Africa
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- 07 Jun 2017
- Research & Ideas
How an African History Scholar Became a Modern Righter of Wrongs
A scholar of colonial-era African history, Caroline M. Elkins had dramatic success turning prior knowledge into real-world action—namely, with a groundbreaking lawsuit against the British government, which revealed a chillingly bureaucratic process for destroying evidence of torture. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Jun 2017
- Cold Call Podcast
Building India’s First $100 Billion Company
Startups welcome growth but are often strangled by it. In this podcast, Sunil Gupta discusses how entrepreneur Vijay Shekhar Sharma is meeting this challenge with his mobile payments company Paytm. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Apr 2017
- Cold Call Podcast
Making Health Insurance That Consumers Actually Like
By motivating its insurance customers to take care of themselves, South African firm Vitality has expanded to the United Kingdom and China. In this podcast, Professor Regina Herzlinger discusses potential impacts of this model for health care in the United States. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 27 Feb 2017
- Research & Ideas
Reputation is Vital to Survival in Turbulent Markets
Reputation and resilience are key ingredients that determine whether companies will survive tumultuous markets, according to a new paper by Geoffrey Jones, Tarun Khanna, Cheng Gao, and Tiona Zuzul. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 15 Feb 2017
- Op-Ed
What Africa Can Teach the United States About Funding Infrastructure Projects
John Macomber explains why the solution to America’s infrastructure woes may lie in finance models that have proven successful in several nations in Africa. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 29 Jun 2016
- Research & Ideas
The $1 Trillion Link Between Mental Health and Economic Productivity
According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety disorders cost nearly $1 trillion annually. Nava Ashraf discusses the important link between mental health and economic productivity. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 May 2016
- Op-Ed
World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics
When it comes to emergency preparedness for pandemics, the World Health Organization is falling short, argues John A. Quelch. A better solution: The World Bank. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 21 Apr 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
The Perils of Building Democracy in Africa
Results from a text messaging experiment conducted before the 2013 National Election in Kenya show that basic information provided via short message service (SMS) resulted in small turnout increases but had a large effect on attitudes towards electoral institutions.
- 16 Feb 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Diversity and Team Performance in a Kenyan Organization
A key question in organizations is whether there is an optimal balance between diversity and sameness within teams of workers. Findings from a field experiment within a nonprofit research organization based in Kenya suggest much of the tradeoff between diversity and sameness may come from the different effects diversity has along different dimensions of organizational structure. Diversity along the organization’s hierarchy improves both effort and performance.
- 13 Jan 2016
- Research & Ideas
The Problem with Productivity of Multi-Ethnic Teams
Ethnically diverse teams can be less productive than more homogenous teams, according to research in Kenya by Vincent Pons. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Dec 2015
- Research & Ideas
What Happens When Zambian Schoolgirls Receive Negotiation Training
Research by Kathleen McGinn and colleagues shows how teaching negotiation skills to young Zambian women can greatly improve their health and educational outcomes. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 23 Nov 2015
- Book
The Historian Who Came in from the Cold
While much has been written about the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Jeremy S. Friedman’s Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World is the first book to explore in detail the significance of the “Second Cold War” that China and the Soviet Union fought in the shadow of the communist and capitalist struggle. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 28 Sep 2015
- Research & Ideas
Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries
Improving access to financial services for the poor in developing countries seems an unmet market need. So why are so many mobile money efforts failing? Rajiv Lal says the problem begins with Marketing 101. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Feb 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
Mobile Money: The Effect of Service Quality and Competition on Demand
Mobile money—the use of electronic money transfer through cellular networks—is rapidly expanding in developing countries, especially among the "unbanked." One persistent problem for mobile money agents, however, has been managing inventory and service quality. Using data from Kenya and Uganda, two East African countries at different stages of mobile money market development, the authors introduce an operations management lens for mobile money and explore the effects of competition and service quality on demand. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 14 Jan 2015
- Research & Ideas
Thriving in the Turbulence of Emerging Markets
Entrepreneurs in developing market economies face special management challenges. Company leaders in India, Turkey, and Africa discuss their experiences with Harvard Business School's Creating Emerging Markets project. Open for comment; 4 Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Aug 2014
- Research & Ideas
Climbing Down from the Ivory Tower
Nava Ashraf explains why it makes sense for field researchers to co-produce knowledge with the people they study and serve. Open for comment; 5 Comment(s) posted.
- 28 May 2014
- Research & Ideas
Building Histories of Emerging Economies One Interview at a Time
Much of modern business history has been written on experiences in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Now, the unheard stories of emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are being told on a new website by the Business History Initiative. Open for comment; 3 Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Feb 2014
- HBS Case
Stressing Safety in South Africa’s Platinum Mines
Gautam Mukunda discusses why and how he teaches a case study about Cynthia Carroll, the first woman and non-South African to serve as chief executive of mining giant Anglo American. Open for comment; 4 Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Dec 2013
- Op-Ed
HBS Faculty Remember Nelson Mandela
Harvard Business School faculty Nitin Nohria, Linda Hill, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Gautam Mukunda remember Nelson Mandela, a leader who truly made a difference in the world. Closed for comment; 6 Comment(s) posted.
Emerging Markets and the Future of Business History
This paper argues that there are important commonalities about the business history of countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America despite differences between countries and within regions of each country. It is possible to discern a distinctive body of scholarship different from that on the West.