Publications

January 1988 (Revised May 1992)
Case

Howard Head and Prince Manufacturing, Inc.

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Deals with the issue of an entrepreneur in a very successful company deciding whether to stay through a period of great growth or to sell. What are the entrepreneur's responsibilities to the organization, to his employees, to the public? As subtopics, the issues of... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Patents; Law; Markets; Production; Sales

06 Nov 2012
News

For Entrepreneurs, Three Ways to Control Your Destiny and Rekindle Joy

07 Jan 2022
News

Five Must-Read Harvard Business Review Articles

May 2021 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

THE YES: Reimagining the Future of E-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

THE YES, a multi-brand shopping app launched in May 2020 offered a new type of buying experience for women’s fashion, driven by a sophisticated algorithm that used data science and machine learning to create and deliver a personalized store for every shopper, based on... View Details

Keywords: Data; Data Analytics; Artificial Intelligence; AI; AI Algorithms; AI Creativity; Fashion; Retail; Retail Analytics; E-Commerce Strategy; Platform; Platforms; Big Data; Preference Elicitation; Predictive Analytics; App Development; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Advertising; Mobile App; Mobile Marketing; Apparel; Online Advertising; Referral Rewards; Referrals; Female Ceo; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Creativity; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Channels; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; AI and Machine Learning; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

January 2013 (Revised January 2013)
Course Overview Note

Running Small and Medium Size Enterprises (RSME) Winter Term 2013: Course Overview and Syllabus

Course Overview and Syllabus for RSME View Details

February 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jamie Merkrebs

AptDeco, a used furniture marketplace, was growing rapidly in the tri-state area. The co-founders were confident that the business model, financial position, and unit economics positioned AptDeco for scaling in the massive $120 billion furniture market, despite its... View Details

October 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Steinway & Sons: Buying a Legend (A)

By: John T. Gourville and Joseph B. Lassiter III

It is 1995 and Steinway & Sons has just been purchased by two young entrepreneurs. For 140 years, Steinway has held the reputation for making the finest quality grand pianos in the world. The past 25 years have proven to be a challenge, however. First, the company has... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Quality; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; New York (state, US)

09 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 9, 2008

yields and land areas, and level of optimism of assumptions of the study. The Global Entrepreneur Author:Daniel J. Isenberg Publication:Harvard Business Review 86, no. 12 (December 2008) Abstract For over a century, start-ups began by... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2024
Background Note

Social Enterprise in the MENA Region

By: Brian Trelstad and Ahmed Dahawy

This research note provides an overview of the socio-economic landscape of social enterprise in the Middle East and North Africa. It highlights the diversity of players in the region including social enterprise organizations (in their many forms) and supporting... View Details

July 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

AllHerb.com: Evolution of an E-tailer

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Christina L. Darwall

Serial entrepreneur Ken Hakuta, in the second year of his latest venture, reconsiders his original strategy of maintaining an independent, self-funded, self-led company. His Internet herbal remedy company, AllHerb.com, has already enjoyed considerable success with its... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

25 Feb 2011
News

Building America's Most Innovative Brands

Teaching Interest

Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation

By: Brian L. Trelstad

Combining the tools of philanthropy, business and advocacy (or mission, margin and mandate), social entrepreneurs have tackled long-standing societal issues like teacher training, college access, global public health, renewable energy and sanitation. Social... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Organizations; Social Enterprise; Civil Society or Community; System

07 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 7, 2007

community and local entrepreneurs in India's software industry. We find that entrepreneurs located outside software hubs—in cities where monitoring and information flow on prospective clients is harder—rely... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2010
Book

Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry

By: Geoffrey Jones

The global beauty business permeates our lives, influencing how we perceive ourselves and what it is to be beautiful. The brands and firms that have shaped this industry, such as Avon, Coty, Estée Lauder, L'Oréal, and Shiseido, have imagined beauty for us. This book... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Industry Growth; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

Find at Harvard

November 1988 (Revised July 1998)
Case

WaterTest Corporation

Describes the founding and subsequent growth of WaterTest, a New Hampshire firm run by a entrepreneur with little business background. Three Harvard Business School students are working on a project to help the firm refine its marketing strategy. The students collect a... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Data and Data Sets; Marketing Strategy

September 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Spyder Active Sports, Inc. and CHB Capital Partners (A)

By: John A. Davis, Louis B. Barnes and Peter K. Botticelli

After establishing a small but profitable skiwear business, an entrepreneur decides to sell a minority stake in the firm to outside investors. His goal is to acquire the capital needed to grow the business, even though this will entail a substantial transformation of... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

December 2012
Teaching Note

Gene Patents (A) (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew Preble

This is the teaching note for case Gene Patents (A). In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our... View Details

Keywords: Biotech; Human Genome; Patents; Genetics; Biotechnology Industry; United States