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Harvard Business Review - Articles and Cases

This guide is intended to help patrons access the Harvard Business Review articles at GSU and understand the license restrictions.

Harvard Business Review at Georgia State University

Where can you find Harvard Business Review articles for your private individual use or research at Georgia State University?

Georgia State University has access to the full text of Harvard Business Review (HBR) from 1922 to present via Business Source Complete and from 1922 to 2016 via the library's microfilm collection. You can use the links below to find items in our collections at GSU or online. 

You can also search for HBR articles by the article title, author, subject in Business Source Complete. You can do this by typing "Harvard Business Review" into the search box and then selecting "SO Publication Field" from the drop-down menu on the right-hand side.

Publication search or Harvard Business Review in Business Source Complete

After you run your search, you can narrow your results further using the "Refine Results" menu on the left-hand side of the results list. 

Business Source Complete with Harvard Business Review article search results with refine results menu

Restrictions on classroom and teaching use

Can professors point students to Harvard Business Review articles from Business Source Complete via syllabi or other means for assigned course reading? 

Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP) has historically restricted the use of Harvard Business Review articles in Business Source Complete to individual use. Since 2020 Harvard Business Review (HBR) has included a rider at the end of each article with the specifics of the license details and restrictions agreed upon between EBSCO and HBSP. This is the current rider: 

“Copyright © Harvard Business Publishing. All Rights Reserved. This content is intended for individual research use only, subject to the following: Unless permission is expressly granted in a separate license, this content may NOT be used for classroom or teaching use, which includes teaching materials, electronic reserves, course packs or persistent linking from syllabi. Please consult your institution's librarian about the nature of relevant licenses held by your institution and the restrictions that may or may not apply. Unless permission is expressly granted in a separate license, this content may NOT be used in corporate training and/or as corporate learning materials. For corporate users, please consult the specific terms of your company's license(s) for complete information and restrictions. For more information and teaching resources from Harvard Business Publishing including Harvard Business School Cases, eLearning products, and business simulations please visit hbsp.harvard.edu."

What does our EBSCO license allow? According to EBSCO: 

"only those institutions with an HBR for Coursework license may allow students and professors to use the content without restriction." GSU does not have a Coursework license. As a result, the HBR articles in Business Source Complete may only be used for individual use. Faculty should not link to HBR articles in Business Source Complete for assigned course reading.

What if I really want to use one of these restricted articles for teaching?

HBR does offer faculty the option to use their site to create a course pack that can be paid for by the faculty member or purchased by students. If you need more information about this option, please reach out to the Business Librarian. 

Restrictions on Printing and Downloading

Unable to print or download a Harvard Business Review article in Business Source Complete?

Business Source Complete and Harvard Business Review prevent printing and downloading of 500 Harvard Business Review articles. Known among libraries as the HBR 500, these rotating articles are set by the publisher to be read on-screen only and cannot be printed or downloaded. No current list of the HBR 500 is made available by the vendor or publisher. The articles included in the HBR 500 have changed since 2013 and it is understood inclusion reflects popularity. If you are sure if the article that you are unable to print or download is one of these items or if you are experiencing a technical issue, please reach out to the Business Librarian for assistance. 

For further information on these restrictions from Harvard Business School Publishing, including the 2013 list of the HBR 500 restricted articles, please refer to the American Library Association's RUSA/BRASS Statement on Harvard Business Review Pricing & Access.