Publications

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2016
Working Paper

Diversified Business Groups in the West: History and Theory

By: Asli M. Colpan and Takashi Hikino

This working paper examines the historical origins, evolutionary paths, and long-term resilience of diversified business groups in contemporary developed economies of Western Europe, North America, and Oceania. It aims to come up with a new theoretical understanding of... View Details

Keywords: History; Diversification; Business Divisions; Theory; Oceania; North America; Europe

SSRN

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July–August 2021
Article

Lowering the Bar? External Conditions, Opportunity Costs, and High-Tech Startup Outcomes

By: Annamaria Conti and Maria P. Roche

We assess the heterogeneous impact of economic downturns on individuals’ decisions to bring high-technology ideas to the market in the form of new ventures. We thereby examine how worsening labor market conditions influence individuals’ opportunity costs of starting... View Details

Keywords: Necessity Entrepreneurship; Economic Conditions; Recessions; High-tech Startups; Opportunity Costs; Entrepreneurship; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Business Startups; Information Technology; Performance; Labor

Web

Information Technology - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

meaningful use program that was introduced in 2009 and 2010. However, the capabilities of today’s IT infrastructure fall well short of that needed to truly support value-based care. Consensus among IT suppliers, providers, payers, View Details

2024
Case

Christiana Figueres and the Paris Climate Negotiations (B)

By: James K. Sebenius, Laurence A. Green, Hannah Riley-Bowles, Lara SanPietro and Mina Subramanian

This three-part, stop action case study, structured for classroom discussion, centers on Harvard’s Program on Negotiation 2022 Great Negotiator, Christiana Figueres, and her efforts as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Negotiation; Environmental Regulation; International Relations; Leadership

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July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Vineet Nayar and Sampark Foundation: Frugal Innovation at Scale (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2005, Vineet Nayar, the former CEO and Vice Chairman of HCL Technologies, and his wife, Anupama Nayar, committed $100 million of their personal wealth to found Sampark Foundation — a grant-making philanthropy with a mission to transform learning outcomes for 20... View Details

Educators

15 Nov 2011
News

750 World Wonders and counting

with the eventual goal being a series of books, a worldwide travelling photo exhibition and a powerful commercial website. “It’s a very global concept, a very global brand, in the best HBS tradition,” he... View Details

Keywords: photography; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions

01 Aug 2001
News

Class Day and Commencement 2001

class's education was enhanced by the fact that "our classmates are a refreshingly down-to-earth group of people who contributed to all of our learning in meaningful ways." The influence of that dynamic, Senor noted, is at once pervasive... View Details

Keywords: Marcel Acosta; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

05 Nov 2019
Blog Post

Environmental Change and Ground-level Impact

the spectrum, which was part of what drove me to enroll in the MBA program. What influenced your decision to go into clean tech? I’m definitely passionate about the environment and interested in finding... View Details

February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Enterprise Culture in Chinese History: Zhang Jian and the Dasheng Cotton Mills

By: Elisabeth Koll

This case focuses on the legal and managerial evolution of limited-liability firms in China, using the example of the Dasheng cotton mills in Nantong near Shanghai. Dasheng, one of the earliest and most successful industrial enterprises in pre-war China, was founded by... View Details

Keywords: History; Law; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; State Ownership; Corporate Governance; Financial Crisis; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Change; Manufacturing Industry; Shanghai; China

Educators

July 2022 (Revised February 2025)
Case

A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

The North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association (the Mutual) was founded in 1898 as a for-profit entity selling life insurance catering to the Black community. The Mutual was entering a field crowded with established White-owned competitors that largely refused to... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Insurance; History; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Insurance Industry; United States

Educators

2010
Book

The American Bourgeoisie: Distinction and Identity in the Nineteenth Century

By: Julia Rosenbaum and Sven Beckert

What precisely constitutes an American bourgeoisie? Scholars have grappled with the question for a long time. Economic positions—the ownership of capital, for instance—most obviously defines this group. Control of resources cannot explain, however, the emergence of... View Details

Keywords: Literacy; Income; Identity; Culture; Economics; United States

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Top Executive Background and Corporate M&A: The Case of Former Investment Bankers

By: Francois Brochet and Kyle Welch

We study the M&A activity of firms with top executives whose employment history includes experience in a Wall Street firm, especially those with investment banking background ("IB executives"). In terms of strategy, controlling for firm-level effects, we document that... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Reputation; Investment Banking; Financial Reporting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Social and Collaborative Networks; Goodwill Accounting; Power and Influence; Banking Industry

2024
Article

Crucibles, Multiple Sensitive Periods, and Career Progression

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Sunasir Dutta, Hise O. Gibson and Eric Lin

We study the effects of crucible experiences along multiple sensitive periods on career progression. While prior literature has hinted that individuals can be imprinted during multiple sensitive periods, not just during the early career, there has been scant attention... View Details

Keywords: Military Service; Personal Development and Career; Transformation; Power and Influence; Learning; Human Capital

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01 Jun 2015
News

The Military and the MBA

nonprofit. That’s a pretty powerful way to continue serving your fellow man.” Next: Maura Corby Sullivan (MBA/MPA 2009) — Taking lessons learned in Iraq to HBS and Washington » View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; National Security and International Affairs; National Security and International Affairs; National Security and International Affairs

2010
Working Paper

Local R&D Strategies and Multi-location Firms: The Role of Internal Linkages

By: Juan Alcacer and Minyuan Zhao

This study looks at the role of firms' internal linkages in highly competitive technology clusters, where much of the world's R&D takes place. The leading players in these clusters are multi-location firms that organize and integrate knowledge across sites worldwide.... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Industry Clusters; Research and Development; Competitive Advantage; Semiconductor Industry

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September 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 3: Using Information for Performance Measurement and Control

By: Robert Simons

This module reading explains how managers use information to control critical business processes and outcomes. The analysis begins by illustrating how managers use information to communicate goals and track performance. Then the focus turns to the choices that managers... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Organization Process; Feedback Model; Innovation; Uses Of Information; Big Data; Benchmarking; Decision Making; Information; Performance Evaluation; Analytics and Data Science

April 2012
Article

Local R&D Strategies and Multi-location Firms: The Role of Internal Linkages

By: Juan Alcacer and Minyuan Zhao

This study looks at the role of firms' internal linkages in highly competitive technology clusters, where much of the world's R&D takes place. The leading players in these clusters are multilocation firms that organize and integrate knowledge across sites worldwide.... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Research and Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Technology