Faculty & Research

Facilitating faculty research and case development on an international scale

Our unprecedented network of research centers and regional offices in key areas of the world enable faculty to work with leaders, industry, government, and academia worldwide, and to learn from business challenges and innovations wherever they occur. Through sustained work in the field, faculty are provided the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture and values – as well as intricacies and nuances – that lead to truly meaningful and insightful global research.

Research Centers & Offices

More than half the faculty are actively involved in international research, developing high-impact cases and course materials on relevant global issues and innovations.

New Research

September 2025
Article
Journal of Development Economics

Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in India

By: Shawn Cole, Tomoko Harigaya, Grady Killeen and Aparna Krishna

This paper evaluates a low-cost, customized soil nutrient management advisory service in India. As a methodological contribution, we examine whether and in which settings satellite measurements may be effective at estimating both agricultural yields and treatment effects. The intervention improves self-reported fertilizer management practices, though not enough to measurably affect yields. Satellite measurements calibrated using OLS produce more precise point estimates than farmer-reported data, suggesting power gains. However, linear models, common in the literature, likely produce biased estimates. We propose an alternative procedure, using two-stage least squares. In settings without attrition, this approach obtains lower statistical power than self-reported yields; in settings with differential attrition, it may substantially increase power. We include a “cookbook'' and code that should allow other researchers to use remote sensing for yield estimation and program evaluation.

June 2025
Teaching Material

To Found or to Cofound? That is the Question

By: Christina Wallace and Stacy Straaberg

Entrepreneurs often struggle with the question of whether to found solo or alongside one or more cofounders. This case is comprised of three vignettes detailing common founding scenarios: the first-time technical founder; the serial commercial founder; and the MBA co-founders who are friends first. Coupled with robust research, this case offers students the opportunity to break down the roles, responsibilities, relationships, and resources of a founding team and determine when and why they should found alone or seek a cofounder.

June 2025
Case

Full-funnel Advertising on TikTok

By: Jeremy Yang, Ayelet Israeli and Alexis Lefort

In 2025 TikTok is working to grow its brand and performance advertising business, along with a new integrated full-funnel solution. As an emerging media platform with unique ad formats and user behavior in a privacy-first environment, TikTok faces both significant opportunities and challenges in scaling its advertising business. The Marketing Science Organization is exploring how to harness TikTok’s creative assets, targeting strategies, and measurement capabilities to deliver better outcomes and reliable metrics to advertisers while accelerating TikTok's overall ad growth.

See all research

Global Colloquium for participant-centered learning

For senior faculty at top business schools in emerging economies who want to be trained in interactive methods of teaching and learning. GloColl comprises a seven-day session held on the HBS campus, followed by a three-day session held in two cities in Asia, Europe, or Latin America each year.

→More information

Faculty & Research

Facilitating faculty research and case development on an international scale

Research Centers & Offices

New Research

Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in India

To Found or to Cofound? That is the Question

Full-funnel Advertising on TikTok

Global Colloquium for participant-centered learning

In The News

‘How Do I Survive?’: Tariffs Threaten U.S. Market for Traditional Chinese Medicine

Pompeo Warns Against u.s. Pulling Back from Global Leadership Role

Trump Suggested Kids Have Too Many Dolls. He Might Be Right, but We Get a Lot More than Toys from China.