Publications

25 Sep 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Purpose and Firm Ownership

Keywords: by Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

June 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

An Overview of Project Finance and Infrastructure Finance--2009 Update

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

Provides an introduction to the fields of project finance and infrastructure finance and gives a statistical overview of project-financed investments over the years from 2005 to 2009. Examples of project-financed investments include the $1.4 billion Mozal aluminum... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Infrastructure; Investment; Projects; Trends

January 2015
Article

Collaboration in Multi-Partner R&D Projects: The Impact of Partnering Scale and Scope

By: Anant Mishra, Aravind Chandrasekaran and Alan MacCormack

How can firms design collaboration structures for effective performance in R&D projects that involve multiple partners? To address this question, we examine the theoretical underpinnings of collaboration structures in multi-partner R&D projects—i.e., the scale and the... View Details

Keywords: Multi-Partner R＆D Projects; Empirical Research; New Development; Collaboration Structures; Partnering Scale And Scope; Partners and Partnerships; Infrastructure; Performance Capacity; Research and Development; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

26 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

What Can the World’s Largest Refugee Camp Teach Us About the Meaning of Work?

Rohingya Refugee: Past, Genocide, Future. Preparing for refugees of climate change The study’s results might inform new ways to help the more than 70 million people who have been displaced globally by conflict and natural disasters as of... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

2023
Working Paper

When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement

By: Ryan W. Buell, Wei Cai and Tatiana Sandino

Gamified training is a novel management control system in which companies use gamification techniques to engage and motivate employees to learn. This study empirically examines the performance consequences of gamified training using data from a natural field... View Details

Keywords: Gamified Training; Management Control Systems; Employee Engagement; Employees; Learning; Training; Motivation and Incentives; Performance

SSRN

December 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Leerink Swann & Co.: Creating Competitive Advantage

By: Boris Groysberg and Andrew N. McLean

In the spring of 2005, CEO Jeff Leerink has called a meeting of the executive committee to formulate Leerink Swann's growth strategy over the next five years so that it accomplishes three goals: expand into a new business, reinforce the firm's legacy businesses, and... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Human Resources; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion

17 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Sharing Design Rights: A Commons Approach for Developing Infrastructure

Keywords: by Nuno Gil & Carliss Y. Baldwin

June 2008 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Cook Composites and Polymers Co.

By: Deishin Lee, Michael W. Toffel and Rachel Gordon

This case describes how a company improves resource efficiency and process quality in its manufacturing process by developing a waste by-product into a new product. The case describes how CCP cleans production equipment between batches using styrene, which becomes a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Business Processes; Performance Efficiency; Natural Environment; Wastes and Waste Processing; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry

March 2015
Case

Statoil: Transparency on Payments to Governments

By: George Serafeim

The Statoil case describes the challenge of increasing transparency, in extractive industries, around host county government payments. The case describes Statoil's reasoning behind voluntarily disclosing host country government payments, and the events that led to this... View Details

Keywords: Corruption; Disclosure; Disclosure Strategy; Regulation; Industry Self-regulation; Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Bribery; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Government Legislation; Cost vs Benefits; Corporate Disclosure; Mining; Mining Industry; United States

2017
Chapter

Entrepreneurship, Policy, and the Geography of Wind Energy

By: Geoffrey Jones

This study examines the geography of the global wind energy industry before 2000. Between 1980 and 2000, the global generating capacity of wind power grew from 13 megawatts to 17,400 megawatts, but two-thirds of that capacity was in Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the... View Details

Keywords: Wind Power; Business And Government; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Geography; Business and Government Relations; Policy; Business History; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Asia; Europe; United States

Teaching Interest

Economics of Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

Designed for Harvard College sophomores.

Course Description: Why do so many individuals choose to pursue entrepreneurship despite substantial risks? How do these entrepreneurs raise money to finance their ventures? And what is the impact of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Venture Capital

30 Jun 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Empire Struck Back: The Mexican Oil Expropriation of 1938 Reconsidered

Keywords: by Noel Maurer; Energy; Utilities

March 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Fiji versus FIJI: Negotiating Over Water

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

This case examines negotiations between a company and government over natural resources. The Fijian government proposed a substantial increase in its water extraction tax that would only apply to large extractors, and thus to FIJI Water and not to its competitors. FIJI... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Business and Government Relations; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Distribution Industry; Fiji

2023
White Paper

Hidden Workers: Part-Time Potential

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Manjari Raman and Francis Hintermann

As employers continue to encounter major skills shortages, many qualified and willing workers remain unemployed or underemployed. These “hidden workers,” ignored by employers for a variety of reasons, represent a potential source of much-needed labor. In our initial... View Details

Keywords: Employment; Recruitment; Jobs and Positions

January – February 2008
Article

Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance

By: Zeynep Ton and Robert S. Huckman

We examine the impact of employee turnover on operating performance in settings that require high levels of knowledge exploitation. Using 48 months of turnover data from U.S. stores of a major retail chain, we find that, on average, employee turnover is associated with... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Governance Compliance; Retention; Standards; Service Operations; Business Processes; Retail Industry; United States

Article

The Impact of the 'Open' Workspace on Human Collaboration

By: Ethan Bernstein and Stephen Turban

Organizations’ pursuit of increased workplace collaboration has led managers to transform traditional office spaces into “open,” transparency-enhancing architectures with fewer walls, doors, and other spatial boundaries, yet there is scant direct empirical research on... View Details

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

2025
Working Paper

When Where Watt: Harnessing the Value of Time and Location for Renewable Electricity Generation

By: Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps and Serguei Netessine

Problem definition: Investments in renewable energy have surged worldwide in recent years, with over $2 trillion spent globally on clean energy. This surge was driven by growing policy support, concerns about energy security, and, most importantly, the cost... View Details

Keywords: Wind Power; Electricity Distribution; Renewable Energy; Profit; Investment Return; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Geographic Location; Revenue; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry

SSRN

April 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Background Note

An Overview of Project Finance & Infrastructure Finance - 2006 Update

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

Provides an introduction to the fields of project finance and infrastructure finance, and gives a statistical overview of project-financed investments over the years from 2002 to 2006. Examples of project-financed investments include the $4 billion Chad-Cameroon... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Infrastructure; Investment; Projects; Trends