Publications

1993
Chapter

Mentoring and Irrationality: The Role of Racial Taboos

By: D. A. Thomas

Keywords: Training; Prejudice and Bias; Race; Perception

01 Mar 2024
News

Turning Point: Eternal Returns

Louisa Wong (MBA 1981) (Illustration by Gisela Goppel) Louisa Wong (MBA 1981) (Illustration by Gisela Goppel) I was born in the middle of Typhoon Gloria in 1957 and spent my early childhood in Kowloon’s Walled City, which at the time was an extremely poor and densely... View Details

Keywords: life experience; search firm; entrepreneurship

2021
Working Paper

Whose Job Is It Anyway? Co-Ethnic Hiring in New U.S. Ventures

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

We explore co-ethnic hiring among new ventures using U.S. administrative data. Co-ethnic hiring is ubiquitous among immigrant groups, averaging about 22.5% and ranging from <2% to >40%. Co-ethnic hiring grows with the size of the local ethnic workforce, greater... View Details

Keywords: Hiring; Job Creation; E-Verify; Immigration; Selection and Staffing; Ethnicity; Entrepreneurship

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17 Jul 2020
News

Support System

In Africa, shea butter is sometimes known as “women’s gold.” Used for everything from skin care to stretch marks to diaper rash, it’s a go-to product in high demand. And it offers employment opportunities for women willing to survey shea-nut trees across the wilds of... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

04 Apr 2018
News

Rebuilding the Girl Scouts Brand

Mishka Pitter-Armand (MBA 2003) was never a Girl Scout; but she is a go-getter, an innovator, a risk taker, and a leader. “When you bring those four words together,” Pitter-Armand says, “they form the acronym G.I.R.L.” In late 2016, Pitter-Armand, head of brand... View Details

08 Oct 2015
News

Zevia CEO Paddy Spence on Being the Scrappy Underdog

Keywords: Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

01 Dec 2000
News

MBAs by the Numbers

The MBA Program recently released statistics on its newest recruits — the Class of 2002 — as well as job placement information on graduates of the Class of 2000. An analysis of the incoming Class of 2002 reveals the growing diversity of the MBA Program, with a one... View Details

Keywords: Telecommunications; Information

08 May 2014
News

The Sky's the Limit

Jeanette Eaton (PMD 72, 1997) is helping a new generation of women take flight. A helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft pilot, Eaton has become an advocate to youth, especially girls, who are considering careers in aviation. "I see a lot of myself in the girls I meet,"... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; women's issues; avaition; Air Transportation; Transportation

01 Dec 2004
News

Exotic Travel

Nichols Photo courtesy Bill Nichols Want to show your kids a real rainforest instead of the Rainforest Cafe? Marketing consultant Bill Nichols (MBA ’78) and his wife, Jennifer, did just that, taking their two children to locales such as Ecuador, Thailand, and Tanzania.... View Details

Keywords: Laura Singleton; Hospitality; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

01 Mar 2003
News

Northern California Initiative Reaches Out to Women, Girls

Schwartz and Thompson-Verga: addressing women's issues in the Bay Area. Photo courtesy Brooke Schwartz For the past seven years, the Women’s Initiative, a group of HBS alumnae in the Bay Area, has been creating networking opportunities for alumnae, reaching out to... View Details

Keywords: Amy Burton; the Women's Initiative; HBS Association of Northern California; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

09 Aug 2011
News

A Toast to Macchu Pisco

Asher: Distilling pisco, riding a wave. Courtesy Melanie Asher In America, it’s the new big thing in cocktails and mixology, or so proclaimed the New York Times (June 22, 2011): “Pisco, the clear grape spirit of South America .the fastest-growing spirit in the... View Details

Keywords: Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

25 Mar 2025
Other Presentation

Louis E. Caldera on the Panama Canal and DEI Under Trump's Administration

By: Louis Caldera and June Carolyn Erlick

Louis E. Caldera, a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, chaired the Panama Canal Commission the year the Canal was returned to Panama, 1999. He was also the first (and only) Latino to serve as Secretary of the Army. He talks on issues ranging from President... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; History; National Security; Diversity; Panama; United States

February 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Sekisui House and the In-Home Early Detection Platform

By: John D. Macomber and Akiko Kanno

To address an aging population and sales declines, a major Japanese homebuilder considers pivoting to provide and support an in-home health detection platform, in competition with tech companies. This case considers the point of view of major builders regarding how... View Details

Keywords: Voice Assistants; Architecture; Smart Home; Aging Society; Digitalization; Real Estate; Home Automation; Sensors; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Health Care and Treatment; Housing; Age; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; Health Industry; Japan

March 2019
Article

Beliefs about Gender

By: Pedro Bordalo, Katherine Baldiga Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer

We conduct laboratory experiments that explore how gender stereotypes shape beliefs about ability of oneself and others in different categories of knowledge. The data reveal two patterns. First, men’s and women’s beliefs about both oneself and others exceed observed... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Perspective; Prejudice and Bias; Gender

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September–October 2017
Article

Blurring the Boundaries: The Interplay of Gender and Local Communities in the Commercialization of Social Ventures

By: Stefan Dimitriadis, Matthew Lee, Lakshmi Ramarajan and Julie Battilana

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 of social ventures incorporate commercial activity into... View Details

Keywords: Community; Cultural Beliefs; Social Enterprise; Gender; Local Range; Commercialization; Culture

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November 2014
Article

Evidence on Self-Stereotyping and the Contribution of Ideas

By: Katherine Baldiga Coffman

We use a lab experiment to explore the factors that predict an individual's decision to contribute her idea to a group. We find that contribution decisions depend upon the interaction of gender and the gender stereotype associated with the decision-making domain:... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizations; Gender

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August 2006 (Revised November 2007)
Background Note

A Framework for Pursuing Diversity in the Workplace

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Michael Brookshire

Assesses the costs and benefits of pursuing diversity and pinpoints the primary barriers to creating diverse workplaces. It also proposes some options for advancing diversity in an organization. View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Diversity

July 2004 (Revised January 2007)
Case

H&R Block and "Everyday Financial Services"

By: Peter Tufano and Daniel Schneider

H&R Block, the U.S. market leader in tax preparation services, must decide whether to offer financial services to its low-income clients. H&R Block is facing increased competition from branded and nonbranded tax preparers, and the number of returns prepared by the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Income; Taxation; Product Development; Financial Services Industry; United States