Publications

01 Sep 2011
News

Extraordinary People

team. At the time, it was the highest price paid for a sports franchise, in any sport, anywhere in the world. In time, what appeared to be a very risky decision proved to be a winning business move. Kraft’s bold bets over the years have... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance; Finance

April 2011 (Revised April 2011)
Supplement

Fleet Oil Company: An Exercise

The exercise, which adapts a famous experiment by experimental psychologist Thomas Gilovich, is designed to show both the ubiquity of analogy or associative thinking more generally and its potential perils. Students are presented with a scenario in which an oil company... View Details

Keywords: Business Headquarters; Crime and Corruption; Decisions; Non-Renewable Energy; Cost; Production; Performance Productivity; Research and Development; Energy Industry; Atlanta; Houston

April 1989 (Revised March 1993)
Case

ProTech, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Piper

A company is considering the elimination of a product line. As part of that consideration, it must develop possible strategies for closing the division, and identify the economic and non-economic implications of the strategy. The situation is complicated by the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Decision Making; Business Exit or Shutdown; Equity; Problems and Challenges

Article

Unhealthy Consumerism: The Challenge of Trading Off Price and Quality in Healthcare

By: Kate Barasz and Peter A. Ubel

Over the last decade, healthcare in many parts of the world has shifted toward a more patient-centric, consumeristic model, marked by an emphasis on choice and a proliferation of typical consumer-facing information (e.g., price and quality data). However, while the... View Details

Keywords: Medical Decision-making; Choice; Health Care and Treatment; Quality; Price; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making

January 2011 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Matrix Capital Management (A)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Asset Management; Cash Flow; Stock Shares; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

April 2005
Article

The Geography of Equity Analysis

By: Christopher J. Malloy

I provide evidence that geographically proximate analysts are more accurate than other analysts. Stock returns immediately surrounding forecast revisions suggest that local analysts impact prices more than other analysts. These effects are strongest for firms located... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Stocks; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction; Price; Performance; Equity; Information; Prejudice and Bias; Agency Theory

June 2000 (Revised March 2002)
Teaching Note

Iridium LLC TN

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Teaching Note for (9-200-039). View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Technology; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Performance; Valuation; Forecasting and Prediction; Demand and Consumers; Communications Industry

06 Aug 2021
Blog Post

Socioeconomic Inclusion at HBS: Alexis Jackson (MBA 2021)

financial aid offer, the decision then became one she described as “heart versus head”—her heart was set on HBS but her financial aid package was less than those from other schools. “From my college major to my first job, every View Details

2021
Working Paper

Government Shareholdings in Brokerage Firms and Analyst Research Quality

By: Sheng Cao, Xianjie He, Charles C.Y. Wang and Huifang Yin

During times when the Chinese government wished to prop up the market, sell-side analysts from brokerages with significant government ownership issued relatively less pessimistic (or more optimistic) earnings forecasts, earnings-forecast revisions, and stock... View Details

Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Forecast Optimism; Forecast Accuracy; Government Incentives; Stocks; Forecasting and Prediction; Business and Government Relations; Emerging Markets

SSRN

March 2007 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Survey Masters LLC (A)

By: William J. Bruns

Partners in a service firm are reviewing results for 2006, wondering whether large or small projects are more profitable. Present reports make small projects look more profitable. However, activity-based accounting reveals that large projects are more profitable and... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Financial Reporting; Cost vs Benefits; Financial Strategy; Service Industry

February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Kevin McCarthy and Westlake Chemical Corporation (A)

Examines forecasting earnings/performance for a commodity chemical firm during a period of high uncertainty, highlighting the combined effects of input process (natural gas), industry capacity/utilization, and cyclicality. Assuming the role of Kevin McCarthy (the top... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Futures and Commodity Futures; Forecasting and Prediction; Chemicals; Chemical Industry

12 Mar 2018
Blog Post

Applying to HBS in Round 3?

“No one gets in during round 3.” That is something I often heard or read in blogs when I was making the decision to apply in the last admission round of business school. Some apply in round three because they need the additional time to... View Details

01 Feb 1997
News

Merton Discusses Risk Management at Dean's Seminar

areas of capital markets, financial services, and corporate finance. "New financial product and market designs, improved computer and telecommunications technology, and advances in finance theory during the past quarter century have led... View Details

Keywords: Elizabeth McNair

01 Sep 2008
News

Farming for Fuel

with senior researchers James Weber and Mary Louise Shelman, examines the complex political and economic underpinnings of the ethanol industry and the dilemma facing the farmers of Mid-Missouri Energy (MME). The farmers must make major View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Animal Production and Aquaculture; Agriculture; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Feb 1997
News

Made, Not Born: HBS Courses and Entrepreneurial Management

more you try to dictate, the harder it is to inspire creative work." Entrepreneurial Finance Since 1985, when the Entrepreneurial Finance elective was first introduced by William Sahlman, Dimitri V.... View Details

August 2009
Teaching Note

Cyworld: Creating and Capturing Value in a Social Network (TN)

By: Sunil Gupta and Sangman Han

Teaching Note for [509012]. View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Mergers and Acquisitions; Revenue; Leadership Style; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Marketing; Customers; Service Operations; Competency and Skills; Web Services Industry; South Korea