Fascinated by their operation, Jobs bought Industrial Light & Magic for... View Details

Keywords: by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gergersen & Clayton M. Christensen

09 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 9, 2018

December 13, 2017 Harvard Business Review What It Takes to Become a Great Product Manager By: Austin, Julia Abstract—As an aspiring product manager (PM), there are three primary considerations when evaluating the role: Core Competencies,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 May 2020
In Practice

Nonprofits Hurt by COVID-19 Must Hoard Cash to Hold On

Professor of Marketing and co-chair of the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative. About the Author Danielle Kost is a senior editor at Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. [Image: PeopleImages] Related Reading The Key to Powerful Social... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

29 Sep 2022
Op-Ed

Inclusive Leadership Advice: Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

we can come to prefer difference, with time—to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. We took on this idea while teaching Inclusive Leadership to first-year MBA students at Harvard Business School last academic year. I teach the... View Details

Keywords: by Francesca Gino

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