Publications

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

Keywords: Business Startups; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Environmental Sustainability; Commercialization; Green Technology Industry; New Bedford

05 Sep 2023
Book

Failing Well: How Your ‘Intelligent Failure’ Unlocks Your Full Potential

Business School Professor Amy Edmondson argues in her new book Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well. Alimta is an example of an “intelligent failure,” Edmondson says, because the scientists developing it had no way to advance... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

17 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 17, 2007

conducted by the Census Bureau and National Science Foundation. The developed platform offers an unprecedented view of the R&D-to-patenting innovation process and a close analysis of the strengths and limitations of the Industry... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Jul 2023
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2023

the Second Half of Life, as well as the forthcoming Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, coauthored with Oprah Winfrey. Hise Gibson: Leadership and habit formation My summer... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

08 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

How to Fix a Broken Marketplace

tackled the market for new medical residents, economists, and lawyers. (Forbes magazine named him one of the world's "seven most powerful new economists.") "Market design is the engineering part of game theory," Roth explains. "It's the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

01 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 1, 2006

Innovation Life Cycle Author:George F. Westerman, Warren McFarlan, and Marco Iansiti Periodical:Organization Science 17, no. 2 (March-April 2006): 230-238. Differing bases of competition in early and later... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2009
Article

GHG Trading Framework for the U.S. Biofuels Sector

By: Subbu Kumarappan and Satish V. Joshi

Substitution of petroleum fuels with biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel has been shown to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These GHG reductions can be traded in the emerging carbon markets, and methodologies for quantifying and trading are still being... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Sources; Energy Industry; United States

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September 2018
Case

Verisk: Trailblazing in the Big Data Jungle

By: Andrew Wasynczuk, Francesca Gino and Karim Sameh

This case revolves around Verisk Analytics' initiatives to drive innovation throughout the firm's many business verticals. Verisk, originally named ISO, started life as an insurance rating agency in the early 1970s, acting as an intermediary between insurance companies... View Details

Article

Strategic Management of Product Recovery

By: Michael W. Toffel

Manufacturers of an expanding range of durable products are facing regulatory and market pressures to manage the products they manufactured upon their end of life (EOL). In part, this attention is motivated by a growing number of countries—especially across Europe and... View Details

Keywords: Product; Environmental Sustainability; Cost Management; Government Legislation; Logistics; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Europe; Asia; United States

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13 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How To Reach It)

of such interviews can be used to design more comprehensive surveys. And properly designed surveys, when subjected to careful statistical analyses, can yield further insights into unconscious consumer thinking. Q: At what point in the product View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

23 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 23

paper: http://www.whatworksforamerica.org/ideas/inflection-point-new-vision-new-strategy-new-organization/ Customer-Driven Misconduct: How Competition Corrupts Business Practices Authors:Victor Manuel Bennett, Lamar Pierce, Jason A. Snyder, and Michael W. Toffel... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Shanghai: GDP Apostasy

By: George Serafeim

Balancing economic growth alongside environmental sustainability and social inclusion was becoming increasingly important in China. The case describes Shanghai's decision to abandon growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as its primary metric of measuring success.... View Details

Keywords: China; Gdp; Measurement; Measurement Problems; Accountability; Sustainability; Sustainable Development; Strategy Execution; Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Strategy Map; Macroeconomics; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Accountability; Accounting; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Corporate Governance; Shanghai

21 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 21, 2010

continued collaboration. Building a Better America—One Wealth Quintile at a Time Authors:Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely Publication:Perspectives on Psychological Science (forthcoming) Abstract Disagreements about the optimal level of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Dec 2023
Book

HBS Faculty Books of 2023: Find Happiness, Fix Things, and Fail Well

Faculty-authored books that came out in 2023 hit many of the notes one would expect of the quiet quitter era: Finding new paths to happiness. Thriving after failure. Building a flexible and fulfilling life that prioritizes relationships... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

13 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 13

School Case 614-056 BGI: Data-driven Research BGI has the largest installed gene-sequencing capacity in the world, and to Zhang Gengyun, general manager of the Life Sciences Division, this represented an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

venture-backed life sciences firm. In reviewing her proposal, Cristy Barnes considers the company's characteristics and how they differ from a typical investment. At the same time, the CEO and the venture... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2010
Chapter

Lessons from Catastrophe Reinsurance

By: Kenneth A. Froot

Of the 20 most costly catastrophes since 1970, more than half have occurred since 2001. Is this an omen of what the 21st century will be? How might we behave in this new, uncertain, and more dangerous environment? Will our actions be rational or irrational? A select... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Insurance; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Disasters; Behavior