Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a featured research topic and an initiative at Harvard Business School
 
Our long tradition of research in Entrepreneurship goes back to the 1930's and 1940's with the “the father of venture capitalism,” General Georges Doriot, and Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of innovation as a process of “creative destruction.” Building on our intellectual roots, our scholars come from disciplines including economics, finance, sociology, strategy, business history, management, and social entrepreneurship. A number of our faculty come from practice as venture capitalists and start-up founders. We focus our research on the identification and pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities; domestic and international funding of entrepreneurial endeavors; innovation, particularly technological innovation in international ventures; the environments in which entrepreneurs make decisions; and social entrepreneurship. As our research contributes new insights, we are advancing the world’s understanding of complex entrepreneurial issues and helping to increase the entrepreneurial success of our students and practitioners worldwide. 

Featured Works

 

  1. Article | Organization Science | November–December 2019

    Pivoting Isn't Enough? Managing Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures

    Rory McDonald and Cheng Gao

    New ventures often experience deviations from their plans that oblige them to reorient in pursuit of better fit between their evolving products and their target customers. Yet research is largely silent on how managers explain such changes and justify their ventures in the wake of fundamental redirections in strategy. Ventures initially attain legitimacy and amass resources on the strength of aims that audiences find compelling; later, those early claims can complicate course corrections. To shed light on how ventures manage strategic reorientations, we conducted an inductive, comparative-case of software-based financial advisors. The ventures pursued parallel reorientations and produced comparable end products, but diverged conspicuously in managing audiences during transitions. Our process model, inspired by these differences, proposes a sequence of stratagems that may enable entrepreneurs to alter strategy while portraying faithfulness to enduring aims. Our theoretical framework posits that for ventures, reorientation without penalty may depend on how they anticipate, justify, and stage changes to various audiences.

    Keywords: strategic reorientation; technology entrepreneurship; innovation; product development processes; organizational adaptation; qualitative methods (general); Entrepreneurship; Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Communication Strategy;

    Citation:

    McDonald, Rory, and Cheng Gao. "Pivoting Isn't Enough? Managing Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures." Organization Science 30, no. 6 (November–December 2019): 1289–1318.  View Details
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  2. Working Paper | 2019

    Keeping the Little Guy Down: A Debt Trap for Lending with Limited Pledgeability

    Ernest Liu and Benjamin N. Roth

    Microcredit and other forms of small-scale finance have failed to catalyze entrepreneurship in developing countries. In these credit markets, borrowers and lenders often bargain over not only the division of surplus but also contractual flexibility. We show these lending relationships may lead to endogenous poverty traps for poor borrowers if future income is not pledgeable, yet richer borrowers unambiguously benefit. Improving the bargaining position of rich borrowers can harm poor borrowers, as the lender tightens restrictions and prevents them from growing. The theory rationalizes the low average impact and low demand of microfinance despite its high impact on larger businesses.

    Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Developing Countries and Economies; Microfinance; Problems and Challenges;

    Citation:

    Liu, Ernest, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Keeping the Little Guy Down: A Debt Trap for Lending with Limited Pledgeability." Working Paper, March 2019.  View Details
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  3. Article | Research Policy | November 2019

    Conversations and Idea Generation: Evidence from a Field Experiment

    Sharique Hasan and Rembrand Koning

    When do conversations lead people to generate better ideas? We conducted a field experiment at a startup boot camp to evaluate the impact of informal conversations on the quality of product ideas generated by participants. Specifically, we examine how the personality of an innovator (openness to experience, capturing creativity) and the personalities of her randomly assigned conversational peers (extroversion, measuring willingness to share information) affects the innovator's ideas. We find that open innovators who spoke with extroverted peers generated significantly better ideas than others at the boot camp. However, closed individuals produced mediocre ideas regardless of the individuals they interviewed, suggesting limited benefits of conversations for these people. More surprisingly, open individuals, who are believed to be inherently creative, produced worse ideas after they spoke with introverted peers, suggesting individual creativity's dependence on external information. Our study demonstrates the importance of considering the traits of both innovators and their conversational peers in predicting who will generate the best ideas.

    Keywords: peer effects; field experiment; Interpersonal Communication; Creativity; Personal Characteristics; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention;

    Citation:

    Hasan, Sharique, and Rembrand Koning. "Conversations and Idea Generation: Evidence from a Field Experiment." Art. 103811. Research Policy 48, no. 9 (November 2019).  View Details
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  4. Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    Harlem Capital: Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship (B)

    George Serafeim and David Freiberg

    Case B describes Tingle and Pierre-Jacques’ decision to commit fully to Harlem Capital as their post-graduation job. The case explores the results of their fundraising efforts, new strategic partnerships and how they plan to “build the market” in order to achieve future, sustained success in building funds comprised of diverse entrepreneurs

    Keywords: impact investing; Gender bias; Gender Inequality; minority representation; entrepreneurial finance; investment management; Investing; inequality; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Diversity; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Equity; Mission and Purpose; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry;

    Citation:

    Serafeim, George, and David Freiberg. "Harlem Capital: Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship (B)." Harvard Business School Case 120-041, October 2019.  View Details
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  5. Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    Harlem Capital: Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship (A)

    George Serafeim and David Freiberg

    Jarrid Tingle and Henri Pierre-Jacques had spent the summer between their first and second years of their Harvard Business School MBA program fund raising for their start-up Venture Capital (VC) firm, Harlem Capital Partners. Harlem Capital was founded upon the principle that addressing the VC funding gap for minorities and women – who received only 3 percent of total VC funding – could produce superior returns. Tingle and Pierre-Jacques were passionate about the mission of Harlem Capital to change the face of entrepreneurship. However, despite generating significant media attention, Harlem Capital had only raised a few million dollars over the summer, not nearly enough for the fund to be financially viable as a career path for Tingle and Pierre-Jacques. Should Tingle and Pierre-Jacques commit to Harlem Capital despite the serious roadblocks on their path? Or should they capitalize on their pre-MBA Private Equity experience and attempt to be impactful through a more traditional career post-MBA graduation?

