Publications

September 2016 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Joan Bavaria and Multi-Dimensional Capitalism

By: Geoffrey Jones and Seema Amble

The case examines the career of Joan Bavaria, a pioneer of socially responsible investing and founder of Trillium Asset Management and Ceres, the nonprofit organization advocating for sustainability leadership. It describes her personal journey from art student and... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Personal Development and Career

February 2017
Case

Securities Exchange Board of India: Developing and Regulating India's Capital Markets

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Radhika Kak

1994
Working Paper

The Sidekick Effect: Mentoring Relationships and the Development of Social Capital

By: Monica C. Higgins and Nitin Nohria

27 Nov 2023
Podcast

Jeff Bussgang on the Rise of AI & Raising Venture Capital

This week on The Parlor Room, Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Jeff Bussgang, a former entrepreneur turned venture capitalist, joins host Chris Linnane to discuss the rise of generative AI, why experimentation is vital to finding product-market fit, and how to... View Details

20 Jul 2020
News

Measure Costs Correctly for Better Patient Outcomes

11 Jan 2023
News

MBA Students Explore Capitalism in Italy

February 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Mohamed Azab and Seha Capital

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Sarah McAra

In January 2011, Mohamed Azab, founder and CEO of health care investment firm Seha Capital, made his first health care investment in Hassab Labs, a diagnostic lab in Alexandria, Egypt. Weeks later, a revolution erupted across the country as the Arab Spring swept... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health; Pan-Africa; Health Care Investment; Financing; Developing World; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Investment; Financing and Loans; Developing Countries and Economies; Egypt; Africa

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

It Came in the First Ships: Capitalism in America

was the American Dream in its earliest form, and for the people living the dream, it had an aura of double-edged incredulity. There was disbelief not only at their own good fortune, but also at the backbreaking work required to View Details

Keywords: by Thomas K. McCraw

Fall 2015
Article

Doing Well by Doing Good? Community Development Venture Capital

By: Josh Lerner and Anna Kovner

This paper examines the investments and performance of community development venture capital (CDVC). We find substantial differences between CDVC and traditional venture capital (VC) investments: CDVC investments are far more likely to be in nonmetropolitan regions and... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Venture Capital

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September 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Citigroup 2007: Financial Reporting and Regulatory Capital

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Edward J. Riedl and Sharon Katz

This case introduces 1) financial statements for banks, 2) basic regulatory capital calculations, and 3) actions Citigroup must consider under a scenario of continued losses/fair value declines in 2008 (leading to potential violation of regulatory capital). View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Financial Crisis; Capital; Financial Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banking Industry; United States

Research Summary

Manager Specific Human Capital Investment: A Model of Block Trading and Firm Stability

I develop a model in which workers can undertake specific human capital investments in the firm and in the manager employed by the firm. If the manager leaves the firm, a worker has to decide whether to join her in the new firm or stay in the old firm. In case of... View Details

April 1998
Case

Venture Capital in Ireland: Getting Their ACT Together

By: Paul A. Gompers and Catherine M. Conneely

Analyzes the decisions of Niall Carroll, an Irish banker, to start a venture capital fund focused on Ireland. The context of the Irish markets and the nature of Irish opportunities are explored. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Financial Services Industry; Republic of Ireland

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September 2016 (Revised March 2021)
Case

DBL Partners: Double Bottom Line Venture Capital

By: Shawn Cole, Mark Kramer, Tony L. He, Anshul Maudar and T. Robert Zochowski

This case explores the origins and current practices of DBL, a San Francisco–based venture capital fund and one of the first impact investment funds to achieve significant financial returns to scale. This case allows for a competitive analysis of DBL's investment... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Tanzania

March 2017
Article

Entrepreneurial Beacons: The Yale Endowment, Run-ups, and the Growth of Venture Capital

By: Y. Sekou Bermiss, Benjamin J. Hallen, Rory McDonald and Emily Cox Pahnke

This paper investigates the social context of entrepreneurship in organizational sectors. Prior research suggests that firm foundings are driven by collective patterns of activity—that is, by patterns of prior foundings—including support from related markets as well as... View Details

Keywords: Signals; Social Salience; Venture Capital; Higher Education; Organizations; Entrepreneurship; Investment

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August 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Highland Capital Partners: Investing in Cleantech

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron

One day during the summer of 2008, Paul Maeder, co-founder and general partner of Highland Capital Partners (HCP), was walking with his wife around Reykjavik, Iceland, marveling at how clean the city felt and at the widespread use of naturally occurring geothermal... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Global Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry; Green Technology Industry