Publications

September 1986 (Revised June 1989)
Background Note

Managing Rapid Growth

Describes the issues that entrepreneurs and their firms must deal with in attempting to make the transition from entrepreneurial to professional management. The note suggests that the delegation of responsibility and the implementation of formal controls are two key... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Governance Controls; Growth Management; Resource Allocation; Organizational Structure

Research Summary

Leveraging Knowledge for Performance

Morten Hansen is involved in research which examines how knowledge residing in different units in a company can be leveraged to improve performance in a specific unit. He has conducted several large studies of the use of knowledge in creating competitive performance,... View Details

April 2017
Supplement

Q&A with Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology & Innovation

By: Linda A. Hill and Allison J. Wigen

In this video supplement to the HBS case study "Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology & Innovation," case protagonist Tom Kalil discusses leading a team of policy entrepreneurs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2008-2016. View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Government; Government Innovation; Leading Teams; Collaboration; Cross-sector Collaboration; Innovation Strategy; Innovation Leadership; Leadership; Leadership Development; Groups and Teams; Policy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; United States

25 Mar 2016
Video

Martin Sinozich, Founding Partner, Venn Capital

April 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

TixToGo: Financing a Silicon Valley Start-up

Describes TixToGo, a Silicon Valley start-up company that offers online solutions to individuals and organizations that want to offer activities and/or collect registration fees for events over the Internet. A serial entrepreneur and his partner started the company in... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Information Technology; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; San Francisco

June 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Cirque du Soleil -- The High-Wire Act of Building Sustainable Partnerships

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Maxime Aucoin

The case describes the history and business model of Cirque du Soleil (CdS). The case allows for a rich discussion and analysis of Cirque du Soleil's business model with an emphasis on how it interacts with that of MGM Mirage. Le Cirque and MGM's business models... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Investment; Profit; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Partners and Partnerships; Trust; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

20 Nov 2013
News

How Strategists Should Lead

22 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

The Immigrant Technologist: Studying Technology Transfer with China

Assistant Professor William R. Kerr teaches the required first-year MBA course, The Entrepreneurial Manager, in addition to Executive Education courses at Harvard Business School. One of his core research areas is the role of immigrant... View Details

Keywords: Re: William R. Kerr; Technology; Computer

06 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Cheers to the American Consumer

identifying the Joneses like you. Immigration. The prevalence of immigrants among America's successful entrepreneurs is well documented. But the same curiosity and openness to new things also characterizes consumer demand View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

The Intellectual Underpinnings of Entrepreneurial Management

of entrepreneurs was to bear risk, Cantillon focused his attention on the economic functions of entrepreneurship—a focus that was to hold sway until very recently. In various economic approaches to... View Details

Keywords: by Howard H. Stevenson & Teresa M. Amabile

June 2024
Case

Vinalhaven: The Downtown Project

By: Richard S. Ruback, Matthew Preble, Ruth Page and Dave Habeeb

Vinalhaven is an island community located approximately 12 miles off the coast of Maine. The island has a year-round population of about 1,300 people as of 2022, with an additional 3,000 people who reside on the island in the summer months. The two largest industries... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Natural Resources; Natural Environment; Weather; Sustainable Cities; Forecasting and Prediction; Construction; Property; Infrastructure; Capital Budgeting; Projects; Project Finance; Negotiation; United States; Maine

30 Jun 2014
Blog Post

Cambridge to Nairobi

I’m sitting in the outdoor veranda of an upscale café, sipping a perfectly made cappuccino and digging into a vegetarian quesadilla for lunch. It’s a pleasant 70 degrees and sunny, and all around me, young View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit / Government; Technology

10 Nov 2020
Cold Call Podcast

The Challenges of Commercializing Fertility

Keywords: Re: Debora L. Spar

January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Jackie Robinson: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of Jackie Robinson from the poor streets of Pasadena, California to one of the most famous people in America after he overturned the color barrier in baseball. The case describes how as a youth he excelled at basketball, football, baseball,... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Power And Influence; Personal Characteristics; Values And Beliefs; Mission And Purpose; Sports; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Leading Change; Personal Development and Career; United States

25 Feb 2016
Blog Post

Alumni: Where Are They Now? Featuring: Maria (Brewer) Palma...

that invests in seed and early stage consumer, enterprise and financial services companies. In this role, my main priority is to find ways our firm can help entrepreneurs as... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

10 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Entrepreneurs: Lessons for Government Policy

local, regional, and national competitiveness. “Former entrepreneurs offer a positive impression of what it's like to own your own business.” In recent research, Harvard Business School professor Ramana... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

Robert S. Kaplan

Robert S. Kaplan is Senior Fellow and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He joined the HBS faculty in 1984 after spending 16 years on the faculty of the business school at Carnegie-Mellon University, where he... View Details

Keywords: health care; nonprofit industry

November 1998 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Global Beer

Two young American entrepreneurs working in Japan have rapidly established an importing business to take advantage of new regulations permitting microbrewers and brewpubs. Options for further growth include an international brewpub franchise, alliances with Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Globalized Markets and Industries; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; United States