Publications

December 2002 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Gates Foundation and Small High Schools, The

By: Stig Leschly

Covers the evolution of the Gates Foundation's multibillion dollar effort to influence reform in the U.S. public education system since 1999, particularly the foundation's recent decision to invest heavily in the breakup of existing urban high schools and the creation... View Details

Keywords: Secondary Education; Urban Development; Social Entrepreneurship; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Education Industry

July 2011
Case

Teach Plus: Mobilizing a New Generation of Teacher Leaders

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case profiles the evolution of Teach Plus, a non-profit organization founded on the premise that in order for public schools to continuously improve urban student achievement, teaching must become a career that motivates and retains effective early career... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Making; Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Teaching; Cambridge; Boston

16 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Report from China: The New Entrepreneurs

Beverage, Shanda, Fosun, Focus, and Tsinghua University. Purpose: Begin to comprehend some of the fundamental changes in the Chinese economic and social system, and how entrepreneurship is being facilitated to play a role in this. Also... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

21 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Altruistic Capital: Harnessing Your Employees’ Intrinsic Goodwill

collaborate on a field experiment with Ashraf and two colleagues, Oriana Bandiera of the London School of Economics and Kelsey Jack of Tufts University. SFH had established a new program in which hairdressers provided HIV/AIDS education... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

March 2015
Case

Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

By: Michael Chu, Vincent Dessain and Kristina Maslauskaite

An in-house venture capital fund for affordable private schools at the base of the pyramid established by Pearson, the world's largest education company, PALF sought to invest in business models providing superior educational outcomes in emerging markets on a... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Low Cost Private Schools; Investment Fund; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Transition; Investment; Development Economics; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Private Sector; Education; Education Industry; Asia; Africa

March 2008 (Revised November 2009)
Case

New Schools for New Orleans 2008

Founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a catalyst for the transformation of the public education system in New Orleans, President Sarah Usdin and CEO Matt Candler must adapt their strategy to respond to a continuously shifting local context. By 2008, conditions on... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Education; Social Entrepreneurship; Situation or Environment; Adaptation; Value Creation; Education Industry; New Orleans

October 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

PhonePe: Democratizing Payments in India

By: Michael Chu and Rachna Tahilyani

The co-founders of PhonePe, India’s leading digital payment platform are considering pursuing various growth opportunities in a huge country just entering the digital age. In a highly competitive industry, the founders are keenly aware that making the right choices is... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platform; Digital Banking; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Financial Services Industry; Asia; India

October 2023 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Ӧzyeğin Social Investments: A Legacy of Giving

By: Christina R. Wing, Zeshan Gondal and Brittany L. Logan

This case explores the work of Özyeğin Social Investments, founded by Hüsnü Özyeğin, one of Turkey's most successful entrepreneurs. With a focus on education, health, gender equality, rural development, and disaster relief in Turkey, Özyeğin Social Investments and the... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Family Business; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Turkey

August 2023
Teaching Note

Kunshan, Incorporated: The Making of China’s Richest Town

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 313-103. The case is designed to give the students an understanding of the local Chinese entrepreneurial state and how foreign and Chinese firms have worked with it to create China’s richest small city. The major themes are—local state... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Economic Growth; Economic Systems; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics; China

November 2000
Case

UPromise

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

Describes the development of UPromise, a company that has developed a loyalty program through which corporate partners can contribute to funds that finance the education of consumers' children. Presents the accomplishments prior to the company's second round of... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financial Markets; Programs

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September 2011 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Hassina Sherjan

By: Robert G. Eccles, George Serafeim and Pippa Eccles

Hassina Sherjan was born in Afghanistan but grew up and was educated in the United States. A trip to Afghanistan when she was an adult inspired her to move back to her home country with two missions. The first was to educate young women through a non-profit... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Accounting; Non-Governmental Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Innovation Leadership; Development Economics; Growth and Development; Problems and Challenges; Retail Industry; Afghanistan; United States

September 2013
Article

Cultures as Learning Laboratories: What Makes Some More Effective than Others?

By: Elaine Mosakowski, Goran Calic and P C Early

With a mandate to globalize, business school educators have increasingly embraced global service learning as an important technique for creating global mind-sets and enhancing cultural understanding in students. While we applaud this movement from the domestic to the... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Learning; Cognition and Thinking; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

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09 Apr 2024
Cold Call Podcast

Sustaining a Legacy of Giving in Turkey

Keywords: Re: Christina R. Wing

March 1991 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Steve Mariotti and NFTE

Less than three years ago, Steve Mariotti created NFTE, a nonprofit organization for teaching entrepreneurship to disadvantaged youths. The organization has gained national recognition, and offers a variety of programs on a budget of nearly half a million dollars. It... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Teaching; Business Startups

09 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 9

Public Education: Cases in Education Entrepreneurship Author:Stacey Childress Publication:Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Education Press, 2010 Abstract Based on a popular View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2022 (Revised October 2024)
Case

'A Marshall Plan for Africa': James Mwangi and Equity Group Holdings

By: Caroline M. Elkins, Debora L. Spar, Zeke Gillman and Julia M. Comeau

Financial Inclusion. Dignity. Trust. These were the core principles driving James Mwangi’s transformation of Equity Building Society, insolvent in 1991, into what is, today, Equity Group Holdings, East and Central Africa’s largest retail banking institution. Raised in... View Details

Keywords: Income Inequality; Micro Finance; Microcredit; Microfinance; Banks and Banking; Equality and Inequality; Mission and Purpose; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Kenya

05 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 5, 2019

January 2019 Perspectives on Psychological Science Educating Leaders Who Make a Difference in the World By: Amabile, Teresa M. Abstract— No abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55580... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

February 2009
Case

Paresh Patel: Building a Life in the Context of Global Business - October 2007

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Shirley Spence

This case tells the story of Paresh Patel, born in Boston to an Indian immigrant family, as he develops an entrepreneurial career, participates in the Indian diaspora, and builds a family life. It provides background on Paresh's heritage, describes his youth and... View Details

Keywords: Diasporas; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Boston; Mumbai