Publications

2015
Working Paper

Replicating Private Equity with Value Investing, Homemade Leverage, and Hold-to-Maturity Accounting

By: Erik Stafford

Private equity funds tend to select relatively small firms with low EBITDA multiples. Publicly traded equities with these characteristics have high risk-adjusted returns after controlling for common factors typically associated with value stocks. Hold-to-maturity... View Details

Keywords: Value Investing; Endowments; Investment Management; Asset Pricing; Private Equity; Investment; Management; United States

SSRN

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September 2023
Case

Trilling Foods: Managing People with Data

By: Alexandra C. Feldberg and Jeffrey T. Polzer

Trilling Foods, a regional bricks-and-mortar grocery chain, has recently provided its frontline managers with new tools for using data. Allison Andersen, Trilling’s VP of Data Science, has spearheaded these efforts. Yet, as she works with Kent Wade, the general manager... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Management Practices and Processes; Training; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

May 2002
Background Note

Project Valuation in Emerging Markets

Reviews the issues managers face when attempting to value projects abroad. These include dealing with multiple currencies, adjusting for country and industry risk, and considering expropriation and devaluation risk. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Emerging Markets; Projects

29 Apr 2025
HBS Seminar

Magie Cheng & David Huang

October 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Case

uberPOOL

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and Amram Migdal

This case describes Uber's uberPOOL service, which let multiple Uber users who were headed in the same direction share a ride and pay substantially lower fares. View Details

Keywords: Uber; uberPOOL; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Digital Platforms; Transportation; Transportation Networks; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry

March 1999 (Revised June 2004)
Case

United States Agency for International Development (USAID): Campfire Program in Zimbabwe

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Jay Sinha

Raises the issue of customer definition in economic development. Because of the multiple stakeholders and their varying interests, understanding where and how value is created is critical to understanding the customer. View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Development Economics; Marketing Strategy; Programs; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Value Creation; Zimbabwe; United States

July 2017
Case

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts: Buying from a Highly Regarded Competitor

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

The case examines the March 2015 Centerbridge Partners investment decision regarding whether to acquire Great Wolf Resorts, a North American family-oriented indoor water parks and hotel operator, from a private equity (PE) competitor, Apollo Global Management. The case... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity Financing; Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities; CMBS; Secondary Buyouts; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Cost; Cost of Capital; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Accommodations Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States

December 1970 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Harmon Foods, Inc.

Prediction and shipment has been a scheduling and budgetary problem. Multiple regression is suggested as a solution. Evaluation of regression coefficients leads to better understanding of trend, seasonality, and promotion effectiveness. View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Production; Forecasting and Prediction; Budgets and Budgeting; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2013
Background Note

Mobilizing an Online Business

By: Peter Coles and Benjamin Edelman

Entrepreneurs starting online businesses often need to mobilize multiple sets of users or customers, each of whom hesitates to participate unless others join also. This case presents several challenges with similar structure. View Details

Keywords: Mobilization Strategy; Network Effects; Platforms; Internet; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Technology Adoption; Innovation Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Computer Industry

April 2012
Case

Bank of America: Mobile Banking (Abridged)

By: Sunil Gupta and Michael Norris

In January 2010, Bank of America is discussing its future mobile strategy. Should the company add complexity to its app, design multiple apps for business segments, or expand into other mobile channels? View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; United States

28 Jan 2025
Video

‘Everything is connected': Systems change at work

11 Apr 2025
Video

HBS Alumni Career Video | Lindsay Muller (MBA 2024)

03 Oct 2023
Blog Post

Hire an MBA: The Benefits and Misconceptions for Startups

Startups are exciting to HBS MBA students for many reasons, including the opportunity for impact, exposure to multiple functions, and the ability to practice skills they are learning at HBS. But, why should a startup hire an HBS MBA?... View Details

Keywords: All Industries; Entrepreneurship

February 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Theranos: The Unicorn That Wasn't

By: Joseph B. Fuller and John Masko

In 2003, 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes founded a startup dedicated to making blood testing easier and more affordable. By 2015, her company, Theranos, was worth $9 billion. It boasted a star-studded board and contracts with national pharmacy and supermarket chains... View Details

Keywords: Theranos; Blood; Lab Testing; Fraud; Holmes; Balwani; Shultz; Carreyrou; Securities And Exchange Commission; Food And Drug Administration; FDA; SEC; Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Research Summary

Overview

In the light of multiple corporate debacles, financial crises and environmental disasters across the globe, the need for corporate goals to transition from simply maximizing shareholder wealth to optimizing stakeholder welfare is being echoed in various quarters. Dr.... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Stakeholder Management; Social Enterprise; Inclusive Growth; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; India

March 2006
Background Note

Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World: Course Overview Note

By: Alan D. MacCormack

The Harvard Business School Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World course helps students understand the challenges that uncertainty implies for innovation and how to overcome them. The course emphasizes multiple levels of analysis--from creating and executing... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Innovation and Management; Projects; Opportunities; Perspective; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk and Uncertainty; Problems and Challenges; Managerial Roles

April 2015
Teaching Note

Yara International: Africa Strategy

By: Michael Porter and Jorge Ramirez-Vallejo

Leading fertilizer producer Yara International demonstrates the concept of creating shared value through the Southern Agricultural Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) initiative, which brought together multiple organizations to enhance agricultural development in rural... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Tanzania; Agriculture Reform; Africa; Tanzania