Publications

December 2011
Article

How Do Acquirers Retain Successful Target CEOs? The Role of Governance

By: Julie Wulf and Harbir Singh

The resource-based view argues that acquisitions can build competitive advantage partially through retention of valuable human capital of the target firm. However, making commitments to retain and motivate successful top managers is a challenge when contracts are not... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Mergers and Acquisitions; Acquisition; Equity; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Contracts; Performance; Governance; Legal Services Industry

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March 2006
Case

Wells Fargo Convertible Bonds

By: Malcolm P. Baker and Elizabeth Kind

Howard Atkins, the chief financial officer of Wells Fargo, is considering issuing $3 billion in convertible debt. With an investment-grade credit rating, Wells Fargo is not the typical issuer of convertible securities, but the market conditions in 2003 are unusual.... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; Debt Securities; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Strategy; Banking Industry

16 Jul 2020
Video

VC Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Today's World

August 2023
Article

Can Security Design Foster Household Risk-Taking?

By: Laurent Calvet, Claire Célérier, Paolo Sodini and Boris Vallée

This paper shows that securities with a non-linear payoff design can foster household risk-taking. We demonstrate this effect empirically by exploiting the introduction of capital guarantee products in Sweden from 2002 to 2007. The fast and broad adoption of these... View Details

Keywords: Financial Innovation; Household Finance; Structured Products; Stock Market Participation; Finance; Innovation and Invention; Household; Personal Finance; Risk and Uncertainty; Behavior; Market Participation

01 Oct 2019
News

Today’s venture capitalists owe something to 19th-century whalers

23 Oct 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Decarbonization Factors

Keywords: by Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, David Turkington, and Hui (Stacie) Wang

22 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Debt Traps? Market Vendors and Moneylender Debt in India and the Philippines

Keywords: by Dean Karlan, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Benjamin N. Roth

November 2005 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Motion Computing, Inc. -- 2004

By: William A. Sahlman and Caroline Perkins

Scott Eckert, the co-founder and CEO of Motion Computing, must decide whether to raise additional capital to support growth. Motion manufactures and distributes Tablet PCs. If the company opts to raise money, it must decide on the source and terms of the financing. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Computer Industry; United States

05 Aug 2016
News

Why entrepreneurship is on the rise

28 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 28, 2015

management literature. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=47633 Concentrated Capital Losses and the Pricing of Corporate Credit Risk By: Siriwardane, Emil N. Abstract—Using proprietary credit default... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Teaching Interest

Financial Reporting and Control

By: Suraj Srinivasan

Financial Reporting and Control (FRC) covers topics about how managers can design and use performance measurement systems for external reporting and internal management to build more effective organizations. Throughout their careers, business leaders are required to... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting

June 2001
Teaching Note

Role of Intermediaries in Supply Chains TN

By: Ananth Raman

Describes the role of intermediaries in the Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains elective course at HBS. Contrary to many observers' predictions, intermediaries have continued to survive and even grow. This module examines the ways in which intermediaries can add... View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Cost Management; Labor; Supply Chain Management; Motivation and Incentives

May 2010 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Bank of America Acquires Merrill Lynch (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Charles E. Beresford

On December 22, 2008, Bank of America (BofA) chairman and CEO Ken Lewis convened a special board of directors meeting to review his company's pending acquisition of investment bank Merrill Lynch. Negotiations for the acquisition had begun a few months earlier, during... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Corporate Governance; Government Legislation; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry

February 2002 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Chengwei Ventures and the hdt* Investment

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Bo Feng, cofounder and principal in Chengwei Ventures, one of the first sovereign venture capital firms in China, is trying to decide on the proper business model for hdt, the product of a merger between two portfolio companies. This case discusses the best way for the... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Relationship Management; Sovereign Finance; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Markets; Business Model; Financial Services Industry; China

02 Jul 2020
News

Pro VC Health Pulse: Fighting Health-Care Fraud, New Playbook for Disease-Focused Nonprofits, Rhode Island Backs Data Collective Bio Fund

30 Sep 2019
News

WeWork Needs Cash as Botched IPO Scuttles Planned Infusion

22 Aug 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

January 2010 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Greenbriar Growth Partners and Microsurgery Devices

Greenbriar Growth Partners (GGP), a venture capital (VC) firm, has been an investor in Microsurgery Devices (MSD) for four-plus years and has come into conflict with the company's founder. Should the Board's nominating committee re-nominate the VC investor, and should... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Initial Public Offering; Governing and Advisory Boards; Conflict of Interests; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States