Publications

December 2014 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Dow: Breakthroughs to World Challenges

By: Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer and Annelena Lobb

Dow had adopted the "Breakthroughs to World Challenges" (BWC) program as part of its ten-year 2015 Sustainability Goals. BWC was an internal award recognizing products that effectively addressed one of five world challenges: energy and climate change, sustainable water... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Strategy; Social Issues; Entrepreneurship

Educators

August 1996
Article

Willingness to Pay and the Distribution of Risk and Wealth

By: John W. Pratt and Richard Zeckhauser

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Wealth

October 2008
Article

Choosing Agents and Monitoring Consumption: A Note on Wealth as a Corruption-Controlling-Device

By: Rafael Di Tella and Federico Weinschelbaum

Keywords: Wealth; Crime and Corruption

1993
Article

Regional Consensus on Affordable Housing: Yes in My Backyard

By: M. A. Wheeler

Keywords: Local Range; Public Opinion

2023
Working Paper

The Irredeemability of the Past: Determinants of Reconciliation and Revenge in Post-Conflict Settings

By: Kristen Kao, Kristin Fabbe and Michael Bang Petersen

In the aftermath of violent conflict, identifying former enemy collaborators versus innocent bystanders forced to flee violence is difficult. In post-conflict settings, internally displaced persons (IDPs) risk becoming stigmatized and face difficulties... View Details

Keywords: Conflict and Resolution; War; Refugees; Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Public Opinion; Lawfulness; Iraq

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November 2007
Article

The Accidental Entrepreneur: The Emergent and Collective Process of User Entrepreneurship

By: Sonali K. Shah and Mary Tripsas

We develop a process model of how users, an understudied source of entrepreneurship, create, evaluate, share, and commercialize their ideas. We compare and contrast our model to the classic model of the entrepreneurial process, highlighting the emergent and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Valuation; Business Model; Commercialization; Adoption; Adaptation; Product; Civil Society or Community

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24 Apr 2014
News

Building a better India through business and philanthropy

delivering long-term value for shareholders, Piramal is concerned about social issues. “The disparities in Indian society are increasing, and we cannot call ourselves developed until we provide access to basic amenities like health care... View Details

16 Jul 2013
News

Embracing Chaos

says Venkatesan. "The country is just massively corrupt, with seriously bad government and a society that is really getting polarized with inequality. So a lot of us in India are incredibly concerned. "The good news is, there are a lot of... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

December 1997
Case

California: The American Future?

By: Bruce R. Scott and Kevin Price

California has long been a lead state in terms of population growth, income, and societal norms. In the 1990s, California voters approved referenda to restrict benefits to immigrants and to prohibit affirmative action. Is this likely to be another leading indicator for... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Civil Society or Community; Public Opinion; California

Educators

Portrait Project

Katie Rydz

in a society that teaches us that it is not ok to be mentally unwell. But discussing mental illness is the easiest way to fight not only the feeling of isolation but also the accompanying social stigma. Being open about my own struggles... View Details

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later: Credit and Information Technology

HBS Quick Links MBA Executive Education Doctoral Programs Faculty and Research Alumni HBS Publishing Site Index HBS Home Contact Us Map/Directions Introduction Credit in Pre-Industrial Society Credit and the Market Economy: The Rise of... View Details

22 Mar 2023
News

Dean Datar Meets with Alumni in Los Angeles

Starting this past fall and continuing through the coming year, Dean Srikant Datar is traveling to meet with alumni around the world. On Tuesday, March 21, more than 100 alumni in Southern California gathered to celebrate and connect with each other at "HBS in Los... View Details

15 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

The Seeds of Ideology: Historical Immigration and Political Preferences in the United States

Keywords: by Paola Giuliano and Marco Tabellini

June 1982
Case

Polaroid in South Africa (A), Supplement

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; South Africa

March 6, 2020
Article

Networking Doesn't Have to Be Self-Serving

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

How can individual leaders help to tackle big social problems? It can seem like an overwhelming, impossible task. But successful change agents have shown that networking and communication skills are key. They show up, in person, to investigate the issues and build... View Details

Keywords: Network; Self-serving; Social Issues; Networks; Communication; Leading Change

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September 2017
Case

Harvard Men's Soccer

By: Alison Wood Brooks and Katherine Coffman

In the fall of 2016, the Crimson, Harvard’s undergraduate newspaper, broke a story revealing that the 2012 Harvard Men’s Soccer team had produced a sexually explicit “scouting report” about the Women’s Soccer team. The story generated national headlines and... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Ethics; Gender; Social Issues

Educators

1990
Article

The Institutionalization of Wealth: Changing Patterns of Investment Decision-Making

By: André Perold and Jay O. Light

Keywords: Wealth; Investment; Decision Making

2014
Working Paper

Islam, Inequality, and Pre-Industrial Comparative Development

By: Stelios Michalopoulos, Alireza Naghavi and Giovanni Prarolo

This study explores the interaction between trade and geography in shaping the Islamic economic doctrine and in turn the comparative development of the Muslim world. We build a model where an unequal distribution of land quality in presence of trade opportunities... View Details

Keywords: Islam; Inequality In Land Quality; Wealth Accumulation; Public Good Investment; Conflict; Wealth; Geography; Religion; Trade