    Keywords: impact investing; Gender bias; Gender Inequality; minority representation; entrepreneurial finance; investment management; Investing; inequality; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Diversity; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Equity; Mission and Purpose; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry;

    Citation:

    Serafeim, George, and David Freiberg. "Harlem Capital: Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship (A)." Harvard Business School Case 120-040, October 2019.  View Details
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  6. Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    GRIT Fitness

    Lynda M. Applegate and Olivia Hull

    In December 2018, GRIT Fitness was a growing chain of boutique fitness studios offering a variety of workout classes, including weightlifting, high intensity interval training, and cardio dance. With 400 members and three Dallas studios, CEO Brittani Rettig believed her business had found a niche in a crowded industry by promoting female empowerment and psychological resilience through fitness. Rettig wanted to extend GRIT’s reach to impact more women. What was the best path to growth?

    Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Plan; Trends; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Training; Health; Selection and Staffing; Leadership Style; Leadership Development; Management Style; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Motivation and Incentives; Sports; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; Value Creation; Health Industry; Sports Industry; Texas;

    Citation:

    Applegate, Lynda M., and Olivia Hull. "GRIT Fitness." Harvard Business School Case 820-016, October 2019.  View Details
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  8. Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    The Predictive Index

    Lynda M. Applegate and James Weber

    Mike Zani and Daniel Muzquiz needed to decide next steps to create a new category in the human resources consulting industry and scale their company. Zani and Muzquiz, serial entrepreneurs, acquired Predictive Index in 2014. Previously, as clients of the 65-year-old Predictive Index, they had used its behavioral assessment tool to help them hire staff and build teams and they strongly believed in its value. They also believed, however, that Predictive Index had the potential to be something more. After acquiring the company, they invested in technology and people to modernize the business, and Predictive Index earned recognition as a “best place to work.” In 2018, they developed a Talent Optimization platform, an offering that had the potential to transform the industry by helping companies align their business strategies with their human capital and leadership development strategies. In late 2019, as they prepared a broad rollout of Talent Optimization, and planned to scale their business by an order of magnitude, the pair wondered what hurdles they might face along the way and what other steps they should take to reach their goals.

    Keywords: Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Change Management; Disruptive Innovation; Market Platforms; Consulting Industry; Service Industry; United States;

    Citation:

    Applegate, Lynda M., and James Weber. "The Predictive Index." Harvard Business School Case 820-034, October 2019.  View Details
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  9. Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance

    Michael Chu, Brian Trelstad and John Masko

    In 2009, Dan Meyer and Richard Palmer, two veterans of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, founded Nehemiah Manufacturing to build FMCG brands while providing jobs to Cincinnati, Ohio’s beleaguered urban core. Two years later, the pair made their first “second-chance” hire of a convicted felon, a successful experiment which would grow to define the company. By 2019, Nehemiah’s factory floor, as well as several supervisory and management positions, would be staffed by ex-offenders. With a robust net of social support services and a non-profit foundation for training peer companies in how to hire second-chance employees, Meyer and Palmer advocated using second-chance hiring to decrease turnover and create staff loyalty. This case deals with the challenges and opportunities associated with growing a manufacturing company while prioritizing a social mission, and enables students to evaluate the potential of second-chance hiring programs.

    Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employment; Human Capital; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Social Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Prejudice and Bias; City; Urban Scope; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio; United States;

    Citation:

    Chu, Michael, Brian Trelstad, and John Masko. "Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance." Harvard Business School Case 320-008, October 2019.  View Details
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  10. Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised October 2019)

    C16 Biosciences: Lab-Grown Palm Oil

    Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

    Synthetic biology start-up C16 Biosciences wants to solve a big problem: replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. CEO Shara Ticku has ambitious plans to supply her lab-grown palm oil to food manufacturers, who use palm oil liberally in a variety of products from ice cream to margarine. In bringing her product to market, Ticku faces a tough decision. Should she roll out the product first in the personal care market, which has lower volumes and premium prices, or go straight for food? The meteoric rise of lab-grown meat company Impossible Foods has caught the attention of an investor, who wonders if C16 should tap into excitement about lab-grown foods to raise a Series A funding round. But are there merits to starting small?

    Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Natural Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Weather and Climate Change; Social Enterprise; Business Startups; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Agribusiness; Food; Social Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Accountability; Growth and Development; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Working Conditions; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Supply and Industry; Product Development; Production; Corporate Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; North and Central America; Boston; Massachusetts; New York (city, NY); Southeast Asia; Indonesia; Malaysia;

    Citation:

    Bussgang, Jeffrey J., and Olivia Hull. "C16 Biosciences: Lab-Grown Palm Oil." Harvard Business School Case 820-008, October 2019. (Revised October 2019.)  View Details
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    11.  
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Initiatives & Projects

  • Entrepreneurship

    The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship supports Harvard Business School's mission to "educate leaders who make a difference in the world" by infusing this leadership perspective with an entrepreneurial point of view.

  • Social Enterprise

    The Social Enterprise Initiative at HBS applies innovative business practices and managerial disciplines to drive sustained, high-impact social change.

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Faculty

Seminars & Conferences

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re Leonard A. Schlesinger
Launched during the financial crisis in 2009, the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program provided free business education, support, and access to capital for small businesses, graduating 7,300

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Harvard Business Publishing

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by Deepak Malhotra
Case
by Lynda M. Applegate and James Weber
Press Book
by Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

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