Publications

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June 1990 (Revised April 1993)
Teaching Note

Novo Industri A/S--1981, Teaching Note

By: W. Carl Kester

Teaching Note for (9-286-084). View Details

Keywords: Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Denmark; United States

March 2016
Case

IC Group A/S

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

IC Group owned several of Scandinavia's leading premium fashion brands. How should it respond to the decline of its primary wholesale distribution channels (independent fashion boutiques and department stores)? Should it open more physical stores or focus on... View Details

September 2023
Background Note

Amager Bakke: Municipal Waste to Energy

By: Willy Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter

This background note describes the Amager Bakke waste-to-energy (WtE) plant in Copenhagen, which merges traditional waste incineration with a combined heat and power (CHP) plant and air pollution control (scrubbing) technology, and had plans to add carbon dioxide (CO2)... View Details

July 2013
Case

Novozymes: Establishing the Cellulosic Ethanol Value Chain

By: Willy Shih and Sen Chai

As the world's largest producer of industrial enzymes, Novozymes had invested heavily for many years to bio-engineer enzymes that could break down cellulose into fermentable sugar. In 2010, the company had launched what it thought would become a breakthrough product... View Details

25 Jul 2013
News

An Engine of Education Innovation

says he owes to his immigrant background—he moved to the States from Denmark at age 9—as well as a yearlong experience he had as a teacher and assistant principal at an inner-city school in New York City just before coming to Harvard. "It... View Details

Keywords: Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

18 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Embracing Activism for Social Change

America, two years with an impact investment venture capital fund in India, and a year in Denmark as a Fulbright Research Fellow studying social return on investment methodologies. Mendu says being chosen as an HBS Leadership Fellow was... View Details

July 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Background Note

District Heating: An Overview

By: Willy Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This note provides an overview of district heating: systems in which central plants generate heat that is conveyed by steam or water through a set of insulated pipes to send heat to residential and/or commercial buildings. It describes key elements of the system (heat... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Energy Storage; Energy Transmission; Construction; Energy; Buildings and Facilities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Climate Change; Operations; Energy Industry; Denmark; Europe; United States

July 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Case

The LEGO Group: Builders of a More Diverse and Inclusive Tomorrow

By: Elie Ofek and Sarah Mehta

This case explores how the LEGO Group’s diversity and inclusion efforts from 2008 to 2022. View Details

Keywords: Race; Inclusion; Equity; Demographics; Age; Diversity; Ethnicity; Gender; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe; Denmark; United States

2014
Working Paper

Waste, Recycling and Entrepreneurship in Central and Northern Europe, 1870–1940

By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora

This working paper examines the role of entrepreneurs in the municipal solid waste industry in industrialized central and northern Europe from the late nineteenth century to the 1940s. It explores the emergence of numerous German, Danish, and other European... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Entrepreneurship; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Health; History; Green Technology Industry; Germany; Denmark; Hungary; United Kingdom

SSRN

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10 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Entrepreneurs: Lessons for Government Policy

"A certain efficiency exists in the market when it comes to which businesses get off the ground.” "Thanks to this unusually detailed data, we can determine for each individual what fraction of their colleagues were entrepreneurs in the past," says Nanda,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

01 Dec 2016
News

Ask the Expert: Energy’s Next Era

© d20/ZUMA © d20/ZUMA Governments across the globe are getting serious about weaning themselves off of fossil fuels. Denmark has pledged to be powered solely by renewable energy by 2050; Sweden pledged to reach the goal by 2040. Hawaii... View Details

2010
Report

Nordic Globalization Barometer 2010

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The 2010 Nordic Globalization Barometer, the third in this series, is again designed to serve as input to the discussions of the five Nordic Prime Ministers (representing Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) at the Nordic Globalization Forum. In its first... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Competition; Research and Development; Policy; Financial Crisis; Denmark; Finland; Iceland; Norway; China

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September 2014
Case

Radiometer, 2013

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2013, Radiometer continued to lead the world in blood gas analysis equipment and accessories, selling direct and through distributors to hospital central laboratories, point-of-care locations, and non-hospital medical locations. Founded in 1935 and based in Denmark,... View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices; Medical Equipment ＆ Devices; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Strategic Analysis; Strategic Change; Family Business; Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Denmark; United States

2011
Working Paper

Historical Trajectories and Corporate Competences in Wind Energy

By: Geoffrey Jones and Loubna Bouamane

This working paper surveys the business history of the global wind energy turbine industry between the late nineteenth century and the present day. It examines the long-term prominence of firms headquartered in Denmark, the more fluctuating role of U.S.-based firms,... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Renewable Energy; Competitive Advantage; Technology Adoption; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; United States; Denmark