Publications

November 2002
Case

Siemens ShareNet: Building a Knowledge Network

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Sven Volpel and Kerry Herman

Describes the development of ShareNet, an innovative knowledge management system used by a division of Siemens. ShareNet attempts to capture the knowledge and experience of Siemen's many dispersed sales and marketing units around the globe, making it available to all.... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Investment Return; Revenue; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Management; Sales

2019
Working Paper

Judgment Aggregation in Creative Production: Evidence from the Movie Industry

By: Hong Luo, Jeffrey T. Macher and Michael Wahlen

This paper studies a novel, light-touch approach to aggregate judgment from a large number of industry experts on ideas that they encounter in their normal course of business. Our context is the movie industry, in which customer appeal is difficult to predict and... View Details

Keywords: Judgment Aggregation; Creativity; Film Entertainment; Judgments; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

SSRN

06 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

How South Africa Challenges Our Thinking on FDI

enduring strength of the corporate climate in South Africa, says Eric D. Werker, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School. Werker's case study, "Foreign Direct Investment and South Africa," to be published in December,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2008
Working Paper

Allocating Marketing Resources

By: Sunil Gupta and Thomas J. Steenburgh

Marketing is essential for the organic growth of a company. Not surprisingly, firms spend billions of dollars on marketing. Given these large investments, marketing managers have the responsibility to optimally allocate these resources and demonstrate that these... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Resource Allocation; Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Mathematical Methods

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15 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: November 15

prevailing research norm. The Role of Finance and Private Investment in Developing Sustainable Cities Author:John D. Macomber Publication:Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 23, no. 3 (summer 2011) Abstract Three trends will drive urban... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Barbarians at the Gate or Turnaround Gurus? Private Equity and the Rise of the LBO

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

During the 1980s, leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and the private equity (PE) firms responsible for carrying them out revolutionized both investment and management in the U.S. Between 1980 and 1989, buyout activity in the U.S. surged from $1 billion per year to $60 billion.... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Private Equity; Bonds; Investment Return; Institutional Investing; Profit Sharing; Business History; Management Style; Private Ownership; Performance Effectiveness; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; United States

January 2008
Article

How to Change the World

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Alan Wilson has a decision to make. The CEO of his company, Grepter, wants him to relocate to Zurich, where he can gain valuable experience for a rise to the top. Karl, his best friend, hopes to lure him to a hedge fund that promises big money fast. Shiori, an enticing... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Compensation and Benefits; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence

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September 2022
Article

Energy Innovation Funding and Institutions in Major Economies

By: Jonas Meckling, Clara Galeazzi, Esther Shears, Tong Xu and Laura Diaz Anadon

Accelerating energy innovation for decarbonization hinges on public investment in research, development and demonstration (RD&D). Here we examine the evolution and variation of public energy RD&D funding and institutions and associated drivers across eight major... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Energy Policy; Government Legislation; Energy Sources

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June 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Target Corporation: Ackman versus the Board

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan and James Weber

After 15 years of great performance, Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight. Target Corporation, the second largest discount store retailer in the U.S., had competed successfully against industry... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Value; Retail Industry

30 Jul 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching The Deal

resolve internal conflicts. In the Negotiations course, students not only analyze a number of case studies, but also participate in a series of negotiation exercises that give them hands-on practice with a variety of deal-making scenarios, allowing them to View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Education

02 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Good Deeds Invite Bad Publicity

exactly like fire insurance. On any given day, you won't see any benefit. In fact, you could go years shelling out money for a service you aren't using. But on the day that, heaven forbid, your house does burn down, then you will definitely be glad you View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

Research Summary

The Role of Financial and Information Intermediaries in the Capital Markets

Hutton's research investigates the role of financial analysts and short sellers in the pricing of equity securities. Recently, Hutton examines (with Patricia Dechow and Richard Sloan) the role of sell-side analysts' earnings forecasts in the pricing of common equity... View Details

April 2013
Article

What Roger Fisher Got Profoundly Right: Five Enduring Lessons for Negotiators

By: James K. Sebenius

Roger Fisher, who died in 2012, enjoyed a remarkable career that modeled one way that an academic, especially in a professional school such as law or business, could make a significant, positive, and lasting difference in the world. Distinctive aspects of his career... View Details

Keywords: Bargaining; Conflict Resolution; Dealmaking; Negotiation; Personal Development and Career; Conflict and Resolution

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14 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2006

Working PapersThe Business of Free Software: Enterprise Incentives, Investment, and Motivation in the Open Source Community Authors:Marco Iansiti and Gregory L. Richards Abstract In this paper, we examine the motivations of large information technology... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2023
Case

Super Quantum: Using Artificial Intelligence to Transform Asset Management (A)

By: Feng Zhu and Kerry Herman

Dr. Zhang, CEO of Super Quantum, an AI-driven hedge fund, is considering an investor’s request to withdraw their funds as the markets experience volatility. Should he pull the investor’s funds? View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Volatility; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Services Industry

October 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Doing Business in Vietnam

By: Alan MacCormack, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Dawn H. Lau

This case gives an overview of the current business environment in Vietnam as of 2012. The first part of the case introduces the main economic, political and cultural aspects of the country of which anyone who has business interest in the country ought to be aware.... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; Viet Nam

02 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

Foreign Multinationals in the U.S.: A Rocky Road

What can companies today take away from the experience of myriad multinationals in the United States? A lot, says HBS professor Geoffrey G. Jones, a specialist in business history and international business. In the following e-mail... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston & Martha Lagace

Article

The Importance of Being Causal

By: Iavor I Bojinov, Albert Chen and Min Liu

Causal inference is the study of how actions, interventions, or treatments affect outcomes of interest. The methods that have received the lion’s share of attention in the data science literature for establishing causation are variations of randomized experiments.... View Details

Keywords: Causal Inference; Observational Studies; Cross-sectional Studies; Panel Studies; Interrupted Time-series; Instrumental Variables