Publications

03 Jul 2008
Working Paper Summaries

The Future of Social Enterprise

Keywords: by V. Kasturi Rangan, Herman B. Leonard & Susan McDonald

2010
Working Paper

The Limits of Nonprofit Impact: A Contingency Framework for Measuring Social Performance

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan

Leaders of organizations in the social sector are under growing pressure to demonstrate their impacts on pressing societal problems such as global poverty. We review the debates around performance and impact, drawing on three literatures: strategic philanthropy,... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Expectations; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Issues

Read Now

25 May 2021
Blog Post

The Surprising Power of Nostalgia at Work

for managers to view nostalgia as having value within their organizations. However, a growing body of research reveals that it’s an important psychological resource that helps individuals cope with life’s stressors, build strong... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

October 2008
Case

TripIt: The Traveler's Agent

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Gabriele Piccoli and Kathryn Brohman

In July 2008, the co-founders of TripIt, a free online travel organizer that aggregated travelers' bookings from many top travel websites, had recently secured $5.1 million in new financing. While the co-founders believed that their company offered travelers a unique... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investment; Profit; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Competition; Internet; Travel Industry

June 2009 (Revised October 2009)
Case

SABIS—A Global Educational Venture From Lebanon

Carl Bistany is struggling with how the global educational management company, SABIS, can grow 100-fold in the coming twelve years. Founded in 1886 in Lebanon, SABIS is the world's largest and only global education management organization (EMO), with schools in the US,... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Entrepreneurship; Business Education; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Lebanon

June 2020 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Deloitte's Pixel (A): Consulting with Open Talent

By: Michael L. Tushman, John Winsor and Kerry Herman

Deloitte Consulting’s General Manager Balaji Bondili, head of Pixel, considers how best to grow Deloitte Consulting’s use of open (on-demand) talent, as consulting companies and their clients face transformative change in the way client engagements and projects get... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Talent and Talent Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Consulting Industry; United States

Research Summary

New Venture Growth

Young and no Money? Never Mind: Strategies for New Venture Growth. Being revised (R&R) for Organization Science.

Mukti's dissertation, "Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow: Strategies for New Venture Growth," explored how intangible resources such... View Details

18 Mar 2021
News

With More People Working from Home, Valuable Connections Lost

June 2011 (Revised April 2014)
Case

sweetriot 2.0

By: Christopher Marquis, Donna Khalife and Bobbi Thomason

In the fall of 2010, Sarah Endline, CEO and Founder of sweetriot, an organic chocolate company, was deciding the best way to grow her organic chocolate company, while keeping her chocolate physically and conceptually on the shelf. She wanted to grow the offerings and... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Profit; Business Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Economic Growth; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (state, US)

February 2016 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

Oberoi Hotels: Train Whistle in the Tiger Reserve

By: Ryan W. Buell and Ananth Raman

Celebrated as one of the world's premiere luxury hotel brands, Oberoi Hotels attracts and serves some of the most quality sensitive guests in the world. The case considers the challenge of how an organization with a standardized service model can repeatedly delight... View Details

Keywords: Service Quality; Service Management; Service Quality Competition; Customer Management; Customer Service Excellence; Employee Empowerment; Employee Engagement; Employee Training; Hospitality; Hotel Industry; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Customer Satisfaction; Employees; Training; Quality; Accommodations Industry; India

July 1993 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Millipore Corporate Strategy

By: Nitin Nohria and V. Kasturi Rangan

Millipore, a $750 million (sales) company with three divisions, had been growing at a rate of 20% in the 1970s, but this growth rate had slowed considerably in the 1980s. CEO John Gilmartin was looking for ways to reenergize the organization and redirect its strategy... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Corporate Strategy; Restructuring; Growth and Development Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Business Processes; Organizational Structure

Find at Harvard

14 Feb 2018
Blog Post

Meet HBS Leadership Fellows: Verdell Walker, Sesame Workshop

Fellowship year. Sesame Workshop (SW) is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street and much more. SW’s mission is to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Since I’ve been here, I’ve... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

Teaching Interest

The Entrepreneurial Manager (TEM)

This course addresses the issues faced by managers who wish to turn opportunity into viable organizations that create value, and empowers students to develop their own approaches, guidelines, and skills for being entrepreneurial managers.

The course teaches... View Details

Teaching Interest

The Entrepreneurial Manager (TEM)

By: Archie L. Jones

This course addresses the issues faced by managers who wish to turn opportunity into viable organizations that create value, and empowers students to develop their own approaches, guidelines and skills for being entrepreneurial managers.

This course teaches... View Details

Teaching Interest

The Entrepreneurial Manager

By: Martin A. Sinozich

This course addresses the issues faced by managers who wish to turn opportunity into viable organizations that create value, and empowers students to develop their own approaches, guidelines, and skills for being entrepreneurial managers.

The course teaches... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurial Financing; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Mindset; Entrepreneurial Journey

July 2023
Case

Crocs: Using Community-Centric Marketing to Make Ugly Iconic

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

In 2022, the Crocs Classic Clog was the best-selling item of clothing on Amazon, the brand was one of the fastest growing brands in the U.S., and global net revenue had increased to approximately $3.6 billion. By most accounts, Crocs had become the “it” shoe. Crocs... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Growth and Development; Customer Value and Value Chain; Digital Marketing; Digital Strategy; Segmentation; Advertising; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

September 2009 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Root Capital

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

Founded in 1999, Root Capital had loaned $150 million to nearly 250 small and growing businesses, mainly in Latin America. In 2009, as the organization launched a five-year, $55 million capital campaign, it had to determine a strategic path going forward in keeping... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Capital; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Latin America

September 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Explore, Inc.

By: Allen S. Grossman, James E. Austin, Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus

Documents the creation of a national before and after-school day care program aimed at bridging the gap between school and parents' work schedules. This high-growth, for-profit social enterprise organization operated in what was historically the domain of nonprofit or... View Details

Keywords: Microeconomics; Growth and Development; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Mission and Purpose; Performance Expectations; Quality; Social Enterprise; Travel Industry