My work assists small business entrepreneurs, and high-growth technology firms that serve them, to grow with technology and AI in emerging economies.
Rowan Clarke
Doctoral Student
Doctoral Student
Rowan Clarke is a PhD candidate at Harvard Business School in the Strategy Unit. He researches entrepreneurship and technology/AI for economic development and social impact. His work assists small business entrepreneurs, and high-growth technology entrepreneurs that serve them, to grow with technology and AI in emerging economies. It also focuses on social and environmental impact.
Rowan uses AI, causal inference, field experiments, and applied theory. He has won large funding grants, including IGC and Grand Challenges, multiple Best Paper Prizes, as well as the INFORMS/MSOM Award for Responsible Research. He received his bachelor's in statistics and economics, and master's in economics from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Prior to Harvard he worked as a researcher with Innovations for Poverty Action. More: Website
Contact Information
Rowan Clarke is a PhD candidate at Harvard Business School in the Strategy Unit. He researches entrepreneurship and technology/AI for economic development and social impact. His work assists small business entrepreneurs, and high-growth technology entrepreneurs that serve them, to grow with technology and AI in emerging economies. It also focuses on social and environmental impact.
Rowan uses AI, causal inference, field experiments, and applied theory. He has won large funding grants, including IGC and Grand Challenges, multiple Best Paper Prizes, as well as the INFORMS/MSOM Award for Responsible Research. He received his bachelor's in statistics and economics, and master's in economics from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Prior to Harvard he worked as a researcher with Innovations for Poverty Action. More: Website
- Journal Articles
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- Uppari, Bhavani Shanker, Serguei Netessine, Ioanna Popescu, and Rowan P. Clarke. "Design of Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Field Experiments and Structural Analysis." Management Science 70, no. 5 (May 2024): 3038–3058. View Details
- Uppari, Bhavani Shanker, Ioanna Popescu, Serguei Netessine, and Rowan P. Clarke. "A Smarter Way to Design Business Strategies to Serve the Poor." INSEAD Knowledge (October 5, 2023). View Details
- Klege, Rebecca, Martine Visser, Manuel Barron, and Rowan P. Clarke. "Competition and Gender in the Lab vs Field: Experiments from Off-grid Renewable Energy Entrepreneurs in Rural Rwanda." Art. 101662. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 91 (April 2021). View Details
- Working Papers
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- Russel, Dominic, Claire Shi, and Rowan Clarke. "FinTech & Financial Frictions: The Rise of Revenue-Based Financing." SSRN Working Paper Series, July 2024. View Details
- Otis, Nicholas G., Rowan Clarke, Solène Delecourt, David Holtz, and Rembrand Koning. "The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-042, December 2023. View Details
- Research Summary
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- Awards & Honors
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Winner of the 2024 MSOM Responsible Research Award from the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society (MSOM) with Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Serguei Netessine, and Ioana Popescu.Winner of the 2024 Distinguished Paper Award from the Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management for “The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance” with Nicholas Otis, Solène Delecourt, David Holtz, and Rembrand Koning.Winner of the 2024 Wharton People Analytics White Paper Competition for “The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance” with Nicholas Otis, Solène Delecourt, David Holtz, and Rembrand Koning.Awarded Second Place in the 2024 Strategic Management Society Best Conference Paper Prize Competition for “The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance” with Nicholas Otis, Solène Delecourt, Rembrand Koning, and David Holtz.Winner of the 2022 INFORMS Technology, Innovation Management, and Entrepreneurship Section (TIMES) Best Working Paper Award for “Design of Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Field Experiments and Structural Analysis” with Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Serguei Netessine, and Ioanna Popescu.Winner of the 2021 INFORMS Public Sector Operations Research (PSOR) Best Paper Award.Nominated for the 2021 INFORMS Service Science Paper Award Competition.Finalist for the 2020/2021 POMS Applied Research Challenge for “Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Evidence From a Structural Model and Field Experiments in Rwanda” with Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Serguei Netessine, and Ioanna Popescu.Finalist for the 2020 INFORMS Decision Analysis Practice Award.
- Additional Information
- Area of Study
- Areas of Interest
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- artificial intelligence
- economic development
- entrepreneurship
- strategy
- technological innovation
- emerging markets
- environment
- sustainability
- energy
- financial services
- green technology
- high technology
- management consulting
- microfinance
- retail financial services
- Africa
- Asia
Additional TopicsIndustriesGeographies