Publications

March 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Clara Wu Tsai and Brooklyn Loan Innovation

By: Archie L. Jones, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Henry McGee

Philanthropist Clara Wu Tsai is committed to racial equity and investing in Brooklyn-based minority business owners. In the wake of the George Floyd murder, she decides to create a new initiative called the Social Justice Fund and commit an initial $50 million over 10... View Details

Keywords: Minority-owned Businesses; Racial Equity; Entrepreneurship; Race; Values and Beliefs; Small Business; Partners and Partnerships; Social Issues; Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decision Making; Brooklyn

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Civil Society or Community; Japan; Tokyo

December 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Mavens & Moguls: Because Marketing Matters...

By: Myra M. Hart, Kristin Lieb and Victoria Winston

Mavens & Moguls is a virtual marketing-consulting firm of approximately 40 professionals. Examines the processes by which Paige Arnof-Fenn (an HBS grad with deep industry experience)draws on her experience and her network to create a high-quality marketing consulting... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Values and Beliefs; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Experience and Expertise; Growth and Development Strategy; Consulting Industry

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March 2022
Case

Tensions at SearchLight Cures

By: Laura Huang and Sarah Mehta

This general experience case tells the story of SearchLight Cures, a fictional biotechnology startup. Having discovered a new therapy for a rare disease, the company’s co-founders find themselves at an impasse over a pricing disagreement. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Values and Beliefs; Management; Negotiation; Relationships; Partners and Partnerships; Science; Biotechnology Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

June 2013
Teaching Note

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Japan; Tokyo; Economic Systems; Corporate Accountability; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Crime and Corruption; Civil Society or Community; Corporate Governance; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Tokyo

10 Oct 2019
Blog Post

Coming Out at Business School

adamant about making an active effort to come out to my parents, I attribute much of my courage to the formation of self-acceptance. I view my self-acceptance as the deep and fundamental belief that my sexuality does not make me less of a... View Details

March 2021 (Revised June 2022)
Case

James Bryant Conant: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the rise of James Conant from a working-class neighborhood in Boston to president of Harvard University. The case describes how Conant, as a young man interested in chemistry and physics, embarks on studies to build his academic credentials and the... View Details

Keywords: Education; Science; Higher Education; Mission and Purpose; Research; Values and Beliefs; Personal Characteristics; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Education Industry; Boston

September 2015 (Revised July 2025)
Background Note

Ethical Analysis: Situation versus Character

By: Nitin Nohria, Sandra J. Sucher, Joseph Badaracco, Edward H. Chang and Bridget Gurtler

When we think of human behavior, especially from a moral perspective, we often rely on explanations based on character. We think that good decisions and responsible behavior require people with integrity and strong character and that immoral behavior originates within... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Behavior; Personal Characteristics; Power and Influence; Situation or Environment; Values and Beliefs; Social Psychology

01 Sep 2020
News

Road Work

space at the i-Lab, where classmates Wombi Rose and John Wise of LovePop and Michael Martin of RapidSOS were neighbors. To date, Camino’s loans have totaled about $70 million, with average amounts of $16,000 per member (Camino’s term for its clients). “We started with... View Details

Keywords: banking; LatinX; small businesses; COVID-19; Finance

23 May 2019
News

Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, MBA 1995

serve the emerging middle class in Mexico. IGNIA represents Rodríguez’s commitment to his homeland as well as his belief in tackling social problems with market solutions. “We support entrepreneurs because we want to have a positive... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

June 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Can Goodr Fight Food Insecurity at Scale?

By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr

Jasmine Crowe founded Goodr to redirect food waste to people in need. Now a profitable enterprise, she’s searching for Series A funding and encountering pushback. Scaling and contract concerns are also at the forefront of her mind, but so are her values. Feeding... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investor Demand; Food; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Values and Beliefs; Social Issues; Race; Opportunities; Contracts; Mission and Purpose; Financing and Loans

October 1999
Case

Royal Dutch/Shell in Transition (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine

This case describes the decisions made by Shell in response to the situation presented in the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Governance; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Transformation; Energy Industry

Web

Blog | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

belief that emerging mar... SEI25 Series: Azeez Gupta (MBA 2019) Azeez Gupta 31 Jan 2019 This post is part of our Social Enterprise Initiative 25th anniversary blog series, which highlig... SEI25 Series: Jennifer Nash, Director, HBS... View Details

03 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, October 3, 2017

and Julie Battilana Abstract—This paper examines the critical role of gender in the commercialization of social ventures. We argue that cultural beliefs about what is perceived to be appropriate work for each gender influence how founders... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

27 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 27

organizational adoption of practice variants that differ in their degree of customization. Working Papers X-CAPM: An Extrapolative Capital Asset Pricing Model By: Barberis, Nicholas, Robin Greenwood, Lawrence Jin, and Andrei Shleifer Abstract—Survey evidence suggests... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2009
Article

The Reality and Myth of Sacred Issues in Negotiations

By: A. E. Tenbrunsel, K A. Wade-Benzoni, V. H. Medvec, L. Thompson and M. H. Bazerman

This paper investigates the role of sacred issues in a dyadic negotiation set in an environmental context. As predicted, when negotiators focus on sacred issues, this negatively impacts the negotiation, producing more impasses, lower joint outcomes, and more negative... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict of Interests; Perception; Cooperation

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November 2012
Teaching Note

On Weldon's Watch: Recalls at Johnson & Johnson from 2009 to 2010 (TN)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Clayton S. Rose

Teaching Note for On Weldon's Watch: Recalls at Johnson & Johnson from 2009 to 2010 HBS case 311-029. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Crisis Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Quality; Pharmaceutical Industry