Publications

October 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Case

PrimedicProviding Primary Care in Mexico

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Regina Garcia-Cuellar and Lauren Sarah Margulies

Primedic is a Mexican start-up that aims to deliver affordable primary and preventative healthcare to those at the base of the economic pyramid. The company is about to exhaust its first round of venture capital funding and the business model has yet to gain traction.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Social Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Health Care and Treatment; Social Enterprise; Health Industry; Mexico

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

were essential, and radical corporate social responsibility concepts were pursued by some firms. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53419 forthcoming Capitalism Beyond Mutuality New Prospects for... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

February 2007
Case

Orientation for Viewing "Startup.com"

By: Noam T. Wasserman

Introduces founders Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman as they start and grow govWorks.com. The movie "Startup.com" documents the challenges that these founders face in building their company while dealing with tensions within the founding team and managing a demanding... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Corporate Governance; Management Teams; Relationships; Familiarity

14 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 14, 2017

experts to discuss how researchers can impact a broader audience, by lending their scientific expertise to pressing social issues, current events, and public debates. The landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the Supreme... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2000
Background Note

Professional Services Module Two: External Strategy for Sustained Competitive Advantage

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Scot H. Landry

Concerns itself with the strategic dynamics which influence organizations externally. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Plan; Service Operations; For-Profit Firms; Power and Influence; Measurement and Metrics; Business Processes; Management Practices and Processes; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

Find at Harvard

24 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

The Trick of Balancing Business and Government

institutions, added Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (HBS MBA '99). A director of the Fate Foundation Nigeria and Fate Foundation U.S.A., two nonprofits that try to promote entrepreneurship in Nigeria, Nwuneli said, "A company can, instead of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

ratings that guide investors to select "socially responsible," and avoid "socially irresponsible," companies. We examine how several hundred firms respond to corporate environmental ratings issued by a prominent independent View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2013
Case

First Green Bank: Bringing Bloom to Desert Landscapes

By: Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz

First Green Bank is a bank start-up in the midst of the financial crisis which aims to promote sustainability while making money as a bank. The case presents an ethical dilemma as it considers a loan to an arms manufacturer. View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Financial Crisis; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Community Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Ethics; Banking Industry; United States; Florida

11 Oct 2016
First Look

October 11, 2016

social sector, and it can guide businesses in bringing together the various actors in their ecosystems to help remedy some of the world's most urgent problems. In the process, companies will find economic opportunities that their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 31, 2009

Working PapersCorporate Social Entrepreneurship Authors:James Austin and Ezequiel Reficco Abstract Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) is a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

03 Jan 2017
First Look

January 3, 2017

disclosure of fundamentals and trading transparency. This is socially inefficient if a large fraction of market participants are speculators, and hedgers have low processing costs. But in these circumstances, forbidding hedgers’ access to... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

17 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 17

http://www.people.hbs.edu/shanson/shortint_text_20130814_FINAL.pdf September 2013 Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Cheating More for Less: Upward Social Comparisons Motivate the Poorly Compensated to Cheat By: John,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

Strategy and Execution for Emerging Markets

well as domestic companies have found success in emerging markets by positioning themselves as partners in progress—building businesses that also advance market development. Initiatives along these lines can take a number of forms—from advancing traditional corporate... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 2020 (Revised November 2023)
Case

COVID-19 Testing at Everlywell

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In March 2020, as COVID-19 spreads rapidly across the U.S., Everlywell founder Julia Cheek considers how to respond as a small start-up specializing in at-home lab testing. After making dramatic budget cuts, she decides to pivot the organization to address the... View Details

20 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 20

future research. Specifically, I call for research on the materiality of environmental and social issues for the future financial performance of corporations, the design of incentive and control systems to guide strategy execution,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Case

A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

The North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association (the Mutual) was founded in 1898 as a for-profit entity selling life insurance catering to the Black community. The Mutual was entering a field crowded with established White-owned competitors that largely refused to... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Insurance; History; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Insurance Industry; United States

March 2010 (Revised September 2010)
Case

TeamLease: Putting India to Work (Il) Legally

By: Tarun Khanna and Anjali Raina

This case focuses on the growth dilemmas facing Manish Sabharwal, co-founder, TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd. TeamLease is a human resource outsourcing and temp staffing company located in India, which has grown rapidly from 2002 to 2009. Set in the context of the highly... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Employment; Human Capital; Lawfulness; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Power and Influence; Employment Industry; India

September 2005 (Revised August 2008)
Case

Philip McCrea: Once an Entrepreneur...(A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In the spring of 2005, an exhausted Philip McCrea, president and CEO of software development company VitesseLearning, reflects on the demands of his successful start-up and his desire to be closer to his growing family. Profiles the youth, career, family life,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Family and Family Relationships; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives