Publications

January – February 2011
Article

Creating Shared Value

By: Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer

The capitalist system is under siege. In recent years business has been criticized as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems. Companies are widely thought to be prospering at the expense of their communities. Trust in business has fallen to new... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Economic Growth; Economic Systems; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Trust; Human Needs; Welfare; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Angels Face the Innovator’s Dilemma

The venture capital industry is ripe for disruption: just like other leading mainstream companies have been for years, according to HBS professor Clayton M. Christensen. As a keynote speaker at the conference and author of the managerial bible The Innovator's Dilemma:... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

November 1991
Case

Magic Johnson: Endorsements ""After""...?

By: Stephen A. Greyser

On Thursday, November 7, 1991, Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced his retirement from basketball in the wake of having tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Magic Johnson was one of the most popular figures in sports, both... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Value; Sports; Advertising; Alliances; Problems and Challenges; Decision Choices and Conditions; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Article

The Career Effects of Scandal: Evidence from Scientific Retractions

By: Pierre Azoulay, Alessandro Bonatti and Joshua Lev Krieger

We investigate how the scientific community's perception of a scientist's prior work changes when one of his articles is retracted. Relative to non-retracted control authors, faculty members who experience a retraction see the citation rate to their earlier,... View Details

Keywords: Reputation; Perception; Status and Position; Outcome or Result

Though they’ve been warned for decades about the dangers of overrelying on gut instinct and personal experience, managers keep failing to critically examine—much less challenge—the ideas their decisions are based on. To correct this problem they need to think and... View Details

October 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Background Note

Understanding the Credit Crisis of 2007 to 2008

By: Arthur I Segel and Ben Creo

This note details the background of the credit crisis, discusses potential causes of it, and considers its ramifications. The exhibits contain a variety of pertinent data regarding the rise of securitization, debt levels, and typical aspects of financial crises. A new... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Financial Instruments; Financial Management; Financial Markets

05 Mar 2009
What Do You Think?

How Frank or Deceptive Should Leaders Be?

depression, the more likely we are to have one. If one subscribes to this line of thinking, avoiding the use of certain terms like "depression" may make sense. How frank should leaders be? Jim Collins emphasizes the importance of organizations facing... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

2017
Working Paper

Intermediation in the Supply of Agricultural Products in Developing Economies

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Joel Goh and Ehsan Valavi

Problem Definition: Farmers face several challenges in agricultural supply chains in emerging economies that contribute to extreme levels of poverty. One common challenge is that farmers only have access to one channel, often an auction, for which to sell their crops.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries; Agricultural Supply Chain; Intermediation; Multiple Cahnels; Walrasian Auction; Developing Countries and Economies; Supply Chain; Distribution Channels; Profit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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2021
Working Paper

The Business of K-12 Education in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper examines the evolution of K-12 education in China, especially between 1985 and the present day, drawing extensive interviews with participants in the educational sector. China has been hugely successful in reaching almost 100 percent literacy,... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; China; Real Estate; Early Childhood Education; Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Nonprofit Organizations; Private Sector; Education Industry; Real Estate Industry; China

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21 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Fixing the Marketing-CEO Disconnect

competitors' scores are increasing faster it should be a cause for alarm. Acquisition rates may be robust, but if old customers are abandoning ship as fast as new ones are coming on board, strong acquisition can give a deceptive picture... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Physician vs. Patient Incentives in Prescription Drug Choice

The market for medical care involves interactions among patients, providers, and the insurers who pay for the care of their enrollees. The division of responsibilities creates scope for agency costs and moral hazard in the physician's treatment choice.... View Details

October 1976
Background Note

Industry Structural Change

By: Michael E. Porter

Presents a framework for understanding and predicting industry structural change. Examines 1) the important underlying forces causing structural change, 2) the key relationships among industry elements in the process of change, and 3) some implications of change for... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Industry Structures; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Corporate Strategy

August 2017 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Berkshire Partners: Party City

By: Victoria Ivashina and Jeffrey Boyar

In 2005, Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm specializing in growth equity, was one year into their ownership of Amscan, the market leader of designed, manufactured, and distributed decorated party goods and accessories. However, Amscan's primary... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Fundraising; Cross-fund Investment; Private Equity; Vertical Integration; Governance; Valuation; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; United States

07 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

What Customers Need to Hear from You During the COVID Crisis

As the COVID-19 virus pandemic began to sweep across the world, Doug McMillon and his team at Walmart watched in horror. Suddenly, they realized, tomorrow would be nothing like “business as usual” and everything in the company’s marketing... View Details

Keywords: by Jill Avery and Richard Edelman

March 2011
Article

Institutional Demand Pressure and the Cost of Corporate Loans

By: Victoria Ivashina and Zheng Sun

Between 2001 and 2007, annual institutional funding in highly leveraged loans went up from $32 billion to $426 billion, accounting for nearly 70% of the jump in total syndicated loan issuance over the same period. Did the inflow of institutional funding in the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Crisis; Credit; Debt Securities; Financing and Loans; Interest Rates; Investment

SSRN

27 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 27

likely to perceive CSR strategies favorably. Our results show how CSR strategies can affect value creation in public equity markets through analyst recommendations. Institutional Stock Trading on Loan Market... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2010
Chapter

Feeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-interested Charitable Behavior

By: L. Anik, L. B. Aknin, M. I. Norton and E. W. Dunn

While lay intuitions and pop psychology suggest that helping others leads to higher levels of happiness, the existing evidence only weakly supports this causal claim: research in psychology, economics, and neuroscience exploring the benefits of charitable giving has... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Cost vs Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Outcome or Result; Relationships; Research; Behavior; Happiness; Motivation and Incentives