Publications

SSRN

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May 2016 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Fasten: Challenging Uber and Lyft with a New Business Model

By: Feng Zhu and Angela Acocella

Fasten, a new ridesharing start-up in Boston, entered the scene in September 2015 hoping its unique vision of transparency for both driver and passenger and strategy to keep riders' fares low and charge drivers a flat $0.99 fee per ride as opposed to the 20-30%... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Transportation; Business Startups; Business Model; Transportation Industry; Boston

10 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - Innovations to Address the Global Water Crisis

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series – Innovations to Address the Global Water Crisis Cover image features Rosario Bazán (left) and Anil Jain (right). Between March 22 – 24th, world View Details

2021
Working Paper

The Changing Role of Business in Society

By: Michael E. Porter

Business interaction with the U.S. government, historically based on securing industry or company special interests at the expense of the public good, has enabled and furthered government dysfunction. Gridlock within the American political system has precluded the... View Details

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September 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Dianrong: Marketplace Lending, Blockchain, and 'The New Finance' in China

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Anthony K. Woo

This case examines the strategic positioning of Dianrong, one of the largest online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in China, in its attempt to become a foundational player in the expansion of the FinTech sector in Asia. Dianrong had recently announced the... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain; Finance; Innovation and Invention; Competition; Product Positioning; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; China

2019
Working Paper

The Consequences of Invention Secrecy: Evidence from the USPTO Patent Secrecy Program in World War II

By: Daniel P. Gross

This paper studies the effects of the USPTO's patent secrecy program in World War II, under which over 11,000 U.S. patent applications were issued secrecy orders that halted examination and prohibited inventors from disclosing their inventions or filing in foreign... View Details

Keywords: Invention Secrecy; Invention Disclosure; Trade Secrecy; Secrecy Orders; Cummulative Innovation; Wold War 2; Patents; National Security; History; Innovation and Invention; Outcome or Result; Intellectual Property; Policy; Commercialization; United States

SSRN

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September 2016 (Revised March 2020)
Teaching Note

Fasten: Challenging Uber and Lyft with a New Business Model

By: Feng Zhu

Fasten, a new ridesharing start-up in Boston, entered the scene in September 2015 hoping its unique vision of transparency for both driver and passenger and strategy to keep riders' fares low and charge drivers a flat $0.99 fee per ride, as opposed to the 20%–30%... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Transportation; Business Startups; Business Model; Transportation Industry; Boston

Web

Innovation & the War Effort - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

scientific talent during the conflict positioned Polaroid well to enter into its next creative phase. EXPLORE MORE OF THE EXHIBIT EXPLORE x HOME EMERGENCE OF A NEW TECHNOLOGY The Invention of the Polarizer A RESEARCH & MANUFACTURING... View Details

October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

KOKO Networks: Bridging Energy Transition and Affordability with Carbon Financing

By: George Serafeim, Siko Sikochi and Namrata Arora

The problem was massive: two million hectares of African forests were lost annually to charcoal production for cooking, an area equivalent to 13 times Greater London, resulting in one billion tons of carbon emissions yearly. At the same time, an estimated 700,000... View Details

Keywords: Clean Tech; Digital; Carbon Credits; Carbon Offsetting; Climate Change; Entrepreneurship; Energy Sources; Environmental Sustainability; Health; Market Design; Business Startups; Transition; Environmental Regulation; Policy; Energy Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Africa; Kenya; Rwanda

2024
Working Paper

Old Moats for New Models: Openness, Control, and Competition in Generative AI

By: Pierre Azoulay, Joshua L. Krieger and Abhishek Nagaraj

Drawing insights from the field of innovation economics, we discuss the likely competitive environment shaping generative AI advances. Central to our analysis are the concepts of appropriability—whether firms in the industry are able to control the knowledge generated... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; AI and Machine Learning; Open Source Distribution; Policy

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18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

2018 Innovation Policy and the Economy The Orphan Drug Act at 35: Observations and an Outlook for the Twenty-First Century By: Bagley, Nicholas,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

February 2021 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited: Global Leadership in Chipmaking

By: William C. Kirby, John P. McHugh and Noah B. Truwit

Keywords: Semiconductors; Geopolitics; Industrial Policy; Information Technology; Innovation Strategy; Competition; Strategy; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan

Web

Wartime Innovation - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

that he underwent the most significant metamorphosis of his life, transforming himself from a professor of business into a world-class builder of innovative new enterprises." 30 Doriot's understanding of the risks View Details

Web

Wartime Innovation - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

that he underwent the most significant metamorphosis of his life, transforming himself from a professor of business into a world-class builder of innovative new enterprises." 30 Doriot's understanding of the risks View Details

03 Apr 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 3, 2018

working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53681 Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in and Engagement with Government By: Buell, Ryan W., Ethan... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 14, 2017

defibrillators, have prolonged and improved the quality of life for millions of patients worldwide. Medical device innovation requires a robust ecosystem that involves medical View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

design tools is a powerful force that is leveling the global technology playing field. It democratizes innovation and makes future competition more challenging. This paper... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

December 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

U.S. Digital Service

By: Mitchell Weiss, Nick Sinai and Michael Norris

Mikey Dickerson and Haley Van Dyck found themselves far from home and far from certain about where to take the U.S. Digital Service (USDS) next. In the summer of 2015, they had landed in London to meet with Mike Bracken, director of the United Kingdom’s Government... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Haley Van Dyck; Mikey Dickerson; United States Digital Service; Digital Services; Innovation Teams; Scaling Innovation; 18F; Presidential Innovation Fellows; Government Digital Service; Mike Bracken; Innovation Fellowships; Entrepreneurship; Government Administration; Innovation and Management; United States; United Kingdom