Publications

October 2020 (Revised February 2025)
Technical Note

Reinvention

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This note is designed to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of leading innovation in established organizations. Reinvention is a process whereby organizations respond to changes in the environment that threaten their core business model, technologies,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation And Strategy; Leadership And Change Management; Organizational Ambidexterity; Exploration And Exploitation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Leading Change; Technology Adoption; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

July–August 2019
Article

The Soul of a Startup

By: Ranjay Gulati

There’s an essential, intangible something in start-ups—an energy, a soul. It inspires enthusiasm and fosters a sense of deep connection and mutual purpose. While this spirit persists, engagement is high and businesses keep their edge.
But all too often,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Mission and Purpose; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Creativity; Business Growth and Maturation

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December 2017 (Revised November 2023)
Technical Note

The BGIE Twenty (2024 version)

By: Alberto Cavallo, Kristin Fabbe, Mattias Fibiger, Jeremy Friedman, Reshmaan Hussam, Vincent Pons and Matthew Weinzierl

The purpose of this technical note is to explain the BGIE Twenty, an “idea-kit” that serves as the intellectual backbone of the BGIE course. Each year, the BGIE professors decide on the twenty ideas that we believe are the most important for students to study in... View Details

Keywords: Ideas; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Analysis

2014
Teaching Note

Bluestar's Acquisition of Adisseo (A) (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Zhenning Yang

This case describes the process of acquiring Adisseo of France in 2006 by Bluestar Group, the largest subsidiary of ChemChina (a Fortune 500 company). Adisseo was mainly engaged in production of methionine, a feed additive, while China had no methionine production and... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Strategy; China; France; Chemicals; China; France

2017
Chapter

U.S. High-Skilled Immigration, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Empirical Approaches and Evidence

By: William R. Kerr

High-skilled immigrants are a very important component of U.S. innovation and entrepreneurship. Immigrants account for roughly a quarter of U.S. workers in these fields, and they have a similar contribution in terms of output measures like patents or firm starts. This... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Diaspora; Diasporas; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Immigration; United States

2014
Working Paper

Institutional Strategies in Emerging Markets

By: Christopher Marquis and Mia Raynard

We review and integrate a wide range of literature that has examined the strategies by which organizations navigate institutionally diverse settings and capture rents outside of the marketplace. We synthesize this body of research under the umbrella term... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Organizations; Emerging Markets

SSRN

January 2014
Case

Newfield Energy

By: William E. Fruhan and Wei Wang

In September 2013, Miles Griffin, CEO and chairman of the board of Newfield Energy, prepares to present financial proposals to the board of directors for approval. Newfield (based in Houston, Texas) was a large independent energy company primarily engaged in the... View Details

September 2013 (Revised June 2017)
Supplement

IBM and the Reinvention of High School (B): Replicating & Scaling P-TECH and Partners

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

IBM's Corporate Citizenship office created an innovation in public education through a business-school partnership for widespread replication and diffusion. In 2012, while P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) was still in its first year operating,... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Partnerships; Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Partners and Partnerships; Social Entrepreneurship; Education; Business and Community Relations; Innovation and Invention; Growth Management; Chicago; Idaho

March 2013
Article

For Mobile Devices, Think Apps, Not Ads

By: Sunil Gupta

Many companies envision mobile ads becoming an integral part of their communications strategies. But there's a growing consensus that ads don't work on mobile devices; consumers just don't like them. Instead of creating tiny banner ads, smart marketers will turn to... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Advertising; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Invention

February 2009 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Mistry Architects (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Robert G. Eccles and Mona Sinha

Describes an architecture firm founded and run by a husband and wife team, Sharukh and Renu Mistry, that emphasizes "green" building. The firm presents an unusual mix of projects-spanning the spectrum from larger corporate projects to small private homes. The mix also... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Customer Focus and Relationships; Design; Housing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Community Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution

27 Feb 2019
HBS Seminar

David Robinson, Fuqua School of Business at Duke University

Greater Good

Marketing has a greater purpose, and marketers, a higher calling, than simply selling more widgets, according to John Quelch and Katherine Jocz. In Greater Good, the authors contend that marketing performs an essential societal function--and... View Details

10 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

How to Live Happier in 2023: Diversify Your Social Circle

people engaging in different activities with different people—it seems to be something more than that,” she says. “Perhaps it’s about the varied topics we discuss with different people, or the diversity of roles we inhabit.” A rich social... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

10 Jan 2018
Blog Post

8 Tips to Help You Prepare for the Case Method

method different from lecture style learning. First, case study learning can be far more engaging because you have rich discussions with 90 people who have different perspectives and are willing to challenge your perspective as opposed... View Details

30 Sep 2019
Book

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees

being undervalued or squandered, which can leave them feeling less engaged with colleagues, less satisfied with their work, and less loyal to their companies, according to the book. 2. Help white colleagues contribute to the race... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Oct 2015
First Look

October 13, 2015

displayed. We find that users are roughly 40% more likely to engage with universal search results (which receive favored placement) when the results are organically determined relative to when they contain only Google content. To shed... View Details

Web

Online Business Courses & Certifications | HBS Online

experience. You’ll engage in a new activity every three to five minutes and apply your knowledge through polls, quizzes, and problem-solving exercises designed to accelerate and reinforce your learning. Exchange ideas with your... View Details

2013
Working Paper

Clusters and the New Growth Path for Europe

By: Christian Ketels and Sergiy Protsiv

This paper outlines elements of a conceptual framework that clarifies the role that clusters play relative to government policies and actions of individual companies in supporting the emergence of "High Road" strategies that lead to better New Growth Path–related... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Industry Clusters; Globalization; Economic Growth; Europe