Publications

17 Aug 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Venture Capital Data: Opportunities and Challenges

Keywords: by Steven N. Kaplan and Josh Lerner; Financial Services; Financial Services

23 Apr 2010
News

Back to Basics on Financial Reform

11 Apr 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Managers and Market Capitalism

Keywords: by Rebecca Henderson & Karthik Ramanna

February 2002
Article

Market Timing and Capital Structure

By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler

It is well known that firms tend to raise equity when their market values are high relative to book and past market values. We document that the resulting effects on capital structure are very persistent. As a consequence, current capital structure is strongly related... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Equity; Capital Structure; Theory; Market Timing; Financial Markets

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28 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Capital Rules: The Tensions of Global Finance

What fuels a global economy? Certainly the easy flow of capital across national boundaries would seem near the top of the list. But financial globalization is not an on/off switch, notes Professor Rawi... View Details

Keywords: by Rawi Abdelal

February 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream

By: William R. Kerr, Jim Sharpe and James Weber

Neil Kashyap and Neil Lombardo (HBS '08) acquired Winnan Metal, Inc., a metal fabrication shop, after raising a search fund and an 11 month search to fulfill their dreams of becoming business owners. Two weeks after they took control of the company, Winnan's largest... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Management; Turnarounds; Bank Loan; Crisis Management; Financial Analysis; Search Funds; Acquisitions; Financial Capital Needed; Management; Operations Management; Sales; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Change Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Indiana

March 2015
Case

BOLT: Seed Venture Capital Firm

By: William A. Sahlman and Robert F. White

BOLT is a different kind of seed venture capital firm built to serve the needs of early-stage startups at the intersection of hardware and software.

In the past decade, the cost of entrepreneurial experimentation has dropped dramatically, particularly in web... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Accelerator; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Venture Capital; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Strategy

December 2016
Simulation

Venture Capital and Private Equity Game

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Nathaniel Burbank

The Venture Capital and Private Equity Simulation enables groups of students to play the role of either an early or later stage private equity firm. Within the simulation, students raise funds, search for companies to invest in, complete deals, and manage a portfolio... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity

January 2003
Article

Women Entrepreneurs Who Break Through to Equity Financing: The Influence of Human, Social and Financial Capital

By: Myra M. Hart, Nancy M. Carter, Candida G. Brush, Patricia G. Greene and Elizabeth Gatewood

Keywords: Human Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Gender; Capital; Equity

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June 1998 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A)

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Nicole Tempest

Wells Fargo, the industry leader in electronic banking, has implemented a Balanced Scorecard in its online financial services group (OFS) to track and measure performance. The OFS group develops and supports services that allow existing and future banking customers to... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Finance; Change; Situation or Environment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

October 2008
Case

Financial Crisis in Asia: 1997-1998 (Abridged)

By: Huw Pill, Rafael M. Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer

What caused the 1997-98 Asia Crisis: Asian nations' poor economic management, international financial contagion, close "crony" relations between local politicians and capitalists? This case examines how the crisis erupted in Thailand and spread in a chain of events... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Crisis; Ethics; Financial Institutions; Financial Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Asia

August 1987 (Revised June 1989)
Background Note

Note on Financial Contracting: ""Deals""

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes the issues involved in designing and evaluating financial contracts between users and suppliers of capital and between companies and employees. A simple conceptual framework is introduced and some critical issues addressed: 1) How is cash allocated? 2) How is... View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Framework; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Finance

January 2009
Article

FDI, Productivity, and Financial Development

By: Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Selin Sayek

This paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on growth by focusing on the complementarities between FDI inflows and financial markets. In our earlier work, we found that FDI is beneficial for growth only if the host country has well-developed... View Details

Keywords: Human Capital; Income; Performance Productivity; Financial Markets; Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Institutions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

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April 2025
Case

Thrivent: From Insurance Agents to Financial Advisors

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Tom Quinn

Thrivent, a midwestern financial services company with a centuries-long history rooted in Lutheranism, had reached $10 billion in revenue mostly by selling life insurance. In the 2020s, however, CEO Terry Rasmussen began a transformation process centered around the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Employee Relationship Management; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Job Design and Levels; Human Capital; Leading Change; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Minneapolis

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

The Future of the Venture Capital Cycle

financial product. The supply of venture capital is also likely to continue growing. Within the past two years, numerous pension funds have invested in private equity for the first time. Many experienced... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner; Financial Services

March 2012
Article

Does America Really Need Manufacturing?

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih

Too many U.S. companies base decisions about where to locate production largely on narrow financial criteria. They don't consider whether keeping manufacturing at home makes more sense strategically or take into account the impact it might have on their ability to... View Details

Keywords: Production; Geographic Location; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Product Design; Risk Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States

2015
Working Paper

Integrated Reporting for a Re-Imagined Capitalism

By: Robert G. Eccles and Birgit Spiesshofer

An essential element of capitalism is corporate reporting. Today's capitalism is supported by financial reporting. Critics of today's capitalism argue that it is too short-term oriented and rewards companies for creating negative externalities. Integrated reporting can... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Reporting; Materiality; Securities And Exchange Commission; European Union; Information And Transformation Function; Integrated Corporate Reporting; United States; European Union

SSRN

14 Oct 2020
Blog Post

Veteran Financial Aid Outlook

personal financial situation with my goals. I applied to scholarships and sought additional assistance through VR&E (Ch.31). I decided HBS was the place I could maximize my transition into civilian life, learn skills I View Details

Fall 2017
Article

Strengthening and Streamlining Bank Capital Regulation

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel Gregory Hanson, Jeremy C. Stein and Adi Sunderam

We propose three core principles that should inform the design of bank capital regulation. First, wherever possible, multiple constraints on the minimum level of equity capital should be consolidated into a single constraint. This helps to avoid a distortionary... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Capital; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banking Industry