Publications

December 2011
Article

Egalitarianism and International Investment

By: Jordan I. Siegel, Amir N. Licht and Shalom H. Schwartz

This study identifies the effect of a key cultural dimension—egalitarianism—on a set of international investment outcomes. Egalitarianism expresses a society's cultural orientation with respect to intolerance for abuses of market and political power. We show... View Details

Keywords: Egalitarianism; International Investment; Culture; Cultural Distance; Foreign Direct Investment; Informal Institutions; Social Institutions; Cross-listing; Investment; Equality and Inequality; Mergers and Acquisitions

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March 2018
Case

Summit Public Schools (A)

By: John J-H Kim and Aldo Sesia

Summit Public Schools was a very successful charter management organization with schools in California and Washington State. The students came from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, many from economically disadvantaged households. While nearly all of its students... View Details

Keywords: K-12; Online Learning; Virtual Learning; Blended Learning; Secondary Education; Middle School Education; Early Childhood Education; Learning; Business Model; Performance Improvement; Technology

Research Summary

Customer-Centricity as a Vehicle for Organic Growth

By: Ranjay Gulati

This body of work examines the mechanics of how firms grow profitably in commoditizing markets. Underlying the "customer-centricity" that many firms embrace today is a factor that will determine their success with this effort: enabling collaboration across... View Details

July 2008 (Revised February 2009)
Case

(PRODUCT) RED (A)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Michael I. Norton and David Chen

Describes the launch and initial results of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, a social marketing initiative conceived by U2's Bono and Bobby Shriver to combat AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The company licensed the (RED) brand to partner companies, which initially included Gap,... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Social Enterprise; Africa

January 2020 (Revised March 2020)
Case

LOLA: Do You Know What's in Your Tampon?

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Aldo Sesia

LOLA is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business launched in 2015. What started as a company to provide women with organic and transparent material-labeled tampons via a subscription model, had, by 2019 evolved to include additional menstrual and sexual wellness products.... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Channels; Disruption; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Canada

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 28 Sep 2016
Webinars: Career

5 Happiness Hacks That Drive Productivity, Sales, and Creativity

According to Harvard Business Review, happy people are 37% more productive, have 31% higher sales, and are three times more creative than their peers. In this webinar, Neil Pasricha (MBA 2007) provides models to create lasting happiness including building diverse... View Details

Program

General Management Program

Summary Taking your organization and your career to the next level requires going beyond your field of expertise to gain an end-to-end view of the enterprise, an in-depth understanding of business operations, and a multidisciplinary... View Details

May 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Novartis (A): Reimagining Medicine

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Claudio Feser, Karolin Frankenberger and David Redaschi

This case unfolds around the first-ever approved personalized cancer treatment, how Novartis wrapped it into a new business model design, and how Novartis scaled it. Novartis — one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world — is, among other ventures,... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Leadership; Pharmaceutical Industry; Switzerland

05 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 5

means to navigate their way through the decisions they will face and formulate an effective business strategy. This is a much-needed guide to the common strategic issues that arise when firms compete... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

15 Podcast Episodes That Grabbed Listeners in 2023

Happiness, artificial intelligence, and climate change were just some of the themes that caught the attention of Harvard Business School podcast listeners in 2023. Here are some of the most-downloaded episodes of the year: Deep Purpose... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

October 2013
Case

Lufa Farms

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Robert Mackalski, Annelena Loeb and Lisa Mazzanti

In 2013, Mohamed Hage, founder of the rooftop farming business called Lufa Farms, thought his company had reached a level of maturity where scaling the business model was the next logical step. With two greenhouses already in Canada, he was looking into other locations... View Details

Keywords: Rooftop Farms; Agriculture; Greenhouse; Technology; Expansion; Strategic Partnerships; Cultivation; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Canada

July 1998
Supplement

Bell Atlantic in Union City

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

In this pioneering project to wire a school for the Internet and put computers in students' homes, Bell Atlantic combined its need for a beta site for a technology trial with the school reform efforts of the Union City, New Jersey public schools, under the leadership... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Social Enterprise; Internet and the Web; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; New Jersey

April 2019
Case

Boxed

By: Laura Huang, Andy Wu and Jiayi Bao

Boxed.com (“Boxed”) is an ambitious e-commerce retailer start-up, founded by visionary CEO Chieh Huang in 2013. From starting in Huang’s garage in 2013, to winning Emerging E-Retailer of the Year in 2016, to having 4 operational distribution centers in 2018, Boxed used... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Business Startups; Leadership; Strategy; Success; E-commerce; Retail Industry

Program

Leading in the Digital Era

is eligible for the Digital Transformation Certificate. Learn More Key Benefits While the "why" of leadership has not changed, the business landscape is transforming "how" you prepare your organization to View Details

March 2025
Case

Calyx Global: Rating Carbon Credits

By: Michael W. Toffel and Adam Chen

This case describes how rating agencies and other organizations are seeking to improve the quality of carbon credits sold in the voluntary carbon market to organizations seeking to use them to supplement their internal decarbonization efforts to meet their net zero... View Details

Keywords: Service Design; Certification; Auditing; Auditor Reputation; Carbon Credits; Carbon; Rating Agency Disagreement; Ratings; Climate Change; Business Model; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Conflict of Interests; Reputation; Business Strategy

18 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

When It Comes to Climate Regulation, Energy Companies Take a More Nuanced View

Common wisdom holds that oil and gas companies, electric utilities, and other industries known for their large carbon emissions generally oppose clean energy policies. Now, a study of corporate advocacy spanning 30 years reveals that many companies are more flexible... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Utilities

January 4, 2019
Article

How Companies Can Balance Social Impact and Financial Goals

By: Marya L. Besharov, Wendy K. Smith and Michael Tushman

It’s notoriously difficult for a business to manage two separate-but-equal goals—making money and creating social value at the same time, for example, or managing an existing business at the same time that you invent a new one. Most attempts at managing these... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Profit; Decision Making