Publications

January 2005 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Private Capital and Public Policy: Standard & Poor's Sovereign Credit Ratings

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Christopher Bruner

Describes Standard & Poor's sovereign credit ratings business. Provides background on the history of credit ratings agencies, the meaning of credit ratings, the expansion of the sovereign ratings business over recent decades, and the market for credit ratings. Also,... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; History; Policy; Business and Government Relations; International Finance; Country; Globalized Economies and Regions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital Markets; Debates; Financial Services Industry; United States

28 Apr 2025
Blog Post

How to Onboard Recently Graduated MBAs

For large numbers of Harvard Business School MBA graduates, the first post-degree position is not merely a return to the workforce, but a deliberate pivot toward a new ambition. “Many MBAs are switchers,” notes Kristin Brennan, HBS Career... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Web

CSV in Practice - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

and where its scale and market presence equip it to have a meaningful impact on a societal problem. Companies are now starting to understand that solutions to social problems represent the largest opportunities for businesses today. The... View Details

26 May 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Market Research in a Recession

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge.... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

February 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Ample Hills Creamery

By: Tom Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Tom Quinn

Ample Hills Creamery started in 2010 as a temporary ice cream pushcart in Brooklyn, New York City. On the strength of inventive flavors and clever marketing, husband-and-wife founders Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna built a premium, artisanal dessert empire of 16 retail... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Growth and Maturation; Partners and Partnerships; Logistics; Profit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Food and Beverage Industry

29 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 29, 2007

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-103.pdf Cases & Course MaterialsBancaja: Developing Customer Intelligence (A) Harvard Business School Case 107-055 In 1996, CEO Fernando Garcia Checa wanted to make customer analytics a part of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

08 Nov 2021
News

New Director Named for Mid-US Research Office

international business, communications, and finance. As director of the Mid-US Research Office, she will develop and extend relationships with business leaders and others across the region to contribute to... View Details

October 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

The Bronx Community Foundation

By: Brian Trelstad and Aldo Sesia

Derrick and Desmon Lewis were both successful professionals in the consulting and banking industries. They were born and raised in The Bronx, New York City’s poorest borough. The Lewis brothers had always wanted to give back to the community. In 2016 they launched a... View Details

Keywords: Community Foundations; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Relationships; Business Model; Social Issues; New York (city, NY); United States

October 2021 (Revised October 2022)
Case

The Opioid Settlement and Controversy Over CEO Pay at AmerisourceBergen

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

In 2020, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a Fortune 50 company in the drug distribution industry, agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide against the company for its opioid distribution practices that critics alleged had contributed to the nationwide... View Details

20 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 20, 2007

foreign firms or in vertically linked industries. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-012.pdf Cases & Course MaterialsLi Ka-Shing and the Growth of Cheung Kong Harvard Business School Case 407-062 No abstract... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Jun 2021
Book

9 Tips from an Expert Fundraiser: Help Donors 'Invest in Their Passion'

Few people enjoy asking for money. Whether you’re selling cookies or seeking a gift to fund medical research, it's rarely easy. “Many people see it as akin to begging,” writes Harvard Business School Professor F. Warren McFarlan in his... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

September 1998 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Sealed Air Taiwan (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Robert J. Crawford

The general manager for U.S.-based Sealed Air Corp.'s Taiwan subsidiary must decide whether he's hired the right person to bridge the gap between Sealed Air's corporate culture and Taiwan's business culture. This case details Bob Kayser's experiences in trying to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Relationships; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Management Skills; Compensation and Benefits; Taiwan; United States

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

Fall 2017 Business History Review The Alternative Business History: Business in Emerging Markets By: Austin, Gareth, Carlos Davila, and Geoffrey Jones Abstract—This article... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Web

What You Can Support - Alumni

gifts to the HBS Fund provide flexible resources that the School can use immediately to advance core priorities and pursue new initiatives. Although HBS’s endowment provides a strong foundation, it does not cover all of the School’s financial needs. View Details

15 Jun 2021
News

Zone Defense

Brandon Tseng (MBA 2017) remembers his aha moment. It was April 2015, and Tseng was a US Navy SEAL approaching the end of seven years’ service; his next step would be Harvard Business School. Tseng was reading about a military effort to... View Details

Keywords: April White; drone technology; military; security; entrepreneurship; leadership; Air Transportation; Transportation

26 Sep 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City, was merely a supporting act in a reunion tour of the erstwhile-boy band, New Kids on the Block. "When you tell that to people now they look at you like you must have your dates mixed up," says Harvard View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Entertainment & Recreation; Music

November 1998 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Explo Leisure Products

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Tim Trowac and Dave Rahall, two former investment bankers, skillfully execute the leveraged buyout of a golf ball recycling company after working intensely on their due diligence, writing a business and financial plan, and developing the investment memorandum. Six... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Leveraged Buyouts; Business Plan; Performance; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Financial Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Green Technology Industry; Sports Industry

October 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group

By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons

Richard Wingfield considers whether to continue a cooperative agreement with industry peers in the deep-sea parcel tanker shipping industry. What are the economic and strategic implications of ending the agreement? What are the legal implications of continuing? Where... View Details

Keywords: Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Agreements and Arrangements; Alliances; Cooperation; Ship Transportation; Shipping Industry