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New research on business ownership from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including ownership types and the legal right of possession.
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The Rise of the Investor State: State Capital in the Chinese Economy

by Hao Chen and Meg Rithmire

Researchers document and explain the rise of a novel form of intervention on the part of the Chinese state: the expansion of state capital beyond ownership of state firms.

Lifting the Lid on Turkey's Hidden Business History

by Sean Silverthorne

The business history of modern Turkey has been largely hidden from view, but a new book edited by Geoffrey Jones and Asli M. Colpan pulls back the covers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Corporate Purpose and Firm Ownership

by Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

This study shows that corporate purpose varies greatly according to the nature of firm ownership, and these differences can be least partly explained by the choices and compensation of the CEOs. The greater the pay gap between CEOs and employees, the lower the sense of corporate purpose within the organization.

The Ferrari Way

by Michael Blanding

Secretive sports car maker Ferrari opens up to Stefan Thomke about how it has bucked industry trends to achieve success. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Creation and Evolution of Entrepreneurial Public Markets

by Shai Bernstein, Abhishek Dev, and Josh Lerner

Since 1990, new stock exchanges geared toward fast-growing, entrepreneurial companies have proliferated around the world. This analysis shows that exchanges in countries with better shareholder protection allowed younger and less profitable companies to raise more capital. These markets alone cannot boost entrepreneurial activity but need enabling institutions.

It’s Hard to Fix the Family Business Without Offending the Family

by Julia Hanna

Navigating complex relationships and understanding unwritten processes are among the many challenges of transitioning a family-owned business to the next generation. Len Schlesinger, Michael Raiche, and Roger Zhu discuss the dilemmas of a small Vietnamese restaurant in the case study “Pho Hoa Dorchester.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis

by Laura Alfaro, Pol Antras, Davin Chor & Paola Conconi

Manufacturing activities that used to be performed in close proximity are increasingly fragmented across firms and countries. This paper provides strong evidence that considerations driven by contractual frictions critically shape firms' ownership decisions along their value chains.

Work 3.0: Redefining Jobs and Companies in the Uber Age

by Andrei Hagiu

Companies like HourlyNerd and Lyft are redefining the job marketplace—but government has not caught up to the shift. Mess this up and we’ll stifle a major driver of innovation, business creation, and jobs, argues Andrei Hagiu. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Codeacademy’s Delicate Work of Adding Monetization Without Crushing Mission

Codeacademy is one of the world's largest educational institutions, with 24 million users. But now that it must monetize, can the coding school remain successful? asks Jeffrey Bussgang. Open for comment; 1 Comment(s) posted.

A Bank That Takes Parmesan as Collateral: The Cheese Stands a Loan

by Carmen Nobel

Nikolaos Trichakis discusses the subject of a new Harvard Business School case study: the Italian regional bank Credito Emiliano, which accepts young Parmigiano-Reggiano as collateral, and then ages it in climate-controlled vaults. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

How Crowds and Experts Kickstart the Arts

Ramana Nanda and Ethan Mollick look into how experts and crowds—the National Endowment for the Arts and Kickstarter—make choices about backing proposed theater shows. Open for comment; 3 Comment(s) posted.

Users Love Ello, But What’s the Business Model?

Social network upstart Ello is generating terrific buzz among users, but can its ad-free approach compete against Facebook? Professors John Deighton and Sunil Gupta provide insights into what drives social media success. Closed for comment; 5 Comment(s) posted.

Online Banks Fill Funding Needs for Small Business

by Karen Mills

In the final column on small business lending, Karen Mills is optimistic that the rise of alternative online banks can fund entrepreneurial business growth. Closed for comment; 1 Comment(s) posted.

Government Can Do More to Unfreeze Small Business Credit

by Karen Mills

In part three of her series on the state of small-business lending, Karen Mills discusses how public-private partnerships and government guarantee programs have the potential to enhance economic growth. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Why Small-Business Lending Is Not Recovering

by Karen Mills

Lending to small businesses has not returned to levels seen before the financial crisis. Karen Mills, former head of the US Small Business Administration, explains the reasons and why the situation is not likely to improve anytime soon. Open for comment; 6 Comment(s) posted.

Is a Gap in Small-Business Credit Holding Back the American Economy?

by Karen Mills

Karen Mills, former head of the US Small Business Administration, analyzes the current state of availability of bank capital for small business. Open for comment; 8 Comment(s) posted.

In the Future of Sports Investing, Media Is the Best Bet

by Carmen Nobel

Sports investing is no longer just about buying teams and selling beer. Bob Higgins discusses why media, digital devices, and invention of fan-friendly sports are driving next-generation investors. Open for comment; 2 Comment(s) posted.

The Alibaba Effect

by Bill Kirby & Warren McFarlan

Alibaba's $200 billion mega-IPO is history-making in a number of ways. Bill Kirby and Warren McFarlan discuss what the deal says about Chinese entrepreneurship and American markets. Open for comment; 7 Comment(s) posted.

Managing the Family Business: Firing the CEO

Firing a CEO is never easy—but the task gets even more difficult in a family business. John A. Davis discusses when to change out the chief executive. Open for comment; 13 Comment(s) posted.

Family CEOs Spend Less Time at Work

by Carmen Nobel

CEOs who are related to the owners of family-owned firms work significantly fewer hours than nonfamily CEOs, according to a new study by Raffaella Sadun and colleagues. This is in light of the fact that longer working hours are associated with higher productivity, growth, and profitability. Closed for comment; 16 Comment(s) posted.