Publications

2011
Chapter

The Embeddedness of Social Entrepreneurship: Understanding Variation across Local Communities

By: Christian Seelos, Johanna Mair, Julie Battilana and M. Tina Dacin

Social enterprise organizations (SEOs) arise from entrepreneurial activities with the aim to achieve social goals. SEOs have been identified as alternative and/or complementary to the actions of governments and international organizations to address poverty and... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Civil Society or Community; Local Range

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

to be learned for all global companies as they confront language and culture challenges. Examining the strategic use of language by one international corporation, The Language of Global Success uncovers how all organizations might... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2016 (Revised October 2016)
Case

Saudi Aramco and Corporate Venture Capital

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Nathaniel Burbank

Saudi Aramco launched an internal venture capital arm in 2011, which promptly became the world's largest investor in energy related startups. In choosing to proceed, the company's New Business Development unit (NPD) wrestled with a number of challenges. How should the... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Energy Industry; Saudi Arabia

March 2021
Case

Dasra: From Strategic Philanthropy to Field Building

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tanya Bijlani

Dasra, a pioneer in the Indian Strategic Philanthropy space founded by a husband and wife team, had grown and evolved with the fast changing philanthropy scene in India. By 2017 it had managed to raise nearly $100 million of new capital for NGOs and Nonprofits in... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Impact Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Social Sector; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Strategy; India

February 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

A Note on the Legal and Tax Implications of Founders' Equity Splits

By: Noam T. Wasserman and Lauren Barley

This note summarizes key legal and tax issues that founders should consider as they contemplate an equity split and ownership structure. Specific issues covered include why founders should not delay splitting the equity and whether they should involve an attorney or... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Equity; Taxation; Intellectual Property; Law; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships

December 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Levenger Company

By: Myra M. Hart, Kristin Lieb and Victoria Winston

The Leveens started a high-end catalog business as a small home-based venture in 1987. It grew into a nationally recognized, $60 million company, offering products that ranged from unique pens and pencils to leather briefcases and fully furnished offices. In 1999, it... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Value; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Globalization; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

June 2019
Supplement

KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg

This (B) case describes the changes in the organization’s strategy from one of Building Playgrounds to Influencing Play. It describes the implementation of the strategy and the challenges it faced internally and externally. It goes on to describe how the organization... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Enterprise; Scaling Social Impact; Nonprofit Organizations; Nonprofit Scaling; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; United States

04 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 4, 2008

investment in producing video content for the web. The case concludes by presenting various options under consideration by Abrahams-options that dealt both with external challenges (How should he define his brand? Which markets should he target?) and with View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Innovating Beyond Ochsner

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

The Ochsner Health System has developed a proprietary software tool designed to treat hypertension. Built into the system’s electronic medical records, the Hypertension Digital Medicine program allows patients to record their blood pressure at home and share readings... View Details

August 2020 (Revised May 2021)
Case

PayPal: The Next Chapter

By: Michael Porter, Mark Kramer and Annelena Lobb

Can a social purpose and stakeholder capitalism confer a powerful competitive advantage in the age of COVID-19? For PayPal, the answer is yes. After spinning off from eBay in a 2015 IPO, the company declared its purpose as "democratizing financial services" by ensuring... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Finance; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Social Entrepreneurship; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry

August 2004 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Li Ka-Shing

By: Nitin Nohria and Bridget Gurtler

From his humble beginnings in China as a teacher's son, a refugee, and later as a salesman, Li provides a lesson in integrity and adaptability. Through hard work, and a reputation for remaining true to his internal moral compass, he was able to build a business empire... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Success; Business Conglomerates; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; China

July 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Saffronart.com: Bidding for Success

By: Mukti Khaire and R. Daniel Wadhwani

Saffronart, a five-year-old online art auction company, leads the market for modern Indian art and now faces competitors in the market it created. Established in 2000 by the wife-and-husband team of Minal and Dinesh Vazirani, Saffronart.com is an innovative online... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Auctions; Industry Growth; Competition; Online Technology; Fine Arts Industry; India

08 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 8

empirical lacuna, we have developed a research program to measure the internal organization of firms—including their decentralization decisions—across a large range of industries and countries. Enamored with Scale: Scaling with Limited... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Big Spaceship: Ready to Go Big?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Big Spaceship, a digital marketing agency, faced a rather big challenge: How to scale the distinctive culture that was essential to its competitive strategy? Renowned for the cutting-edge websites that it developed to market major Hollywood movies and leading consumer... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Human Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

AllHerb.com: Evolution of an E-tailer

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Christina L. Darwall

Serial entrepreneur Ken Hakuta, in the second year of his latest venture, reconsiders his original strategy of maintaining an independent, self-funded, self-led company. His Internet herbal remedy company, AllHerb.com, has already enjoyed considerable success with its... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

10 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 10

Working PapersMandatory IFRS Adoption and Financial Statement Comparability Authors:Francois Brochet, Alan Jagolinzer, and Edward J. Riedl Abstract This study examines the effect of mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 12, 2009

international awards. How could the company capitalize on this success? Should Grace expand its operations to multiple Chinese provinces? Should Grace continue as a premium boutique winery serving a growing but ultimately limited niche... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2023
Supplement

Astyanax Kanakakis at norbloc: A Founder's Experience with the DIFC Fintech Hive

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

norbloc was founded in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden, by Astyanax Kanakakis and his co-founders, Vitalii Demianets and Sam Saatchi. Kanakakis and Demianets got to work to address a key gap in the industry: Know Your Customer (KYC) data sharing. As the first distributed KYC... View Details