Publications

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Program

Foundations of Private Equity and Venture Capital

knowledge of industry processes and terminology Assess the implications of different deal structures and terms Establish a successful private equity/venture capital partnership structure Expand your personal and professional network... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance

2018
Working Paper

Show or Tell? Improving Agent Decision Making in a Tanzanian Mobile Money Field Experiment

By: Jason Acimovic, Chris Parker, David F. Drake and Karthik Balasubramanian

When workers make operational decisions, the firm's global knowledge and the workers’ domain-specific knowledge complement each other. Oftentimes workers have the final decision-making power. Two key decisions a firm makes when designing systems to support these... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Decision Making; Training; Performance Improvement; Money; Mobile Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Services Industry

SSRN

14 Nov 2023
What Do You Think?

Do We Underestimate the Importance of Generosity in Leadership?

To what extent does it come from serving others, either literally (as in the old ServiceMaster Company) or through behaviors that encourage personal development in others? For years, my colleagues and I, based on our research, have... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Program

Designing and Executing Corporate Revitalization

agility Lead your executive team and workforce through challenging and uncertain times Strengthen the leadership skills necessary to spearhead corporate revitalization Expand your personal and professional network Extend your network by... View Details

Research Summary

Managing Multiple Identities at Work

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan

Peoples’ work identities, which are often a deep source of meaning for them, may conflict with or complement cultural, familial, or personal identities they value. A central focus of Professor Ramarajan’s work is understanding, on the individual level, how these... View Details

Research Summary

Trust

By: Sandra J. Sucher

In this research, I aim to provide a practical orientation to trust—how to build it, how it can be damaged, how it might be repaired—grounded in my experience as an executive and in the research on organizational trust and moral philosophy. As a case researcher, I... View Details

14 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

Working Moms Are Mostly Thriving Again. Can We Finally Achieve Gender Parity?

expectations of instant responses to all requests—undermine both women’s and men’s ability to balance their personal and professional lives. “Because everything’s online, you’re on 24/7. That’s unsustainable,” McGinn says. But McGinn is... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

subordinates feels micromanaged, which is bizarre.” It’s a leadership approach focused on self-discipline and personal accountability, one that might be considered refreshing in a business world often bogged down by managers who... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

15 Apr 2024
Book

Struggling With a Big Management Decision? Start by Asking What Really Matters

cut through all the questions that inevitably run through their heads so they can instinctively choose the right path. The best way to tackle a tough call: Start by defining on a personal level what is right, says Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Program

Disruptive Innovation

Implementing a strategy of low-cost positioning Scaling fast to take advantage of network effects Outsourcing activities that are not your current core competence Sourcing new leaders from inside the firm Expand your personal and... View Details

January 2024
Technical Note

Venture Capital and Private Equity Funds: A Primer

By: Jo Tango and Christina Wallace

How do venture capital and private equity funds actually work? This Technical Note covers the "when, who, and how" details:

"When": fund length, extensions, and when investors can no longer initiate new investments.
"Who": who is in the General... View Details

Keywords: Fund Flows; Fund Management; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds

July 2023
Case

DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome (Abridged)

By: Ayelet Israeli

DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals. After a first year of trial rollout in... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Nutrition; Market Entry and Exit; Product Marketing; Distribution Channels

March 2016
Case

Residency Select or J3Personica?

By: William Kerr and Kathryn S. Roloff

Residency Select, LLC provides psychometric assessments for matching medical students to residency programs. After a series of successful pilots, founder Alan Friedman is considering whether to continue developing his offerings in this area, or whether to expand into... View Details

Keywords: Marketplace Matching; Expansion; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry

May 14, 2014
Editorial

In Terms of Social Progress, America Is Not #1—It's #16

By: Michael E. Porter

As Americans, we like to think of ourselves as a world leader. After all, the United States has the largest economy in the world and is near the very top in GDP per capita. We are used to thinking that we lead on social issues like education, access to information, and... View Details

Keywords: Society

Read Now

June 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

"One Country, Two Systems"? Italy and the Mezzogiorno (A)

By: Bruce R. Scott and Jamie Matthews

GDP per person in northern Italy caught up with average incomes in Britain, France, and Germany in the 1970s, but incomes in southern Italy (the Mezzogiorno) fell further behind. This was partly due to cultural and societal differences that dated to the Renaissance,... View Details

Keywords: History; Development Economics; Crime and Corruption; Social Issues; Economy; Government and Politics; Macroeconomics; Italy

TeachingInterests

MBA Elective Curriculum Business-to-Business Marketing

Business markets differ from consumer markets in important ways. Typically, the buying process is more complex, the buying units and purchase criteria differ, and marketing decisions are more closely interrelated with firm-wide strategic choices. In addition,... View Details

Why People Resist Retirement

Research suggests making the decision to retire means grappling with three psychological issues. First, identity issues can loom large for any deeply engaged professional. Even a small step away from a career can make a person wonder who they are without it.... View Details

September 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Wordle

By: Karen G. Mills, Christina Wallace, Ebehi Iyoha, Gabriella Elanbeck and Morgane Herculano

After sourdough bread, countertop chive gardens, and vaccine selfies came a pandemic-era trend that everyone seemed to be in on: one daily chance to guess a five-letter word and crow about your success on social media via little green and yellow squares. From a... View Details

Keywords: Games; Innovation; General Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Trends; Entrepreneurship; Bids and Bidding; Consumer Behavior; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Technology Industry

September 2013
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: General Gale Pollock and Services for the Vision Impaired

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Juliane Calingo Schwetz and Patricia Bissett Higgins

In July 2012, retired United States Army Major General Gale Pollock created Elevivo, a venture that worked on developing a comprehensive disease management software system to support the growing number of visually impaired individuals by providing them with tailored... View Details

Keywords: United States; Health Care; Health Care Education; Insurance Companies; Disease Management; Technology; Military; Leadership Skills; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Education; Insurance; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry; United States