Publications

William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business... View Details

08 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Seven Negotiation Lessons from Amazon's HQ Disaster in Queens

thwarting the confident protagonists of an apparently popular project. Actively monitor local currents and cross-currents of opinion. Reportedly, Amazon did not hire a single New Yorker to continuously engage with community groups to... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius; Real Estate; Construction

Third Quarter 2018
Article

Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey

By: Amir Amel-Zadeh and George Serafeim

Using survey data from a sample of senior investment professionals from mainstream (i.e., not SRI funds) investment organizations, we provide insights into why and how investors use reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Relevance to... View Details

Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Sustainability; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Metrics; Standard Setting; Accounting Standards; Finance; Investment; Information; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Performance Effectiveness; Strategy

SSRN

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Program

Advanced Management Program

Summary Market volatility, digital transformation, and innovation are changing the way companies compete in every industry—and increasing the demand for business leaders who are global changemakers. Whether you are looking to move up to... View Details

22 Feb 2018
Blog Post

Five Steps to Jump Start Your MBA Recruiting at HBS

to effectively engage potential candidates. HBS Alumni at the company are often ideal company representatives. Key Takeaways There are many ways to View Details

Keywords: All Industries

18 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ‘Collective Genius’

distinction quickly makes less sense. Ideas beget experiments and experiments beget more ideas, and any difference between ideation and implementation quickly fades. We know that none of the many innovative companies we studied made much... View Details

Keywords: by Linda Hill; Entertainment & Recreation

27 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 27

representative samples of Americans with private health insurance. The first examines how well Americans understand, and believe they understand, traditional health insurance coverage. The second examines... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2020
Working Paper

Private Equity and COVID-19

By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

We survey more than 200 private equity (PE) managers from firms with $1.9 trillion of assets under management (AUM) about their portfolio performance, decisionmaking and activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Given that PE managers have significant incentives to... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Private Equity; Management; Investment Portfolio; Performance; Decision Making; Value Creation

Read Now

May 2020
Case

Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?

By: Stephen A. Greyser and William Ellet

Four college friends market a beverage that combines ingredients like those in a drink they consumed in college bars. It includes a caffeinated energy drink, malt liquor, and a soft drink flavoring. They launch the business, Big Boom Beverages (BBB), with their own... View Details

Keywords: Alcoholic Beverages; Energy Drinks; Regulation; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Reputation; Communication Strategy; Decision Making

March 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Teaching Note

Camera IQ and the Metaverse: Building Augmented Reality Brand Experiences

By: Jill Avery

Camera IQ, a camera marketing software company that empowered brands to create and launch augmented reality experiences (AREs) across social platforms, had just raised an additional $5 million to fund further product development and expand its marketing and sales... View Details

2015
Other Teaching and Training Material

Marketing Reading: Digital Marketing

By: Sunil Gupta and Joseph Davin

Digital technology has changed how consumers search for information, interact with each other, and buy products. The popularization of these technologies has made it possible for companies to have a better understanding of their customers' decision journey and... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Buzz Marketing; Internet Marketing; Marketing; Marketing Management; Social Media; Social Networks; Viral Marketing; Word-of-mouth Marketing; Digital; Internet; Marketing Channels; Marketing Reference Programs; Online Advertising; Advertising Industry

25 Feb 2015
HBS Seminar

Beril Toktay, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology

01 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation

The first few minutes of new employee orientation, if done right, can lead to happier and more productive workers and, ultimately, increased customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, a lot of companies do it wrong. In many firms, employee... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Web Services; Service; Telecommunications

March 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Knowledge Sharing at REMA 1000 (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino and Olivia Hull

A year after Norwegian grocery chain REMA 1000 adopted Workplace, Facebook’s enterprise social network, Chief Human Resource Officer Tore Høylie is asked to evaluate its impact on company culture and communication. Almost 90% of the workforce is engaged with the... View Details

Keywords: Social Network; Enterprise Social Media; Facebook; Workplace; Social and Collaborative Networks; Communication Technology; Performance Improvement; Organizational Culture; Knowledge Sharing; Social Media; Retail Industry; Norway

10 Oct 2017
News

Radical Transparency Can Reduce Bias — but Only If It’s Done Right

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

According to a new book by Harvard Business School's Ranjay Gulati, it is customer-centric firms—those with a so-called outside-in perspective—that are most resilient during turbulent markets. An outside-in perspective means that View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

July 2024
Case

Replika AI: Alleviating Loneliness (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

Eugenia Kuyda launched Replika AI in 2017 as an empathetic digital companion to combat loneliness and provide emotional support. The platform surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering non-judgmental support to isolated users. By 2023, Replika boasted... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Health Pandemics; AI and Machine Learning; Well-being; Technology Industry

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

workspaces, airports, health care, education, auditoriums, and conferences. During the pandemic, the company decided to leverage its network of clients to collectively understand how to face the crisis. In... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

April 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Anthropic: Building Safe AI

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

In late 2024, Anthropic, a leading AI safety and research company, achieved a significant breakthrough with computer use capabilities that allowed AI to interact with computers like humans. Co-founded by former OpenAI employees and known for its generative AI... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Growth and Maturation; Corporate Strategy; Technology Industry; United States