Publications

SSRN

January 2007
Background Note

Note on Biotech Business Development

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Robert F. Higgins

Describes the business development process in biotechnology companies. Topics covered include: participants in the licensing process and their interests, the major steps in the licensing process, the terms that are part of most agreements, and the most contentious... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Entrepreneurship; Intellectual Property; Biotechnology Industry

October 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Background Note

Note on Funding Deep Tech Startups

By: Karim Lakhani, Peter Barrett and Noubar Afeyan

This Background Note provides essential information on funding deep technologies—those technologies that were inherently capital intensive, time consuming, risky, and potentially disruptive. Both dilutive and non-dilutive sources of investment are highlighted, along... View Details

07 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 7

Publications October 2014 Management Science Looking Across and Looking Beyond the Knowledge Frontier: Intellectual Distance and Resource Allocation in Science By: Boudreau,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Did Bank Distress Stifle Innovation During the Great Depression?

By: Ramana Nanda and Tom Nicholas

We find a negative relationship between bank distress and the level, quality, and trajectory of firm-level innovation during the Great Depression, particularly for R&D firms operating in capital intensive industries. However, we also show that because a sufficient... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; R＆D; Bank Distress; Patents; Research and Development; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Banking Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

September 2008
Article

Does Innovation Cause Stock Market Runups? Evidence from the Great Crash

By: Tom Nicholas

This article examines the stock market's changing valuation of corporate patentable assets between 1910 and 1939. It shows that the value of knowledge capital increased significantly during the 1920s compared to the 1910s as investors responded to the quality of... View Details

Keywords: History; Technological Innovation; Patents; Stocks; Valuation; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

Dennis Yao is the Lawrence E. Fouraker Professor of Business Administration and Chair of the Doctoral Programs at Harvard Business School. He joined the faculty in 2004 after having been at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. From 1991-1994 he served as... View Details

Keywords: automotive; defense; federal government; high technology

Jerry R. Green

Jerry R. Green

David A. Wells Professor of Political Economy

John Leverett Professor in the University

Harvard University

Jerry Green is the John Leverett Professor in the University and the David A. Wells... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; education industry; insurance industry; professional services

2013
Working Paper

Did Bank Distress Stifle Innovation During the Great Depression?

By: Ramana Nanda and Tom Nicholas

We find a negative relationship between bank distress and the level, quality and trajectory of firm-level innovation during the Great Depression, particularly for R&D firms operating in capital intensive industries. However, we also show that because a sufficient... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; R＆D; Bank Distress; Patents; Research and Development; Financial Crisis; Innovation and Invention; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; United States

October 2002 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Aspen Aerogels

By: William A. Sahlman and Taslim Pirmohamed

Describes a newly formed manufacturer of insulation materials. The company has developed and patented a new insulation material that can be used in a wide range of markets. Capital must be raised to finance building a manufacturing facility and fund early market... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Patents; Production; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry

2020
Working Paper

The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun and Quoc H. Nguyen

No firm or sector of the global economy is untouched by innovation. In equilibrium, innovators will flock to (and innovation will occur where) the returns to innovative capital are the highest. In this paper, we document a strong empirical pattern in green patent... View Details

Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Investment; Decision Making; Policy; Energy; Green Technology; Technological Innovation; Patents

December 2012
Teaching Note

Gene Patents (A) (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew Preble

This is the teaching note for case Gene Patents (A). In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our... View Details

Keywords: Biotech; Human Genome; Patents; Genetics; Biotechnology Industry; United States

01 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 1

Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-016.pdf PublicationsThe Concept of Capitalism Author:Bruce R. Scott Publication:Springer-Verlag 2009 Publisher's Preface: This monograph on the concept of View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Aug 2016
First Look

August 9, 2016

when launching a new technology venture, the strategic complexities of multi-layer distribution channels, difficulties attaining reimbursement from third-party payers (particularly Medicare), and valuation View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2011 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Gene Patents (A)

By: Richard Hamermesh, David Kiron and Phillip Andrews

In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our increasing knowledge of the Human Genome. The case issues... View Details

Keywords: Courts and Trials; Patents; Genetics; Judgments; Science-Based Business; Biotechnology Industry; United States

2019
Working Paper

The Consequences of Invention Secrecy: Evidence from the USPTO Patent Secrecy Program in World War II

By: Daniel P. Gross

This paper studies the effects of the USPTO's patent secrecy program in World War II, under which over 11,000 U.S. patent applications were issued secrecy orders that halted examination and prohibited inventors from disclosing their inventions or filing in foreign... View Details

Keywords: Invention Secrecy; Invention Disclosure; Trade Secrecy; Secrecy Orders; Cummulative Innovation; Wold War 2; Patents; National Security; History; Innovation and Invention; Outcome or Result; Intellectual Property; Policy; Commercialization; United States

SSRN

November 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Marvel Enterprises, Inc.

By: Anita Elberse

The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate its marketing strategy. In June 2004, only six years after the company emerged from bankruptcy, Marvel has amassed a... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Opportunities; Growth and Development Strategy; Rights; Entertainment and Recreation Industry