Publications

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23 May 2019
Book

These Entrepreneurs Take a Pragmatic Approach to Solving Social Problems

In 1908, Harvard Business School’s first dean, Edwin Francis Gay, welcomed the School’s inaugural class of 59 students by saying that HBS was challenged with encouraging its students to have the “intellectual respect for business as a profession, with the social... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Green Technology

June 1990 (Revised February 1991)
Case

In the Shadow of the City

Traces the history of a collaborative effort to create an organization to manage a major international development project in the slums of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Focuses on a serious set of disagreements which develops several months into the project between the two... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Ethiopia

September 2013
Teaching Note

Gary Hirshberg and Stonyfield Farm

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Nora N. Khan

Gary Hirshberg and Stonyfield Farm is the story of one entrepreneur's vision and journey to create a market-leading, environmentally responsible business founded on the principles of product quality, organizational alignment and sustainability. A former... View Details

Keywords: Development Stage Enterprises; Entrepreneurs; Experimentation; Management By Objective; Technology; Values; Leadership; Entrepreneurship; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

October 2019
Case

Harlem Capital: Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship (A)

By: George Serafeim

Jarrid Tingle and Henri Pierre-Jacques had spent the summer between their first and second years of their Harvard Business School MBA program fund raising for their start-up venture capital (VC) firm, Harlem Capital Partners. Harlem Capital was founded upon the... View Details

June 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Mercy Corps: Global Social Entrepreneurship (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Daniel F. Curran

Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps International, built his organization by following the advice of Theodore Roosevelt: "Be smart enough to hire good people and have sense enough to get out of their way." For eight years, Keny-Guyer helped Mercy Corps grow in size and... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Government and Politics; Selection and Staffing; Leadership; Organizational Structure; Opportunities; Afghanistan; Iraq

July 1995 (Revised September 1995)
Background Note

Technology for Teams

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Geoffrey Bock

The importance of groups in organizations has long been recognized but, until recently, groups were always "tacked onto" organizations that were designed around individuals. It was not just the logic of classical organizational theory that perpetuated this focus on the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Groups and Teams

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March 2012 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Gary Hirshberg and Stonyfield Farm

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Nora N. Khan and Elizabeth W. Legris

Gary Hirshberg and Stonyfield Farm is the story of one entrepreneur's vision and journey to create a market-leading, environmentally responsible business founded on the principles of product quality, organizational alignment, and sustainability. A former environmental... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Values; Development Stage Enterprises; Innovation; Management By Objective; Experimentation; Emerging Technologies; Mission and Purpose; Management Style; Values and Beliefs; Social Issues; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry; New Hampshire

2016
Working Paper

Alternative Paths of Green Entrepreneurship: The Environmental Legacies of The North Face's Doug Tompkins and Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard

By: Geoffrey Jones and Ben Gettinger

This working paper examines the impact of two entrepreneurs who offered alternative paths to reach their shared goal of a more sustainable world. Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins were respective founders of the prominent outdoor apparel brands Patagonia and The North... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry

SSRN

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October 2018
Case

Recipe for Success: Growth and Evolution at Cafe Cupcake

By: Anthony Mayo and Heather Beckham

Café Cupcake (CC) is a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers artisan cupcakes and light fare throughout the southeastern United States and Texas. This case chronicles the growth and evolution of Café Cupcake. It also considers the specific human resource challenges... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Human Resources; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

July 1993 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Phil Knight Managing NIKE's Transformation

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Describes Nike's responses to market and competitive challenges as well as its attempts at an organizational transformation from unstructured entrepreneurial management to more formalized, professional management. Focuses on Phil Knight's leadership role. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Competition

07 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Government’s Positive Role in Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship

that the temptation for individuals and organizations to take steps that benefit themselves, rather than the broader social good, is universal and minimizing that danger. Q: When governments do attempt to spur venture capital and View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

December 2008
Article

The Teaching of Strategy: From General Manager to Analyst and Back Again?

By: Joseph L. Bower

Courses in strategy are an outgrowth of the business policy course first taught at Harvard Business School in 1912. This article examines how the teaching of a course concerned with the development and implementation of the goals and policies of a firm changed during... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Teaching; Policy; Business History; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy

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March 2020
Case

Forbidden City: Launching a Craft Beer in China

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Carole Carlson

This case describes a difficult choice faced by Victor Wang, Managing Director of Singapore-based Eurasian Brewing Company (EBC), concerning the competing product launch plans of Le Jie, Vice President of EBC's China and East Asian operations, and Vivian Chin, EBC's... View Details

Keywords: Subsidiary Management; Craft Brewing; Strategy; Decision Making; Organizational Structure; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Management Style; Food and Beverage Industry; China; East Asia

February 1989
Background Note

Note on Attracting Stakeholders

By: Amar Bhide and Howard H. Stevenson

Acquiring resources--or to put it more broadly, attracting stakeholders--is a basic entrepreneurial task. While every enterprise needs employees, customers, suppliers, and financiers who are willing to risk their time and money, attracting these "stakeholders" to an... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Human Resources; Organizational Design; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty