Publications

April 1990 (Revised December 1995)
Case

SouthPark IV

By: William J. Poorvu

A young entrepreneur examines an 80,000 square foot office/warehouse building as a potential acquisition. The building is currently fully leased but all four leases will expire shortly. Due to changing market conditions, the protagonist has to look at current market... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Property; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Leasing; Cash Flow; Real Estate Industry

July 1979 (Revised August 2019)
Background Note

Note on Taxation

By: William J. Poorvu, Arthur I Segel, Glenn S. Miller, Michael D. Kummer, Charles F. Wu, Po Sit and Joseph M. Gerstel

Every real-estate transaction is affected by the tax consequences that result from its form and substance. Structuring a transaction without a thorough understanding of its tax considerations is likely to reduce the transaction's potential value. The failure to utilize... View Details

Keywords: Property; Taxation; Investment

22 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 22, 2019

2019 New York: PublicAffairs Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation By: Pisano, Gary P. Abstract— Creative Construction tackles the myth that larger enterprises are inherently incapable of transformative innovation and are doomed to be disrupted View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 1999 (Revised March 2004)
Case

AMB Consolidation, The

By: William J. Poorvu and Daniel J. Rudd

Anne Shea, assistant vice president at the Curators' Fund (The Fund), is responsible for investing roughly $80 million in real-estate assets. Less than three years ago, Anne invested $40 million into a commingled fund run by AMB Institutional Realty Advisors, Inc., a... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Conflict of Interests; Industry Structures; Property; Investment; Public Ownership; Real Estate Industry

Article

Decarbonization Factors

By: Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, David Turkington and Hui (Stacie) Wang

In the face of accelerating climate change, investors are making capital allocations seeking to decarbonize portfolios by reducing the carbon emissions of their holdings. To understand the performance of portfolio decarbonization strategies and investor behavior... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Investment Management; Factor Investing; Investor Behavior; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Management

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2019
Working Paper

Decarbonization Factors

By: Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, David Turkington and Hui (Stacie) Wang

In the face of accelerating climate change, investors are making capital allocations seeking to decarbonize portfolios by reducing the carbon emissions of their holdings. To understand the performance of portfolio decarbonization strategies and investor behavior... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Investment Management; Factor Investing; Investor Behavior; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Management

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January 2020
Case

Lunchclub: Algorithmic Networking

By: Scott Duke Kominers and George Gonzalez

Algorithmic networking startup Lunchclub coordinates in-person meetings between professionals who would have been unlikely to meet. The company faces marketplace design, growth, and monetization challenges: The executive team has to refine Lunchclub's marketplace... View Details

Keywords: Monetization Strategy; Networking; Business Startups; Marketplace Matching; Market Design; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Industry

17 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 17

be a race that could be won by the cautious. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/812133-PDF-ENG Ultimate Fighting Championship: License to Operate (B) George Serafeim and Kyle... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2008 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Strategy

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

By 2008, a number of the firm's early cleantech investments were showing promise, and the companies were starting to need significantly more money to create the massive scale required in the energy sector. As Khosla thought about the hundreds of millions of dollars... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Entrepreneurial Finance; New Product Development; Partnerships; Entrepreneurial Management; Venture Capital; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Environmental Sustainability; Product Development; Biotechnology Industry; Financial Services Industry

October 1995
Case

Centex Telemanagement, Inc. (B)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Contains a description of the events surrounding the financing of Centex Telemanagement, Inc. by Sierra Ventures, a venture capital fund. The case is written from the perspective of the venture capitalists and is designed to teach students about the process of venture... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Financial Institutions; Business Startups

July 1997 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Lille Tissages, S.A.

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

The marketing director and finance director must set the price for an expensive yet competitive fabric. Recent price increases have not been matched by competitors, and market share has been lost. The case provides an opportunity to practice contribution analysis... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Competition; Price; Accounting

12 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 12, 2017

others—have become “hub firms” because they control access to billions of mobile customers coveted by all kinds of product and service providers. These hubs drive increasing returns to scale and claim a disproportionate share of the value... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 1976
Case

Del Norte Paper Co. (B)

By: William A. Sahlman

Serves two roles: first, provides a reasonably comprehensive description of an ongoing budgeting and reporting system for the international operations of a large American company. Second, allows the student to focus on and critically analyze a series of specific... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Financial Reporting; Budgets and Budgeting; United States

July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

MobSquad

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, William R. Kerr and Susie L. Ma

Irfhan Rawji (MBA 2004) launched MobSquad in October 2018 to help American tech start-ups retain hard-to-find talent, many of whom struggled with U.S. work visa issues, such as software engineers with experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data... View Details

Keywords: Work Visas; H1-B; Business Ventures; Business Startups; Labor; Human Capital; Human Resources; Crisis Management; Employment Industry; Canada; United States

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Lyons Document Storage Corporation: Bond Math

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

In 2009 a recent MBA must analyze the possible refunding of bonds issued in 2000 when interest rates were much higher. She must consider the possible consequences of repurchasing company bonds outstanding using cash that might be obtained by issuing new bonds at a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Accounting; Quantitative Analysis; Securities; Debt Securities; Bonds; Cash Flow; Mathematical Methods; Accounting; Interest Rates

February 2018
Article

Heterogeneous Technology Diffusion and Ricardian Trade Patterns

By: William R. Kerr

This study tests the importance of Ricardian technology differences for international trade. The empirical analysis has three comparative advantages: including emerging and advanced economies, isolating panel variation regarding the link between productivity and... View Details

Keywords: Exports; Comparative Advantage; Technological Transfer; Innovation; Networks; Patents; Residency; Technology Adoption; Trade; Research and Development; Immigration; United States

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2013
Working Paper

Heterogeneous Technology Diffusion and Ricardian Trade Patterns

By: William R. Kerr

This study tests the importance of Ricardian technology differences for international trade. The empirical analysis has three comparative advantages: including emerging and advanced economies, isolating panel variation regarding the link between productivity and... View Details

Keywords: Exports; Comparative Advantage; Technological Transfer; Innovation; Networks; Patents; Residency; Technology Adoption; Trade; Research and Development; Immigration; United States

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