Publications

December 2015
Article

Introduction: New Perspectives on Corporate Capital Structure

By: Viral Acharya, Heitor Almeida and Malcolm Baker

The National Bureau of Economic Research held a symposium titled "New Perspectives on Corporate Capital Structures" on April 5–6, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In its call for the submission of theoretical and empirical papers for the symposium, the NBER noted that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Corporate Finance

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Research Summary

Selling China: Foreign Direct Investment During the Reform Era

The aim of the book is to illustrate the dynamics of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China in the 1990s. The topic is important both because China is the world's second largest recipient of FDI and because there are substantial misconceptions about the drivers of... View Details

May–June 2021
Article

Why Start-ups Fail

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

If you’re launching a business, the odds are against you: Two-thirds of start-ups never show a positive return. Unnerved by that statistic, a professor of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School set out to discover why. Based on interviews and surveys with hundreds... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Failure

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February 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Supplement

Aluar: Aluminio Argentino S.A. (B)

By: David F. Hawkins, Hernan Etiennot, Gustavo A. Herrero and Hugo Pentenero

Argentine government claims inflation rate is 8 percent but others claim it is double that rate. Analysts' attempts to adjust the company's financial statements for inflation. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Inflation and Deflation; Argentina

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October 2002
Case

A Father's Love: Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Bradley Campbell

John Crowley, CEO of Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, a start-up biotechnology firm developing an orphan drug to treat a rare lysosomal storage disorder from which his children suffer, must choose between a partnership and a buyout to have sufficient funds and support to get... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Partners and Partnerships; Financing and Loans; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Sales; Price; Product Development; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Choices and Conditions; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2012
Case

Shut It Down?

By: Clayton Rose

Meredith, the head of a major division of a financial firm, must confront an unexpected response and challenge from a senior colleague when she proposes shutting down an underperforming unit. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Collaboration; Business Units; Business Exit or Shutdown; Leadership; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

Research Summary

Organizational Effectiveness

By: Frances X. Frei

This research studies the obstacles that systematically get in the way of organizational effecitiveness. In the past I have paid particular attention to service organizations, which account for over 70% of organizations in most developed countries. This research... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Effectiveness; Organizations; Entrepreneurship; Service; Growth; Management

23 Dec 2010
News

What Is Value in Health Care?

January 1996
Background Note

Brand Valuation Methodology: A Simple Example

By: Alvin J. Silk

Provides a simple illustration of a methodology for making a financial evaluation of a brand. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Brands and Branding; Valuation

Research Summary

Overview

My focus is empirical financial accounting research, with particular interests in governance, valuation, M&A, and short-sellers. All three of my papers to date fall under the broad heading of “alternative governance mechanisms”—studies of how accounting information is... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Law

Research Summary

Overview

My focus is empirical financial accounting research, with particular interests in governance, valuation, M&A, and short-sellers. All three of my papers to date fall under the broad heading of “alternative governance mechanisms”—studies of how accounting information is... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Law

16 Jun 2021
Blog Post

Seeing Everyday as a New Adventure: Reflections for Father's Day

Chad Losee, HBS MBA 2013 graduate and current HBS Managing Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, shares his experience being a dad to his four boys. Tell us about your family. My wife and I have four... View Details

April 1998 (Revised September 1998)
Case

Jan Eriksson at Novartis Indonesia (A)

By: Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George

Jan Eriksson is the country manager of the Novartis AG joint venture in Indonesia. At the time of the case, Novartis is the world's largest pharmaceutical company. The case describes the steps Eriksson took to merge the Indonesian operations of Novartis' parents,... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Joint Ventures; Financial Crisis; Pharmaceutical Industry; Indonesia