Publications

June 2024
Case

Wemade: (Re)Establishing Trust in Blockchain Games (A)

By: Jung Koo Kang, Charles CY Wang, David Allen and Kwangmoon So

This case explores the fundamental challenges and accounting issues arising from the integration of blockchain technology into traditional business models. It features Wemade, a South Korean online gaming company that has staked its future on blockchain-based games.... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Video Games; Accounting; Financial Reporting; Revenue Recognition; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Corporate Disclosure; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Accounting Industry; Information Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; South Korea

June 2024
Background Note

Do Companies Overvalue External Talent?

By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

When looking to fill a position above entry level, companies have two choices: transfer/promote an internal candidate, or hire from the outside. Anecdote and research alike show that external hires are usually offered a higher starting salary than internal candidates. View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Selection and Staffing; Job Offer

June 2024
Case

Accounting for Loans at SoFi Technologies

By: Joseph Pacelli and Michael Norris

At the release of its first quarter earnings report on May 1, 2023, digital bank SoFi beat its earnings guidance by 25%. On May 2, Wedbush Securities analyst David Chiaverini issued a report downgrading the stock. A second downgrade followed from Chiaverini on May 15.... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Valuation; Stocks; Banking Industry; United States

June 2024
Case

Driving DEI in the Boardroom

By: Nitin Nohria

June 2024
Supplement

Pal's Sudden Service (B)

By: Gary P. Pisano, Francesca Gino and Ruth Page

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: Pal's Sudden Service has developed a unique operating model and organizational culture in the quick service... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Service Operations; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry

June 2024
Teaching Plan

Sustainable Finance at Itau BBA

By: George Serafeim

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 123-036. View Details

2024
Working Paper

Investor Influence on Media Coverage: Evidence from Venture Capital-Backed Startups

By: Brian K. Baik and Albert Shin

We examine the role of investors on the media coverage of their private firm investments. Specifically, we survey VC investors and find that 78% of the respondents take active steps to increase their portfolio companies’ media coverage. The survey results also... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Media; Reputation; Information

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2024
Article

A Universal In-Place Reconfiguration Algorithm for Sliding Cube-Shaped Robots in Quadratic Time

By: Zachary Abel, Hugo A. Akitaya, Scott Duke Kominers, Matias Korman and Frederick Stock

In the modular robot reconfiguration problem we are given n cube-shaped modules (or "robots") as well as two configurations, i.e., placements of the n modules so that their union is face-connected. The goal is to find a sequence of moves that reconfigures the modules... View Details

Keywords: Robots; Mathematical Methods

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June 2024
Case

Building Innovation at VINCI

By: Dennis Campbell, Aluna Wang and Carlota Moniz

This case study explores how the VINCI Group, a French multinational operating in concessions, energy, and construction, bolstered awareness and adoption rates of new technologies within the organization. Through its separate innovation hub, Leonard, VINCI aimed to... View Details

June 2024
Article

Counterparty Risk and Counterparty Choice in the Credit Default Swap Market

By: Wenxin Du, Salil Gadgil, Michael Gordy and Clara Vega

We investigate how market participants price and manage counterparty credit risk using confidential trade repository data on single-name credit default swap (CDS) transactions. We find that counterparty risk has a modest impact on the pricing of CDS contracts but a... View Details

Keywords: Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Market Participation; Risk and Uncertainty; Price; Financial Markets; Credit

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June, 2024
Book Review

Debunking Immigration Myths: A Review Essay of 'Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success' (PublicAffairs, 2022) by Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan

By: Marco Tabellini

This essay reviews Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success by Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan. This elegantly written book, highly accessible to both economists and non-economists, is a must-read for anyone interested in the topic of... View Details

Keywords: Immigration; History; United States

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June 2024
Case

Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light

By: Jill Avery and Celine Chammas

On April 1, 2023, social media content creator and influencer Dylan Mulvaney recorded a promotional post. It featured a video of herself drinking from a can of Bud Light beer, offering a virtual toast to her followers. Alongside the video, she posted a photograph of a... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Social Media; Advertising; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

June 2024
Article

Enhancing Value and Well-Being: The Basket of Motivators Framework for Aligning Neurology Clinical Practices with Performance Outcomes

By: Peter N. Hadar, Susanna Gallani and Lidia Moura

Physician burnout, which is prevalent in neurology, has accelerated in recent years. While multifactorial, a major contributing factor to burnout is a payment model that rewards volume over quality, leaving physicians overburdened and unfulfilled. The aim of this... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Personal Development and Career; Well-being; Motivation and Incentives

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June 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Teaching Note

FARM Rio: Bringing a Brazilian Fashion Brand to the World

By: Isamar Troncoso and Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 524-003. View Details

Keywords: Global Marketing; Go-to-market Strategy; Global Branding; Brand Positioning; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Fashion Industry

June 2024
Article

Going Digital: Implications for Firm Value and Performance

By: Wilbur Chen and Suraj Srinivasan

We examine firm value and performance implications of the growing trend of non-technology companies engaging in digital transformation. We measure digital activities in firms based on the disclosure of digital words in the business description section of 10-Ks. Digital... View Details

Keywords: Digital Technologies; Valuation; Return Predictability; Financial Statement Analysis; Performance; Value; Information Technology

2024
Working Paper

Health, Human Capital Development and the Longevity of Japanese Elites Since 710

By: Tom Nicholas and Hiroshi Shimizu

We examine the lifespan of over 40,000 elites in Japan born between 710 and 1912, including samurai warriors, feudal lords, business, political, cultural, and religious leaders at the apex of the social hierarchy. Japanese elites experienced increases in lifespan about... View Details

Keywords: Life Expectancy; Status and Position; Health; History; Human Capital; Japan

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June 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Hospital for Special Surgery: Returning to a New Normal? (A)

By: Robert S. Huckman, Michael Lingzhi Li and Camille Gregory

Early on the morning of April 27, 2020, Justin Oppenheimer stood outside the entrance to the lobby of the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Pavilion Building with mixed emotions. On one hand, Oppenheimer, HSS’ Enterprise Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy... View Details

Keywords: Operations Management; Scheduling; Optimization; COVID-19; Health Care and Treatment; Operations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Disruption; Health Industry; United States