Publications

Article

Valuation Waves and Merger Activity: The Empirical Evidence

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, David Robinson and S. Viswanathan

To test recent theories suggesting that valuation errors affect merger activity, we develop a decomposition that breaks the market-to-book ratio (M/B) into three components: the firm-specific pricing deviation from short-run industry pricing; sector-wide, short-run... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Forecasting and Prediction; Price; Theory; Behavior

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November 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

ASIMCO: The Alliance Brewing Group

ASIMCO is a direct investment fund with $350 million invested in 17 Chinese joint ventures in the brewing and auto components industries. The CEO must decide whether to invest in distribution to grow the brewing business or to invest in additional manufacturing joint... View Details

Keywords: Production; Distribution; Joint Ventures; Decision Making; Investment Funds; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China

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21 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 21

are not directly related to mining, such as trade, finance and services. We use quantile instrumental variable regression techniques and identify mostly homogeneous effects throughout the conditional city growth distribution. Download the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2024
Case

The Walt Disney Company: Management Guidance

By: Joseph Pacelli and James Weber

In November 2023, financial analyst Aurora Fee was forecasting The Walt Disney Company’s earnings and stock price, with the goal of providing an investment recommendation to her clients. Disney, one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies, had just... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Accounting; Investment; Communication; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

April 2010
Teaching Note

BYD Company, Ltd. (TN)

By: Robert S. Huckman

Teaching Note for [606139]. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Competitive Advantage; Labor; Competition; Problems and Challenges; Cost vs Benefits; Auto Industry; Battery Industry; China

22 Mar 2016
First Look

March 22, 2016

to the decisions faced by managers and policymakers and addresses why research relevance matters, what relevance means in terms of a journal article, and how scholars can increase the relevance of their research. I define relevant... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2010
Supplement

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas (CW)

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Spreadsheet Supplement for 211020. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance; Joint Ventures; Financial Crisis; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Markets; Sales; Lawsuits and Litigation; Negotiation Deal; Governing and Advisory Boards; Cash Flow; Decisions; Chemical Industry; Kuwait

Web

Field Course: Venture Capital Journey - Course Catalog

selection of students in the course will be intentionally diverse and include both students who came from the field as well as those who are keenly interested in the field, having had exposure during their time at HBS through RC courses like TEM and View Details

01 Jun 2017
News

Better Hiring Through Brain Science

the difference between consulting and finance and marketing and entrepreneurship,” says Polli. Career paths in accounting or consulting, for example, usually correlated to attention to detail and a lack of impulsive behavior, she says;... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell

July 2010
Teaching Note

Chrysler's Sale to Fiat (TN)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Lena G. Goldberg

Teaching Note for 210022. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Financial Crisis; Assets; Policy; Cost vs Benefits; Sales; Government and Politics; Auto Industry; United States

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

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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

02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

and Finance (forthcoming). (Also Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 05-053 and NBER Working Paper No. 13131.) Abstract The main arguments in favor of and against nominal and indexed debt are the incentive to default through... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 29, 2007

under severe economic conditions. We show that many structured finance instruments can be characterized as economic catastrophe bonds, but offer far less compensation than alternatives with comparable payoff profiles. We argue that this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 10, 2022
Article

5 Ways Startups Can Prepare for a Recession

By: Lou Shipley

Startups face unique challenges during economic downturns. They typically aren’t yet profitable and so are reliant on outside funding—and therefore are especially exposed when macroeconomic conditions change. To make it through a recession, startup CEOs should hit the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Sales; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Inflation and Deflation; Financial Crisis; Employee Relationship Management; Business Startups; Credit

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May 1987 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co.

By: Krishna G. Palepu

After a record year in 1983, Murray Ohio's earnings declined in 1984. The company was faced with competition from cheap imports and was experiencing declining margins. Students are asked to analyze the company's 1984 financial statements and predict whether there is... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Business Divisions; Cost Management; Spending; Decision Making; Change Management; Problems and Challenges; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry