Publications

2010
Working Paper

Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Ramana Nanda

We examine the extent to which venture capital is adequately positioned for the rapid commercialization of clean energy technologies in the United States. While there are several startups in clean energy that are well-suited to the traditional venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Energy Generation; Venture Capital; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Technological Innovation; Competition; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States

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January 2012 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Georges Doriot and American Venture Capital

By: Tom Nicholas and David Chen

Keywords: History; Venture Capital; Business History; Entrepreneurship; United States

23 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

The Founder of Modern Venture Capital

Georges F. Doriot, an educator and a founder of the modern venture capital industry, is the subject of a new exhibition and website at Harvard Business School, where he spent 40 years. The charismatic professor taught business and... View Details

Keywords: Education; Financial Services

January 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Background Note

A High-Tech Revolution with Chinese Characteristics: China's Drive Towards EV Supremacy

By: William C. Kirby, Daniel Fu and Matthew Ngai

This background note explains and documents the rise of China's EV industry. Moreover, it identifies the challenges facing it and posits several questions about the decisions needed to be made to sustain the industry's global dominance. Would Chinese producers be able... View Details

Keywords: China; State Capitalism; Electric Vehicles; Tesla; Renewable Energy

04 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Diversity Boosts Profits in Venture Capital Firms

yuri_arcurs Recent research shows for the first time that diversity in venture capital firms not only spawns creativity and alternative viewpoints, but also improves financial performance. Paul Gompers, Eugene Holman Professor of Business... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Banking; Financial Services

Forthcoming
Article

Human Capital and the Managerial Revolution in the United States: Evidence from General Electric

By: Tom Nicholas

This paper estimates the returns to human capital accumulation during the first era of mega-firms in the United States by linking employees at General Electric—a canonical enterprise associated with the “visible hand” of managerial hierarchies—to the 1940 census. I... View Details

Keywords: Returns To Education; Management Practices; Hierarchies; Management Practices and Processes; Rank and Position; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Business History; United States

February 1997
Case

Advent of Venture Capital in Latin America, The

By: Debora L. Spar

Widely regarded as the leader in international private equity, Advent International is considering the establishment of a private equity fund in Latin America in 1996. Typically, Advent entered new private equity markets through the creation of multicountry regional... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Joint Ventures; Market Entry and Exit; Globalized Markets and Industries; Financial Services Industry; Boston; Latin America

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March 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Miami’s Climate Tech Potential (A): The State of Play

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Miami-Dade County led the work to get South Florida designated a national climate resilience tech hub, the only one of 31 focused on climate change, an urgent major issue for the region in light of global warming and sea level rise. Venture capitalists saw the... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Climate; Entrepreneur; Development; Startup; Climate Change; Venture Capital; Investment; Entrepreneurship; Green Technology; Government Administration; City; Miami

30 Apr 2020
Book

Fighting Climate Change Requires a New Capitalism

Rebecca Henderson spent her young adult years living two lives. At work, she preached the risks of resisting change to MBA students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, drawing on lessons she learned while watching factories close as a management consultant.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Energy

June 2024
Teaching Note

Miami’s Climate Tech Potential (A): The State of Play

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 324-119. Miami-Dade County led the work to get South Florida designated a national climate resilience tech hub, the only one of 31 focused on climate change, an urgent major issue for the region in light of global warming and sea level... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Climate; Entrepreneur; Development; Startup; Climate Change; Venture Capital; Investment; Entrepreneurship; Green Technology; Government Administration; City; Miami

August 1985
Case

Capital Gains Tax Cut of 1978

By: Michael G. Rukstad and Nancy F. Koehn

Keywords: Taxation; United States

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03 May 2017
Book

The Clear Connection Between Slavery and American Capitalism

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July 2007
Article

Geographical Segmentation of U.S. Capital Markets

Demographic variation in savings behavior can be exploited to provide evidence on segmentation in US bank loan markets. Cities with a large fraction of seniors have higher volumes of bank deposits. Since many banks rely heavily on deposit financing, this affects local... View Details

Keywords: Age; Economy; Capital Markets; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Local Range; United States

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15 Oct 2024
Cold Call Podcast

What Sequoia Capital Can Teach Leaders About Sustaining Long-Term Growth

Keywords: Re: Jo Tango & Christina M. Wallace; Financial Services

February 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Quiksilver Inc. and Oaktree Capital Management

By: Kristin Mugford and Mike Harmon

Sports lifestyle company Quiksilver filed for bankruptcy in September 2015. Oaktree is considering an additional investment in the company to facilitate the restructuring. Students must consider whether Oaktree should invest given the risks of the turnaround... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Bankruptcy Reorganization; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Acquisition; Restructuring; Debt Securities; Transformation; Decision Making; Borrowing and Debt; Investment Return; Crisis Management; Negotiation; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry; France; United States

06 Aug 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Buy Local? The Geography of Successful and Unsuccessful Venture Capital Expansion

Keywords: by Henry Chen, Paul A. Gompers, Anna Kovner & Josh Lerner

September 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Qatar: Energy for Development

By: Aldo Musacchio, Colin Donovan, Samir Mikati, Rami Sarafa and Abdulla AlMisnad

Despite being the richest country in the world on a per capita basis, for analysts Qatar belongs in the group of emerging markets considered "frontier markets." This case analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the development strategy of this small country as set... View Details

Keywords: Frontier Markets; State-owned Enterprises; State Capitalism; Sovereign Wealth Funds; Economic Development; Sovereign Finance; State Ownership; Development Economics; Energy Industry; Middle East; Qatar

July 2011
Case

Edna McConnell Clark Foundation-Enabling a Performance Driven Philanthropic Capital Market

By: Allen Grossman and Aldo Sesia

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, focused on building the organizational capabilities of nonprofits that served the disadvantaged youth in the United States, has recently been named an intermediary in the federal government's new social innovation fund (SIF), which... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Financial Strategy; Performance Improvement; Capital Markets; United States