Publications

Emily McComb is a Senior Lecturer in the Finance Unit at HBS, teaching "Finance 2" in the required curriculum of the MBA program, as well as a co-leader of the HBS Impact Investment Fund in the elective curriculum. Prior to joining the HBS faculty in 2017, Emily was... View Details

Keywords: financial services; health care

15 Feb 2017
Op-Ed

What Africa Can Teach the United States About Funding Infrastructure Projects

the great cities of America. But there will likely be massive arguments about how to raise the money and how to invest it. The solution may lie in finance models that have proven successful in several... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction

Research Summary

National Innovation Systems in the Life Sciences

This is an international comparative study of how institutional contexts shape the process by which science is leveraged into commercial technology. The study explores how variance in corporate governance systems, knowledge- and skill-formation systems, and... View Details

January 2014
Case

Newfield Energy

By: William E. Fruhan and Wei Wang

In September 2013, Miles Griffin, CEO and chairman of the board of Newfield Energy, prepares to present financial proposals to the board of directors for approval. Newfield (based in Houston, Texas) was a large independent energy company primarily engaged in the... View Details

July – August 2009
Article

Restoring American Competitiveness

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih

For decades, U.S. companies have been outsourcing manufacturing in the belief that it held no competitive advantage. That's been a disaster, maintain Harvard professors Pisano and Shih, because today's low-value manufacturing operations hold the seeds of tomorrow's... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Value; Production; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Government and Politics; Social Issues; Management Practices and Processes; Investment; Research and Development; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Competency and Skills; Service Industry; United States

2008
Book

On Competition

By: M. E. Porter

Competition is one of society's most powerful forces for making things better in many ﬁelds of human endeavor. The study of competition and the creation of value, in their full richness, have preoccupied me for several decades. Competition is pervasive, whether it... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Practice; Competitive Strategy; Theory; Value Creation

03 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Lehman Brothers Plus Five: Have We Learned from Our Mistakes?

system is in better shape. Professors Victoria Ivashina, David Scharfstein, and Arthur Segel, all members of the Harvard Business School Finance Unit, examine the current state of affairs. victoria Ivashina... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Banking; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

14 Dec 2015
News

How Accounting Can Help Build a Sustainable Economy

14 Jul 2022
News

Is It Time for Creditor Activism to Address ESG Risks?

May 2014
Case

Building a High Performance Culture at IDFC

By: V.G. Narayanan and Vidhya Muthuram

IDFC was set up in 1997 to direct private finance to infrastructure projects in India. Over the years, it expanded its capabilities to become a 'complete solutions provider' offering financing solutions including debt and equity, investment banking, brokerage and asset... View Details

January 2008
Article

The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. In 1979, a young associate professor at Harvard Business School published his first... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Five Forces Framework; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy

October 2010
Supplement

Belco Global Foods: Spreadsheet Supplement (CW)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Matthew Johnson

This case introduces students to the fundamental issues that managers face when deciding what international trade finance terms to use when transacting with other firms. In late 2009, Pam Arnold, the Head of Global Credit at Belco Global Foods must decide which trade... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Decisions; Trade; Financial Strategy; Governance Compliance; Managerial Roles; Market Transactions

March 2022
Case

Metric

By: Christina Wallace, Rebecca Cink and Maria Lappas

Megan Murday, the founder of Metric, an environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) analytics startup, must decide which customer segment to target as a beachhead market. She received positive feedback from a Swiss venture capital (VC) firm, indicating their... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Customers

Web

Research Links: Records of Railroad Companies & Personal Papers - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

Business School has vast holdings documenting many aspects of the history of the railroads and growth of big business nationally and internationally. Please contact us for more information. Henry Villard... View Details

July–August 2014
Article

Sustainability in the Boardroom: Lessons from Nike's Playbook

By: Lynn S. Paine

One surprising role of Nike's corporate responsibility committee is to provide support for innovation. More and more companies recognize the importance of corporate responsibility to their long-term success—and yet the matter gets short shrift in most boardrooms,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

21 May 2015
Blog Post

3 Ways to Fund Your HBS MBA

financing options possible (you can pull your free annual credit report to see where you stand). If your credit score is too low or if you are in default of a previous loan, it can be difficult to obtain a future loan. You can always mix... View Details

July 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Hidrovias do Brasil: Navigating Unchartered Waters

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Since its founding eight years earlier, Hidrovias do Brasil (“Hidrovias”), an integrated logistics provider serving corporate customers exporting products from South America via the Atlantic Ocean, had grown to 900 employees and $253 million in annual revenues.... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Private Equity; Brazil; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Operation Management; General Management; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Growth and Development; Leadership; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Transportation; Human Capital; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Brazil

March 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Whose Money Is It Anyway? (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Richard G. Hamermesh and Rachel Gordon

The Brigham and Women's Physician's Organization (BWPO) and its corporate parent disagree over who has jurisdiction over significant legacy funds. Are they controlled by the BWPO or do they belong to BWPO's corporate parent? The BWPO and its corporate parent must... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Investment Funds; Governance Controls; Agreements and Arrangements; Boundaries; Health Industry

September 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

From Beirut With Love (A)

By: Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy

This case describes how Robert Fadel, CEO and chairman of ABC, one of Lebanon’s leading retail and real estate groups, professionalized the family business. Robert was the second son of the company’s founder, Maurice Fadel, who had run it single-handedly. Concerned... View Details