Publications

March 2018
Article

Making the Numbers? 'Short Termism' and the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disaster

By: Hazhir Rahmandad, Rebecca Henderson and Nelson P. Repenning

Much recent work in strategy and popular discussion suggests that an excessive focus on "managing the numbers"—delivering quarterly earnings at the expense of longer-term investments—makes it difficult for firms to make the investments necessary to build competitive... View Details

Keywords: Capability; Short-termism; System Dynamics; Tipping Point; Business or Company Management; Earnings Management; Resource Allocation

Find at Harvard

06 Feb 2006
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs of Public Companies Offer Earnings Guidance?

will drive investors away to other companies." Guillermo Estefani concurs, saying, "It is important to show all real information available from the company, so investors can track its behavior and learn whether it is really achieving its View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

03 Apr 2014
News

Sir Alex Ferguson To Teach In Harvard Business School's Executive Education Programs

20 Jun 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover: Lessons in Strategic Change

Keywords: Re: Andy Wu; Technology

March 2024
Case

East Rock Capital: 'Talent Is the Best Asset Class'

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Izzy Yeoh

Adam Shapiro and Graham Duncan launched East Rock Capital, LLC in 2006 with a seed investment from Stuart Miller, executive chairman of Lennar Corporation. East Rock managed long-term assets for high-net-worth families, primarily working with external managers who had... View Details

Keywords: Alternative Assets; Hiring; HNW Products And Services; Recruiting; Hedge Funds; Wealth Management; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Institutions; Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry; United States

January 2003 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Southwest Airlines 2002: An Industry Under Siege

By: James L. Heskett

The company's management is faced with long-term questions regarding the rate and manner of growth in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and general industry malaise. View Details

Keywords: Cost; Product; Risk and Uncertainty; Growth and Development; Air Transportation Industry

October 2014 (Revised September 2017)
Case

The National Football League and Brain Injuries

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew G. Preble

The National Football League (NFL) was both the most popular spectator sport in the U.S. and a major economic entity, taking in roughly $10 billion a year in revenue. However through the early twenty-first century, an increased understanding of the long-term effects of... View Details

Keywords: Employee Safety; Safety; Employees; Sports; Health; Ethics; Sports Industry; United States

08 May 2014
News

Curbing Short-Termism in Corporate America: Focus on Executive Compensation

2023
Working Paper

Interest-Rate Risk and Household Portfolios

By: Sylvain Catherine, Max Miller, James Paron and Natasha Sarin

How are households exposed to interest-rate risk? When rates fall, households face lower future expected returns but those holding long-term assets—disproportionately the wealthy and middle-aged—experience capital gains. We study the hedging demand for long-term assets... View Details

Keywords: Portfolio Choice; Social Security; Interest Rates; Investment Portfolio; Equality and Inequality; Welfare

Read Now

07 Nov 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Business and Sustainability: New Business History Perspectives

Keywords: by Ann-Kristin Bergquist

09 Jan 2012
News

Location, Location, Location: The Strategy of Place

July 2015 (Revised March 2016)
Teaching Note

Uber and Stakeholders: Managing a New Way of Riding

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Daniel Fox

This case provides a vehicle to analyze stakeholder relations as a company grows, particularly in the context of new business models that challenge established industries. It introduces the dilemmas posed by rapid growth, new technologies, regulatory uncertainty, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business or Company Management; Entrepreneurship; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Innovation and Invention; Transportation Industry

September 1992 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

Liabilities and Time

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

An introduction to accounting for liabilities. Both current liabilities and long-term debts are described, and illustrations of bond interest calculations and financial reporting formats are included. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Legal Liability

Research Summary

Customer Management in Business-to-Business Markets

By: Das Narayandas

Das Narayandas is engaged in ongoing research on vendor firms' management of long-term customer relationships. The initial phase of his research involved identifying vendors that stood to benefit from long-term relationships with select sets of customers and... View Details

March 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Sarah Mehta

By January 2020, sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management (Generation), founded in London in 2004, had grown from a shared vision among seven founders to a 90-person firm managing $27 billion in public and private equity. Throughout its history,... View Details

March 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Layoffs in the Tech Industry: 2022–2023

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Marilyn Morgan Westner

This case examines the mass layoffs that swept through the tech industry (2022-2023) through the lens of four companies: Twitter, Stripe, Meta, and Google. How these companies implemented workforce change through mass layoffs raises critical questions applicable beyond... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Human Resource Management; Workforce Reductions; Ethics; Human Resources; Management; Values and Beliefs; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Technology Industry; United States; United Kingdom