Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(992)
- Faculty Publications (168)
- March 2014 (Revised May 2014)
- Case
China Vanke (A-1)
By: Lynn S. Paine, John Macomber and Keith Chi-ho Wong
As China's largest homebuilder, China Vanke Co. Ltd. (Vanke) was facing an industry downturn sparked by strong government intervention. Faced with falling prices, Vanke's president must decide whether to keep the company's pricing and product positioning intact, and... View Details
- 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
- December 2013
- Supplement
Rough Justice: Stuart Eizenstat and Holocaust-Era Asset Restitution (B)
By: James K. Sebenius and Laurence A. Green
This case carefully traces the process by which Stuart Eizenstat handled the negotiation challenges outlined in "Rough Justice: Stuart Eizenstat and Holocaust-Era Asset Restitution (A)". It describes the outcome of the Swiss negotiations and briefly sketches... View Details
- 2013
- Working Paper
Historical Origins of Environmental Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s-1980s
By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski
This working paper examines the growth of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. German business has been regarded as pioneering corporate environmentalism after World War II. In contrast, this study reveals... View Details
- 2013
- Working Paper
Debating the Responsibility of Capitalism in Historical and Global Perspective
By: Geoffrey Jones
This working paper examines the evolution of concepts of the responsibility of business in a historical and global perspective. It shows that from the nineteenth century American, European, Japanese, Indian and other business leaders discussed the responsibilities of... View Details
Keywords: Rachel Carson; Sustainability; Local Food; Operations Management; Supply Chain; Business And Society; Business Ethics; Business History; Corporate Philanthropy; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Social Responsibility And Impact; Environmentalism; Environmental Entrepreneurship; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Ethics; Globalization; History; Religion; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America; Africa
- March 2013 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
Rough Justice: Stuart Eizenstat and Holocaust-era Asset Restitution (A)
By: James K. Sebenius and Laurence A. Green
Beginning in 1994, a series of articles and public disclosures indicated that Swiss banks may have retained assets belonging to victims of the Holocaust, and also may have engaged in long term attempts to block survivors' ability to recover those assets after World War... View Details
- March 2013 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
C12 Energy
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and James McQuade
C12 aimed to build not only a company, but an entire industry around carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). "You change the world by building a market, and you build a market by building a profitable company that other people copy," said Dawe, C12 Energy's CEO. "In... View Details
- February 2013 (Revised December 2015)
- Case
Groom Energy Solutions: Selling Efficiency
By: Michael W. Toffel, Kira R. Fabrizio and Stephanie van Sice
Groom Energy Solutions helps organizations reduce their energy use and costs through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, which create long-term financial and environmental benefits. With early success serving customers in the cold storage and industrial... View Details
Keywords: Groom Energy Solutions; Jon Guerster; Salem, MA; Energy Management; Energy Efficiency Paradox; Sustainability Management; Manufacturing; Cold Storage; Commercial Real Estate; Enterprise Smart Grid; Carbon Accounting; LED Lighting; Sustainability Research; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Entrepreneurship; Energy Entrepreneurship; Energy Services; Electricity; Startup; Expansion; Growth; Sustainability; Business Startups; Forecasting and Prediction; Energy Conservation; Revenue; Geographic Location; Human Resources; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Delivery; Strategic Planning; Science; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Society; Social Issues; Technology Adoption; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Boston
- January 2013 (Revised August 2013)
- Case
First Solar: CFRA's Accounting Quality Concerns
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Ian McKown Cornell
The case relates to accounting quality analysis conducted by the leading research firm Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA) on companies in the solar industry with a focus on First Solar Inc. In 2009, CFRA was concerned that First Solar, like much of the... View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Accounting Quality; Financial Accounting; Financial Statement Analysis; Accounting Fraud; Accounting Red Flags; Accounting Scandal; Risk and Uncertainty; Quality; Earnings Management; Valuation; Crime and Corruption; Financial Statements; Energy Sources; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry
