Publications

February 2011 (Revised December 2022)
Supplement

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

One of the leading publishers of textbooks and other educational materials for the U.S. K-12 educational instruction market has suffered a dramatic decline in sales and profits in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial market crisis and economic recession, and it now... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decisions; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Profit; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Sales; Competition; Publishing Industry; United States

February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

China: Building "Capitalism with Socialist Characteristics"

By: Debora L. Spar

Describes China's phenomenal development from a poor, communist country to a global powerhouse. Provides background on China's history and culture, details the reforms launched in 1978 by Seng Xiaoping, and describes the situation as of 2006, focusing on the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Government and Politics; China

2009
Chapter

The Principles of Embedded Liberalism: Social Legitimacy and Global Capitalism

By: Rawi Abdelal and John G. Ruggie

In this essay we revisit the principles of “embedded liberalism” and argue for their relevance to the contemporary global economy. The most essential principle is the need for markets to enjoy social legitimacy, because their political sustainability ultimately depends... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Ethics; International Finance; Globalization; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Labor

Read Now

September 1998
Case

Vanguard Group, Inc. (1998), The

By: Andre F. Perold

Since the beginning of 1997, Vanguard's assets under management have increased more than 60% from $240 billion to almost $400 billion, making it second in market share only to Fidelity. Vanguard views this success as another vindication of its low-cost strategy of... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Cost Management; Investment Funds; Product; Service Operations; Performance Expectations; Competition; Consolidation; Expansion; Internet; Financial Services Industry

2024
Working Paper

What Do Bank Trading Desks Do?

By: Jonathan Wallen and Lina Lu

Bank trading desks earn profits from intermediating customer trading volume. Across a broad set of asset markets, we document that the trading desks of large U.S. dealer banks behave as financial intermediaries that profit from toll-taking as in Duffie et al. (2005).... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Profit; Financial Markets

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November 1999 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Compaq Computer Corporation: The DEC Acquisition

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Barbara Feinberg

Compaq's board of directors is faced with responsibility for setting the price range and terms for the proposed acquisition of Digital Equipment Corp. The transaction is described in the context of the rapidly evolving markets and business models of the computer... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Situation or Environment; Negotiation Offer; Acquisition; Computer Industry

December 1994 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Ciba Consumer Pharmaceuticals' Acutrim: Challenges and Opportunities in Today's Diet Industry

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Rebecca Voorheis

Since its introduction in 1983, Acutrim has been a major player in the U.S. appetite suppressant market and in the broader diet industry. This case focuses on the strategic, regulatory, marketing, and financial challenges this product and the rapidly changing diet... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Market Design; Industry Structures; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Food and Beverage Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

Allison Mnookin is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Unit at the Harvard Business School. She currently teaches the TOM and FIELD Global Immersion courses in the required MBA curriculum. In addition, she... View Details

16 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.

The coronavirus shock has disrupted more than jobs, supply chains, and financial markets. Your customer has changed fundamentally, too. The number one task for many companies now is discovering where their B2C and B2B customers have moved to and re-engaging with them.... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim; Retail; Service

March 2020 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Political Legitimacy and Global Capital Markets: Malaysia's 1MDB (A)

By: Meg Rithmire and Courtney Han

In May 2018, Malaysia’s 14th General Election saw a change of power that many thought they would never witness in their lifetimes. The political party that had ruled Malaysia for 60 year was kicked out of office by a 92 year-old challenger, Mahathir Mohamed, who had... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Crime and Corruption; Financial Markets; Malaysia

February 1987 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Polysar Limited

By: Robert L. Simons

Canada's largest chemical company produces and markets butyl rubber in two divisions, each treated as a profit center. The new plant in the North American Division operates below capacity resulting in a significant volume variance and an operating loss. The European... View Details

Keywords: Loss; Profit; Financial Management; Volume; Performance Capacity; Financial Statements; For-Profit Firms; Market Participation; Chemical Industry; Rubber Industry; Canada

26 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism

Keywords: by Sophus A. Reinert and Robert Fredona

November 2015 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves

By: Youngme Moon

In 2015, Uber is building what may be the largest point-to-point transportation network of its kind; it is literally changing the way the world moves. But unlike traditional transportation logistics companies like FedEx, Uber has an incredibly lightweight... View Details

Keywords: Service; Innovation; Pricing; Customer Loyalty; Uber; Taxi; Sharing Economy; On-demand Economy; Marketing; Operations; Strategy; Disruption; Customer Satisfaction; Transportation; Consumer Behavior

Professor WILLIAM E. FRUHAN, JR. is George E. Bates Professor, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He received his BS degree from Yale University, and his MBA and DBA degrees from Harvard University. He has served as Senior Associate Dean and Director of... View Details

Keywords: aircraft; airline; chemical; electronics; grocery; medical supplies; oil ＆ gas; pharmaceuticals; retailing; steel

08 Dec 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Decoding Inside Information

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Christopher Malloy & Lukasz Pomorski; Financial Services

August 2016
Simulation

BDP Pharmaceuticals

By: Kevin Schulman, Emma Rasiel and Suresh Balu

Susan Durham has just been hired as the Chief Financial Officer of Blue Devil Pharmaceuticals (BDP). Her charge is to understand the optimal pathway for the development of a novel molecule, BDP-1, to understand the cost of drug development, the market opportunity, and... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurship

July 2016
Case

Blue D Pharmaceuticals

By: Kevin Schulman, Emma Rasiel and Suresh Balu

Susan Durham has just been hired as the Chief Financial Officer of Blue Devil Pharmaceuticals (BDP). Her charge is to understand the optimal pathway for the development of a novel molecule, BDP-1, to understand the cost of drug development, the market opportunity, and... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurship

27 Apr 2012
News

Singapore Girl's Charms Fade as Airline Battle Heats Up

January 2002 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Corporate Renewal in America

By: Bruce R. Scott and Thomas S. Mondschean

Discusses various macroeconomic, regulatory, technological, and financial forces that led to increased corporate restructuring in the United States beginning in the mid-1980s. The U.S. financial system is often viewed as the most developed in the world and a model for... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Economic Systems; Restructuring; Markets; Private Sector; Corporate Finance; Germany; Japan; United States