Publications

William Poorvu is the Class of 1961 Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship, Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He taught and was responsible for the real estate courses there for 35 years. He was the school's first adjunct professor, its first adjunct professor... View Details

March 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

VMware and the Public Cloud

By: Raffaella Sadun and Christine Snively

In 2015, VMware, a pioneer in server and network virtualization and a member of parent company EMC’s “federation” of companies, had set its sights on becoming a leading public cloud provider. Two years prior, VMware first entered the public cloud market with its vCloud... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

September 2000
Case

Intellectual Property Exchange (A), The

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Gavin Clarkson

As the marketplace for intellectual assets explodes, the mechanisms for liquidity and exchange have not kept pace. Bryan Benoit, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), believes that he has a solution. Working initially with a shoestring development budget, he has... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Intellectual Property; Knowledge Management; Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Internet

24 Nov 2020
News

Inside the Brain of Jeff Bezos

Article

Teaming: An Approach to the Growing Complexities in Health Care: AOA Critical Issues

By: Haseeb Nawaz, Amy C. Edmondson, Tony H. Tzeng, Jamal K. Saleh, Kevin J. Bozic and Khaled J. Saleh

Confronted with rising costs and patients who often have multiple comorbidities, the orthopaedic surgeon needs to face the challenge of providing high-quality health care. One solution is to increase and improve coordination, communication, and teamwork. The... View Details

Keywords: Teaming; Health Care; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

February 2002 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Battery Ventures

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Ann Leamon, Nitin Gupta and Sameer Bharadwaj

Todd Dagres, general partner of Battery Ventures, reflects on his firm's organization and its effectiveness in one particular deal. One of the perennial challenges of venture capital is the scaling of the firm. Usually regarded as a craft industry, venture firms tend... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Measurement and Metrics; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Structure; Financial Services Industry

19 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

Climbing the Great Wall of Trust

In recent conversations with US executives doing business in China, Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Roy Y.J. Chua heard about a new trend. In an East Asian version of cutting deals on the golf course, Chinese executives often take View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

July 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

The Mozilla Foundation: Launching Firefox 1.0 (A)

Explores the Mozilla Foundation's decisions leading up to the launch of Firefox 1.0, including its default browser, managing corporate partnerships, managing product development, and moving toward a revenue-based model. Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Commercialization; Open Source Distribution; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Social Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; United States

September 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

2U: Higher Education Rewired

By: Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Karim R. Lakhani

In its 2019 Partner Symposium, 2U, an online program management provider (OPM), showcased its new vision: “Career. Curriculum. Continuum. A construct for lifelong learning in the 21st century.” 2U, founded in 2008 and went public in 2014, was looking to expand beyond... View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Architectural Innovation; Make V. Buy; Learning; Higher Education; Internet and the Web; Innovation Strategy; Transformation; Digital Transformation

January 2017
Supplement

Intrapreneurship at DaVita HealthCare Partners: Cash Flow Tool

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton

DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (DaVita) is one of the U.S.'s leading dialysis providers, a process whereby persons with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are connected to a machine that performs the functions of a healthy kidney. Kent Thiry, DaVita's CEO, has expanded... View Details

Keywords: Intrapreneurship; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Startup Management; Startup; Strategic Positioning; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Business Startups; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States

02 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

The Success of Persistent Entrepreneurs

When it comes to entrepreneurship, nothing says success like a track record of previous wins. Entrepreneurs with a history of success are much more likely to succeed in new ventures than first-timers or those who failed previously, new research from Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

January 1990 (Revised March 1994)
Case

Accountants and Business Advisors, Inc.: City Office

Over the past several years both the share of women receiving accounting degrees and the share of women entering public accounting have risen substantially. However, the number of women holding senior positions, such as partner, remains low. This case provides data on... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Retention; Gender; Accounting Industry

28 Apr 2021
News

Liberty Mutual Insurance Elects George Serafeim of Harvard Business School to the Company's Board of Directors

February 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Supplement

CityCenter (C): Turmoil and Choices

By: John D. Macomber

"CityCenter (C)" follows the (A) and (B) cases chronologically. The (C) case explores the decisions facing MGM MIRAGE following a lawsuit by partner Dubai World and suspension of Dubai World's cash contributions to the project in early 2009. Issues include the... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Private Equity; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Decisions; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict and Resolution; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Nevada

2020
Book

Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Over a decade ago, renowned innovation expert Rosabeth Moss Kanter co-founded and then directed Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. Her breakthrough work with hundreds of successful professionals and executives, as well as aspiring young entrepreneurs, identifies... View Details

Keywords: Leaders; Advanced Leadership; Advanced Leadership Initiative; Community; Change Leadership; Innovation; Problem Solving; Cross-sector Collaboration; Institutional Change; Leadership; Change; Leading Change; Communication; Innovation Leadership; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Community Relations; Civil Society or Community

April 2022
Case

Marsha Simms: Trailblazer in Corporate Law

By: Robin Ely, Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Olivia Hull

Follows the journey of lawyer Marsha Simms from her childhood in racially-segregated St. Louis to the upper echelons of the New York legal community. Describes her education, career choices, accomplishments, and setbacks. Highlights significant moments such as her... View Details

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (F): Expanding in Africa

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

he case opens in 2018 after KITEA has recorded two years of double-digit sales growth following IKEA’s entry into the Moroccan market. It then traces the factors that contributed to KITEA’s success and that led Tana Africa Capital Limited to acquire a minority stake in... View Details

December 2010 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Los Grobo: Farming's Future?

By: David E. Bell and Cintra Scott

This case describes the international expansion plans of the second largest grain producer in Latin America, Los Grobo. Based in Argentina with US$550 million in annual sales, Los Grobo also operated in Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay--usually with local partners. Los... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Business Model; Ownership; Networks; Expansion; Information Technology; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Argentina