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- August 2025
- Article
Revenue Collapses and the Consumption of Small Business Owners in the COVID-19 Pandemic
By: Olivia S. Kim, Jonathan A. Parker and Antoinette Schoar
Using financial account data linking small businesses to their owner households, we examine how business owners’ consumption responded to changes in business revenues during the COVID-19 crisis. In the first two months following the National Emergency, business... View Details
- June 2025
- Case
TagHive: Edtech Pricing and Distributor Decisions
By: Isamar Troncoso, Frank V. Cespedes and Stacy Straaberg
Education technology (edtech) company TagHive, founded in 2017, used a direct sales team and third-party distributors to sell its Class Saathi hardware and software solution to 300 clients, mainly primary and secondary schools in India. The product aimed to improve... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Social Marketing; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technology Adoption; Education; Teaching; Price; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development; Technological Innovation; Education Industry; Technology Industry; India; South Korea
- Summer 2025
- Article
Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships
By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo
A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When... View Details
- 2025
- Working Paper
An Empirical Examination of Business Climate Alliances: Effective and/or Harmful?
By: Matteo Gasparini and Peter Tufano
This research studies business alliances that seek to address climate change, offering empirical evidence to address claims advanced by alliance supporters and critics. We study eleven major alliance mostly focused on financial services firms and 424 major... View Details
Keywords: Antitrust; Climate Change; Financial Institutions; Competition; Network Effects; Alliances
- May 2025
- Background Note
Social Enterprise in Latin America
By: Brian L. Trelstad and Karina Souza
This research note provides an overview of the social enterprise ecosystem in Latin America, exploring current dynamics across key markets, including country-specific insights on Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Central America. In a region characterized... View Details
Keywords: Latin America; Brazil; Mexico; Argentina; Colombia; Chile; Impact Investing; Developing Countries and Economies; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Ownership; Social Enterprise; Business Strategy; Equality and Inequality; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; Latin America; Brazil; Mexico; Argentina; Colombia; Chile; Guatemala; Central America
- 2025
- Working Paper
Data-driven Technologies and Local Information Advantages in Small Business Lending
By: Wilbur Chen, Jung Koo Kang and Aditya Mohan
We investigate whether banks' adoption of data-driven technologies influences competitive dynamics in local small business lending by diminishing the information advantages traditionally held by local banks. Using local newspaper closures as an adverse shock to the... View Details
- May 2025
- Case
'Net Zero in Action': Impact Investing at the McKnight Foundation
By: Lauren Cohen, Christina R. Wing and Sophia Pan
Elizabeth McGeveran, Vice President of Investments at the McKnight Foundation, reflected on how to effectively advance the organization’s net-zero strategy. The foundation had committed 10% of its endowment to building a portfolio of impact investments and was among... View Details
Keywords: Investment Fund; Philanthropy; Charitable Donations; Sustainability; Foundation; Impact Investing; ESG; Family Business; Forecasting and Prediction; Private Sector; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Institutional Investing; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Private Ownership; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Social Issues; Sustainable Cities; Financial Services Industry; Minnesota; United States
- May 2025 (Revised May 2025)
- Case
Humana Commits to Value-Based Care
By: V.G. Narayanan, Henry Eyring and David Lane
In late 2023, CEO Bruce Broussard reviewed health insurer Humana’s transformation into a value-based care ecosystem. Under its CenterWell brand, the several millions of members in Humana Medicare Advantage plans now had access to Humana-provided primary care, home... View Details
- May 2025
- Case
The Micro-Family Office: Aamir Rehman
By: Lauren Cohen and Sophia Pan
With a successful career and strong academic credentials, Aamir Rehman sought to design a life grounded in autonomy. For him, this meant serving on boards, continuing his professorship, and ensuring a secure and comfortable life for his family. While he didn’t possess... View Details
Keywords: Family Office; Organization Design; Family And Friends; Family; Balance; Stability; Trends And Opportunities; Wealth Management; Family Business; Investment; Financial Strategy; Personal Finance; Investment Portfolio; Private Equity; Organizational Design; Family and Family Relationships; Happiness; Satisfaction; Balance and Stability; Human Capital; Compensation and Benefits; Economy; Trends; Business Model; New Jersey; United States
- April 2025
- Teaching Note
Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (A) and (B)
By: Michael W. Toffel, Ken Pucker and Stacy Straaberg
Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 622-024, 625-004, 625-005, and 625-702. The Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (A) case introduces Allbirds as a footwear startup not only focused on simple design, comfort, and sustainable natural materials but on decarbonizing the wider... View Details
