Publications

23 Aug 2016
First Look

August 23, 2016

meet the quarterly earnings targets of increasingly short-term–oriented investors. Reality: Companies that pursue major sustainability initiatives, and publicize them in integrated reports and other communications with investors, have... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Vanguard, Trian And The Problem With 'Passive' Index Funds

need to get shareholders more engaged? What shape should the separation of management and ownership take in the twenty-first century?” “We are now in a situation where index investors are the major shareholders in most of the large- and medium-sized View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

January 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Consulting by Auditors (B): The Compromise and its Fallout

By: Ashish Nanda

This case tracks the evolution from October 2000 to July 2001 of public debate, regulatory decisions, and firm perspectives on the subject of consulting by accounting firms. View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Service Delivery; Accounting Industry; Consulting Industry

03 Jan 2013
Working Paper Summaries

The Value of Advice: Evidence from Mobile Phone-Based Agricultural Extension

Keywords: by Shawn A. Cole; Agriculture & Agribusiness

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

appear to have long-run implications whereby sustaining a high level of service relative to local competitors leads the incumbent to attract and retain higher value customers over time. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Jan 2021
Book

How Thinking Like a Startup Helps Governments Solve More Problems

discussed other key points from the book: Martha Lagace: What do you mean by “possibility government”? Mitchell Weiss: Possibility government is the pursuit of novel programs and services by public officials... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Case

The Louvre

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Francois-Lucien Vulliermet and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Once a royal residence and today one of the most photographed Parisian landmarks, the Louvre, home of iconic masterpieces, was the world’s largest and most visited museum in 2017. Its President Director Jean-Luc Martinez had since 2013 spearheaded its development and... View Details

Keywords: Customer-centricity; Cultural Organizations; Museum; Brand; Customer Focus and Relationships; Mission and Purpose; Culture; Education; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Fine Arts Industry

2016
Working Paper

Refugee Resettlement

By: David Delacretaz, Scott Duke Kominers and Alexander Teytelboym

Over 100,000 refugees are permanently resettled from refugee camps to hosting countries every year. Nevertheless, refugee resettlement processes in most countries are ad hoc, accounting for neither the priorities of hosting communities nor the preferences of refugees... View Details

Keywords: Refugees; Marketplace Matching; Mathematical Methods

Read Now

September 2014 (Revised June 2016)
Case

edX: Strategies for Higher Education

By: David Collis, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In May 2012, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) founded edX, a new non-profit joint venture that would provide a platform for massive open online courses (MOOCs). edX did not produce original courses or instructional content—it made... View Details

Keywords: MOOCS; edX; Online Platforms; Online Education; Harvard University; MIT; Execution; Monetization; Brand Management; Higher Education; Information Technology; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Digital Platforms; Education Industry

February 2011 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Sarvajal: Water for All

By: John D. Macomber and Mona Sinha

Entrepreneur wrestles with business model using SMS and RFID technology, franchising, and leasing to rapidly grow off-the-grid water purification business without subsidies. The company seeks to provide potable water services to rural and urban India where the public... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Model; Communication Technology; Private Sector; Social Entrepreneurship; Cost Management; Rural Scope; Emerging Markets; Infrastructure; Problems and Challenges; Information Infrastructure; India

March 2021
Case

Yale Investments Office: November 2020

By: Josh Lerner, Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments—hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources—given the impact of the COVID-19... View Details

Keywords: University Endowment; Asset Allocation; Real Estate; Equities; Fixed Income; COVID-19; Asset Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Natural Resources; Resource Allocation; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Health Pandemics; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Connecticut

Article

Operational Efficiency and Effective Management in the Catheterization Laboratory

By: Grant W. Reed, Michael L. Tushman and Samir R. Kapadia

Operational efficiency is a core business principle in which organizations strive to deliver high-quality goods or services in a cost-effective manner. This concept has become increasingly relevant to cardiac catheterization laboratories, as insurers move away from... View Details

Keywords: Cath Lab; Catheterization Laboratory; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Efficiency; Management; Performance Productivity; Cost Management; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

August 2002
Case

MassEnvelopePlus

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Brooke Bartletta and Michelle Heskett

Describes the challenges Steve Grossman, a fourth-generation owner of a small commercial printing company, must face amid industry consolidation, technological changes, and his own run for public office. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Leadership; Change Management; Information Technology; Personal Development and Career; Service Delivery; Service Industry; Massachusetts

February 1991 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Tom Paine Mutual Life Insurance Company

A junior portfolio manager at a major life insurance company must choose among various public and private debt alternatives in connection with the funding of a new Guaranteed Investment Contract. The case serves as an introduction to life insurance companies as... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Insurance; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

04 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 4

"going public" and "going private'" transactions. We then find that majority PE-backed private firms engage in less book-tax nonconforming tax planning than public years; nonetheless, they exhibit substantially lower... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Attention Medical Shoppers: What Health Care Can Learn from Walmart and Amazon

that the system isn't set up to incentivize health care workers to do that. "The reason it's never done is that nobody gets paid to do it .there's no incentive to do anything," Cutler said. Services Not Emphasized In terms of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

09 Feb 2016
First Look

February 9, 2016

interest. This paper examines empirical data from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, an agency that funds partnerships between universities and private companies. We assess the effect on participating firms' innovative performance, comparing patent... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Aug 2016
First Look

August 2, 2016

forthcoming Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Don't Stop Believing: Rituals Improve Performance by Decreasing Anxiety By: Brooks, Alison Wood, Julianna Schroeder, Jane Risen, Francesca Gino, Adam D. Galinsky, Michael I. Norton, and Maurice Schweitzer... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2014
Case

Babcock International Plc

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2013, Babcock International Plc (Babcock) was the largest engineering services provider in the UK with sales of over £3 billion. Under the leadership of CEO Peter Rogers, Babcock had grown revenues and profits nearly tenfold over the previous decade as it benefited... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Change; Strategy And Leadership; Diversification; United Kingdom; Military; Nuclear Power; Nuclear; Engineering And Construction; Conglomerates; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Construction Industry; Energy Industry; United Kingdom