- December 2012
- Case
Trouble Brewing for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Michael Norris
In October 2011, noted hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital delivered a presentation at an investors' conference analyzing the business and accounting quality weaknesses of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Until then Green Mountain had exhibited rapid... View Details
Keywords: Accounting Fraud; Accounting Quality; Accounting Red Flags; Accounting Restatements; Accounting Scandal; Accounting Information; Financial Accounting; Financial Analysts; Financial Analysis; Financial Intermediaries; Hedge Funds; Financial Ratios; Financial Statement Analysis; Valuation Methodologies; Earnings Quality; Accounting; Quality; Earnings Management; Valuation; Crime and Corruption; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Reporting; Investment Funds; Financial Statements; Food and Beverage Industry
- 2012
- Working Paper
Entrepreneurship in the Natural Food and Beauty Categories Before 2000: Global Visions and Local Expressions
By: Geoffrey Jones
This working paper examines the creation of the global natural food and beauty categories before 2000. This is shown to have been a lengthy process of new category creation involving the exercise of entrepreneurial imagination. Pioneering entrepreneurs faced little... View Details
Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Goods; Entrepreneurs; Environment; Food; Globalization; Business History; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America
- Article
In Search of the Hybrid Ideal
By: Julie Battilana, Matthew Lee, John Walker and Cheryl Dorsey
In the first large-scale, quantitative study of nascent social entrepreneurs, researchers from Harvard Business School and Echoing Green examine the rise of hybrid organizations that combine aspects of nonprofits and for-profits and the challenges hybrids face as they... View Details
- March 2012
- Article
New Project? Don't Analyze—Act
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Charles F. Kiefer and Paul B. Brown
In a predictable world, getting a new initiative off the ground typically involves analyzing the market, creating a forecast, and writing a business plan. But what about in an unpredictable environment? The authors recommend looking to those who are experts in... View Details
- 2012
- Chapter
Sustainable Cities: Oxymoron or the Shape of the Future?
By: Robert G. Eccles, Annissa Alusi, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul
Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to... View Details
- March 2011 (Revised February 2014)
- Case
Cree, Inc.: Which Bright Future?
By: David J. Collis, Mary Furey and Matthew Shaffer
After its founding in the late 1980s, Cree Inc. quickly grew into a major player in the emerging LED market. By 2007, technological improvements in LEDs had made them suitable for TV, computer, and mobile "backlighting"; and concerns over global warning led to calls to... View Details
Keywords: Cree; LEDs; Lighting Market; Clean Tech; Energy Policy; Semiconductors; North Carolina; Business Growth and Maturation; Forecasting and Prediction; Innovation and Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Technology Adoption; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; North Carolina; Raleigh
- February 2011
- Supplement
The Fox Islands Wind Project (B)
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Evan Richardson
Fox Island Wind Cooperative faces criticism from local residents. View Details
- 2010
- Working Paper
Sustainable Cities: Oxymoron or the Shape of the Future?
By: Annissa Alusi, Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul
Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to... View Details
- September 2010 (Revised November 2010)
- Case
Ze-gen: Commercializing Clean Tech
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Kaitlyn Lyons and Scott Prozeller
The Ze-gen case covers the first five years in the life of a clean-tech start-up. Ze-gen had developed an innovative technology that converted solid waste into synthesis gas (called syngas). This technology was in testing at the company's pilot plant, built next to the... View Details
- 2010
- Working Paper
Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Ramana Nanda
We examine the extent to which venture capital is adequately positioned for the rapid commercialization of clean energy technologies in the United States. While there are several startups in clean energy that are well-suited to the traditional venture capital... View Details
- June 2010 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
U.S. Department of Energy & Recovery Act Funding: Bridging the "Valley of Death"
By: Michael J. Roberts, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Ramana Nanda
The case focuses on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the $38 billion of stimulus funding the DOE received to encourage clean tech. They focus on "bridging the valley of death" (i.e., helping young, innovative companies finance technically risky and very capital... View Details