mission - Publications - Faculty & Research

September 2021
Case

Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World

By: Marco Bertini, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader distributed e-readers to under-resourced communities and funded its operations primarily through philanthropic... View Details

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October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Supplement

Extend Fertility: Conceiving the Market for Egg Preservation (B)

By: Debora L. Spar and Olivia Hull

Keywords: Strategy; Information Technology; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Commercialization; Science-Based Business; Marketing Strategy; Business Plan; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Mission and Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Integration; Health; Health Industry

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June 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Supplement

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Supplements the (A) Case. View Details

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01 Jul 2019
What Do You Think?

Are Super Stretch Goals Only for the Very Young?

with the results of their study of companies capable of achieving success over long periods. These visionary companies, when compared with their comparison counterparts, employed BHAGS (“Big Hairy Audacious Goals”). As they put it, “Like the moon View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

Don’t Lose Money With Customers

series of articles and HBS Working Papers, he explores the process of how firms in business-to-business markets manage customer relationships. As a frame of reference, Narayandas explains that modern marketing occurs at three distinct levels. Companies craft their... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Partnering and the Balanced Scorecard

working for an organization that is contributing value to the world, that society benefits from the mission and strategy of their organization and its products and services. They need to understand how the success of the organization... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

August 2001 (Revised April 2003)
Case

International Trachoma Initiative

By: Diana Barrett, James E. Austin and Sheila McCarthy

In an effort to combat trachoma, a major eye disease, the Clark Foundation entered into a partnership with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. After a successful pilot project, a joint initiative was established (the Trachoma initiative) that has as its goal to eradicate the... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Globalization; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Alliances; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations; Health Industry

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10 Apr 2019
HBS Case

How Entrepreneurs Can Turn Lead Into Gold

he was able to recruit employees and mentors who were inspired by the authenticity of his passion. Besides, financial and non-financial resources are not mutually exclusive. In Cotopaxi’s case the social mission resonated with for-profit... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

08 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

Four Questions Fundraisers Must be Prepared to Answer

making their pitch for why their organization is uniquely positioned to tackle something that the donor cares about: Does the organization do important work? Answering that question ties directly to how well its mission is articulated,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

05 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 5, 2006

partners. What's more, they need to collaborate with Professional Services, the new consulting unit whose mission is to jump-start the solutions-centric approach. Whom should MacLeod hire for the top sales job, and what should he do to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2021 (Revised April 2021)
Teaching Plan

Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance

By: Brian Trelstad and John Masko

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 320-008. In 2009, Dan Meyer and Richard Palmer, two veterans of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, founded Nehemiah Manufacturing to build FMCG brands while providing jobs to Cincinnati, Ohio’s beleaguered urban core. Two... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employment; Human Capital; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Social Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Prejudice and Bias; City; Urban Scope; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio; United States

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January 2025
Case

Shifting Winds: DEI in Corporate America

By: Clayton S. Rose, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and David Lane

In the 2020s, intense and conflicting social and political pressures challenged organizational leaders around the world. Prominent among these were powerful competing views on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) in the United States. Public... View Details

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February 2021 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Marie Curie: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Marie Curie from a poor family in Poland to the pinnacle of scientific fame. The case describes how Curie, as a young woman interested in science, found a way to earn a doctorate at the Sorbonne and perform pathbreaking research on... View Details

Keywords: Legacy; Impact; Science; Research; Personal Characteristics; Mission and Purpose; Success; Work-Life Balance; Higher Education; Personal Development and Career

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26 Mar 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Disaster!

After-action reviews often neglect to address the multiple factors contributing to large-scale organizational failures. How Should Organizations Learn From Failure? Mission to Mars: It Really Is Rocket Science After successive failures to... View Details

02 Jul 2015
Op-Ed

The Future of the Greek Economy

future for Europe will remain an unaccomplished mission if the political vision and the courage to move to a closer fiscal union cannot be found. When all is said and done, however, Europe needs more Europe. — Dante Roscini Dante Roscini,... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Dante Roscini & George Serafeim; Banking

25 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 25, 2006

and other government entities to detect and deter such attacks. Explores why complex organizations with multiple missions develop seams and become vulnerable to threats that cut across those seams. Fuels a discussion of whether and how... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

How the U.S. Army Develops Leaders

filled with peacekeeping, nation building, and a whole range of what we call "operations other than war." Not surprisingly, such confusion over roles and missions at the institutional level resulted in serious identity... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

03 Sep 2009
What Do You Think?

Are Retention Bonuses Worth the Investment?

that "most high value employee(s), if they decide to leave an organization, will negotiate an equivalent sign-on bonus." JA said, "I have found the best investment to be a solid severance program." Frank Fabela pointed out "When the View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

01 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

A Latin American Vision: New HBS Research Center Opens

relationships, building acommunity that will help us pursue the great mission to educate leaders." HBS Professor and conference co-chair James E. Austin referred to his own personal experience in the area as well. When he got on the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

May 2025
Case

IQanat: Empowering Rural Youth in Kazakhstan

By: Boris Groysberg and Maxim Pike Harrell

In June 2025, IQanat CEO Aliya Salikova considered scaling opportunities for the foundation, which provided educational opportunities for children from rural regions of Kazakhstan. Established by Kazakhstani businessman and philanthropist Aidyn Rakhimbayev, IQanat... View Details