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Social EnterpriseRemove Social Enterprise →

New research on social enterprise and other nonprofit organizations from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including management strategies, demonstrating effectiveness, and employee motivation.
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Can the ‘Cummings Way’ Live On after the Founder Retires?

Re: Christina R. Wing

After 50 years at the helm of Cummings Properties, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Cummings is contemplating retirement. Christina R. Wing and Cummings discuss what's next for both the family business and foundation that he built. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Nonprofits Hurt by COVID-19 Must Hoard Cash to Hold On

by Danielle Kost

Experts from Harvard Business School's Social Enterprise Initiative offer advice to nonprofits struggling to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What Can the World’s Largest Refugee Camp Teach Us About the Meaning of Work?

by Danielle Kost

Almost 1 million Rohingya refugees are sinking deeper into despair while sitting idle in a camp they can’t easily leave. But the opportunity to work might provide a resource more scarce than cash: hope. Research by Reshmaan N. Hussam.

After the Carnival: Key Factors to Enhance Olympic Legacy and Prevent Olympic Sites from Becoming White Elephants

by Isao Okada and Stephen A. Greyser

After the Games end, Olympic venues must be used effectively and earn enough revenue to cover large ongoing costs or their owners—local governments and taxpayers—will face deficits. This fieldwork-based research and analysis of stadium use at 10 of the last 12 Summer Olympics sites highlights eight factors for better sustainability.

L.A. Philharmonic Shows the American Symphony Orchestra Isn’t Dead Yet

Re: Rohit Deshpande

Like many American symphony orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic seemed dying on the vine, unable to attract younger audiences or new sponsors. Then new CEO Deborah Borda came aboard with a plan to revive the brand. Rohit Deshpande discusses his case study on the turnaround. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

One Love: Managing a Movement Against Relationship Violence

Re: Thomas J. DeLong

One Love Foundation is dedicated to the prevention of relationship violence through education. Professor Tom DeLong talks about the challenges CEO Katie Hood faces as the organization works to create a movement and then maintain momentum around community engagement, fundraising, and growth. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Does a Social Startup Decide to Commercialize? It May Depend on the Founder's Gender

by Carmen Nobel

How does the founder of a social venture decide to create a "hybrid" business rather than a traditional nonprofit organization? The decision has a lot to do with the founder’s gender, according to new research by Stefan Dimitriadis, Matthew Lee, Lakshmi Ramarajan, and Julie Battilana. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Charitable Organizations Can Thwart Excuses for Not Giving

by Michael Blanding

Charitable organizations provide all kinds of reasons for donors to give money—but sometimes their messaging does just the opposite, shows research by Christine Exley. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

People Have an Irrational Need to Complete 'Sets' of Things

by Carmen Nobel

People are irrationally motivated to complete arbitrary sets of tasks, donations, or purchases—and organizations can take advantage of that, according to new research by Kate Barasz, Leslie John, Elizabeth Keenan, and Michael Norton. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica

by Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora

Costa Rica has grown as a mecca for ecotourism from the late twentieth century. Although biologists and other students of ecosystems and biodiversity were vital at the start of the process, as were conservation NGOs and the national government, this paper argues that entrepreneurs were also pivotal. While showing the benefits of ecotourism, it is also shown that as the industry scaled, there were increasing challenges of greenwashing.

World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics

by John Quelch

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.

A Better World Through Brewing

Re: Forest L. Reinhardt

Since brewing is a marketing-driven business, finding ways to differentiate a beverage from its competition is crucial. Heineken’s chief marketing officer took a novel approach: take the complicated processes of production and distribution and make them interesting and important to the consumer. Professor Forest Reinhardt explains how a big, sophisticated company used small details, from trucking routes to the color of refrigerators, to put its commitment to the environment to work on its behalf. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Finding Excuses to Decline the Ask

by Christine Exley & Ragan Petrie

An online experiment by Christine L. Exley and Ragan Petrie involving 6,000 potential donors to animal-rescue charities finds a 22 percent drop in interest in donating when individuals know “the ask” is coming and have time to develop excuses for not contributing. Results imply that nonprofits have a variety of options for better adapting how they solicit funds.

Incentives for Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Reputations

by Christine L. Exley

This study documents how small monetary incentives discourage volunteering when they are public and thus introduce a “greedy” signal. The discouragement from this greedy signal, however, is less pronounced among volunteers with public reputations, or those who are likely known not to be too greedy.

A Microchip in Your Medicine

Re: Richard G. Hamermesh

Digitally-enabled prescription medication may sound futuristic. Thanks to Proteus, the future is now. The company has developed the technology to place microchips inside prescription pills, allowing doctors to retrieve real-time updates on everything from dosing, to vital signs, to the efficacy of different medications. However, regulating and marketing such ground-breaking technology is almost as complicated as the medical conditions it can help cure. Professor Richard Hamermesh unpacks the challenges of changing the world of medicine. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Wage Elasticities in Working and Volunteering: The Role of Reference Points in a Laboratory Study

by Christine Exley & Stephen Terry

Nonprofit organizations often rely on reference points—explicit or implicit targets and goals—to encourage more effort from volunteers. This study finds that effort does tend to cluster around reference levels, so this may be perceived as a very effective strategy. Yet reference levels can potentially backfire: in response to higher volunteer wages or productivity, volunteers may reduce their effort so as to meet the reference level.

What to Do When Your Organization Has Dueling Missions

by Carmen Nobel

It’s no easy feat to manage hybrid organizations, which combine the social mission of a nonprofit with the revenue model of a for-profit business. Julie Battilana and colleagues explain how hybrids can find success with a business model dubbed “spaces of negotiation.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Donors Are Turned Off by Overhead Costs. Here’s What Charities Can Do

by Carmen Nobel

Elizabeth A. Keenan and colleagues find that charitable donors are willing to stomach the idea of overhead costs—as long as they know someone else’s donation is covering them. A field study helped one organization nearly triple its solicited donations. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Do People Who Care About Others Cooperate More? Experimental Evidence from Relative Incentive Pay

by Dylan Minor, Pablo Hernandez & Dana Sisak

This paper explores how the degree to which individuals care about other workers affects their own performance when faced with relative performance pay.

Why Entrepreneurs Should Go Work for Government

by Michael Blanding

In a new Harvard Business School course on public entrepreneurship, Mitchell B. Weiss explores how fresh thinkers can work with—and within—the halls of government. Open for comment; 10 Comment(s) posted.