Keywords: Decarbonization; Climate Impact; Environmental Strategy; Innovation; Product Design; Supply Chain Management; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Product Development; Climate Change; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Business Startups; Initial Public Offering; Knowledge Sharing; Competitive Advantage; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; United States; California
- April 2025 (Revised May 2025)
- Background Note
Customer Acquisition and the Cash Flow Trap
By: E. Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
Startups as well as existing firms recognize the need to invest in order to acquire customers for their new ventures. And as each customer is expected at some point to have generated sufficient gross margins to cover their CAC, management expects that, soon enough, the... View Details
- April 2025
- Case
Japan Industrial Partners Powers the Leveraged Buyout of Toshiba
By: Brian K. Baik, Joseph Pacelli and James Barnett
The case explores Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) $14 billion takeover of Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba). JIP was a private equity firm that took over the troubled electronics corporation in late 2023. The deal, which had been labeled one of the largest leveraged... View Details
Keywords: International Accounting; Borrowing and Debt; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Ownership; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Capital Structure; Cost of Capital; Private Equity; Bids and Bidding; Accounting Industry; Electronics Industry; Energy Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Asia; Japan
- April 2025
- Case
Sharon Goldberg and BastionZero
By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, James Barnett and Maxim Pike Harrell
In December 2023, BastionZero co-founder and CEO Sharon Goldberg considered her startup’s future. Established in 2017 as a blockchain company focused on improving the security of cryptocurrency trading, in March 2020 the VC-backed startup shifted focus to a new... View Details
- 2025
- Working Paper
With a Little Help from My Family: Informal Startup Financing
By: Brian K. Baik, Johan Ludvig S. Karlsen and Katja Kisseleva
Using Norwegian administrative data, we identify family equity investments in startups
and examine their effects on investor returns and firm behavior. Informal investors
earn lower returns than external individuals, and the firms they back are less
likely to secure... View Details
- March 2025
- Case
Mobvoi's Path Through Market Challenges and Business Reinvention
By: Paul A. Gompers and Shu Lin
Founded in 2012, Mobvoi evolved through multiple transformations—from AI-driven voice technology to smart wearables and later AI-generated content. Backed by major investors, the company navigated shifts in strategy while facing two failed IPO attempts. As market... View Details
- March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
Perplexity: Redefining Search
By: Suraj Srinivasan, Michelle Hu, Sriraghav Srinivasan and Radhika Kak
By early 2025, Perplexity had rapidly evolved from a modest startup into a popular "answer engine" valued at $9 billion. The company had boldly positioned itself as the disruptor to Google aiming to redefine search for the AI age. Through novel AI... View Details
- March 2025
- Case
Taylor Guitars: Making Employee Ownership Work The Taylor Way
By: Dennis Campbell, Petros Kusmu and Stacy Straaberg
In 2013, guitar manufacturer Taylor Guitars’ co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug were considering several exit options including selling to a competitor or to a private equity firm. The co-founders decided, instead, to embark on a seven-year process to transfer 100%... View Details
Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Communication Strategy; Strategy; Announcements; Decisions; Music Entertainment; Values and Beliefs; Borrowing and Debt; Geographic Location; Global Range; Governance; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Private Ownership; Business Strategy; Management Succession; Manufacturing Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; California; San Diego; Mexico; Netherlands
- March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News
The case examines the Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News defamation settlement based upon statements made on air in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. View Details
Keywords: (General) Management; Business Earnings; Financial Statements; Change Management; Disruption; Volatility; Transition; Crime and Corruption; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Demographics; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Finance; Cost; Governance; Governance Compliance; Governance Controls; Policy; Political Elections; Business History; Information; Law; Legal Liability; Laws and Statutes; Management; Marketing; Advertising; Media; Performance; Problems and Challenges; Society; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States
- March 2025 (Revised May 2025)
- Case
Xfund and Sam Altman: Finding Harvard's Best Generative AI Founders
By: Suraj Srinivasan
On May 1, 2024, Xfund Managing Partners Patrick Chung and Brandon Farwell, hosted a high-stakes venture pitch session designed to select one startup for a minimum $100,000 investment. This “Xperiment Stake” competition, dedicated to startups in the Generative AI... View Details
- March 2025 (Revised March 2025)
- Case
Good for the Seller, Good for the Buyer and Good for Society: Sampo-yoshi, Sustainability and Trust at ITOCHU
By: Sandra J. Sucher and Bethelehem Y Araya
In 2024, ITOCHU CEO Masahiro Okafuji was at a crossroads. As the thirteenth CEO since ITOCHU’s founding in 1858, he had fueled the company’s growth since 2011 by bringing ITOCHU’s founding philosophy of Sampo-yoshi (good for the seller, good for the buyer and... View Details