Publications

March 1998 (Revised July 1998)
Case

United Way Community Services

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Describes in detail the fund development and distribution system of United Way Community Services. A key question is how to measure the outcome/impact of the work done by the agencies that receive United Way funding. A follow-on question is how to reinvent the... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Management Systems; Measurement and Metrics; Distribution Channels; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Nonprofit Organizations

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February 1992 (Revised January 1999)
Background Note

Selected Profitability Data on U.S. Industries and Companies

Describes the importance of industry structure and competitive positioning to the profitability of U.S. corporations between 1981 and 1994. Cites recent research indicating that persistent industry differences and persistent competitor differences account for 19% and... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Profit; United States

Web

Propose an Independent Project - MBA

Marketing Nonprofit / Government Real Estate Retail / Trading Sustainability Technology Venture Capital / Private Equity / LBO *Function Select Business Development Finance General Management Human Capital... View Details

2010
Casebook

Global Capital and National Institutions: Crisis and Choice in the International Financial Architecture

By: Laura Alfaro

All managers face a business environment in which international and macroeconomic phenomena matter. International capital flows can significantly affect countries' development efforts and provide clear investment opportunities for businesses. During the 1990s and early... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Capital; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations

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September 2009
Supplement

One South: Investing in Emerging Markets (B)

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Justin Seth Ginsburgh

A United States private equity fund, The Saboput Group, must decide whether to invest in a new technology park development in Chennai, India. The B case provides the reader with due diligence observations, which reveal numerous potential problems with the investment.... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Private Equity; Investment; Foreign Direct Investment; Markets; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; Chennai; United States

April 2014
Supplement

Ingrid Johnson: Reflections on Leading Change

By: Michael Tushman

This case discusses the issue of leading change at the business banking division of Nedbank, a prominent South African bank, between 2005 and 2009. (This timeframe, beginning just 11 years after Apartheid's end, covers Ingrid Johnson's leadership of this division... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Restructuring; Personal Development and Career; Commercial Banking; Banking Industry; South Africa

December 2004
Case

Money and Banking in America

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Stephen A. Mihm

Provides a concise overview of the critical role that money and the nation's banking system have played in the development of the U.S. economy. Tells the story of money and banking in the United States, from the earliest settlements in the colonial era through the 20th... View Details

Keywords: History; Money; Banks and Banking; United States

20 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 20, 2008

full-service bank; describes the competitive context of low-income sector of financing in Mexico; and reviews the decisions leading to the IPO in the Mexican Stock Exchange. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2016 (Revised June 2016)
Case

Janalakshmi Financial Services' HR Dilemma

By: Doug J. Chung and Radhika Kak

Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), an Indian microfinance institution, had grown rapidly by providing financial products to its main customer base, the urban poor. However, the company was facing several challenges. JFS’s productivity was declining, and it was... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

25 Jan 2021
Book

In a Nutshell, Why American Capitalism Succeeded

How did the United States become the world’s center of business growth following its founding in 1776? Surely a number of nations had powerful natural resources, stable financial and legal institutions, and dynamic entrepreneurs over that same span. Why was American... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

October 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed)

By: Robert J. Dolan

The business products division has developed a business proposal asking for $50 million to fund the creation of a new telephone system for the small business market. The company's last entry into this marketplace lost $70 million. The new product would face 100... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Communication Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Investment; Product Development; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

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Web

Leadership - Faculty & Research

Leadership Leadership 2015 Chapter Leave No Slice of Genius Behind: Selecting and Developing Tomorrow's Leaders of Innovation By: Linda A. Hill More than ever, leaders of nearly every kind of organization view their human resources teams... View Details

2012
Working Paper

Reaching for Yield in the Bond Market

By: Bo Becker and Victoria Ivashina

Reaching-for-yield—the propensity to buy riskier assets in order to achieve higher yields—is believed to be an important factor contributing to the credit cycle. This paper analyses this phenomenon in the corporate bond market. Specifically, we show evidence for... View Details

Keywords: Fixed Income; Reaching For Yield; Financial Intermediation; Insurance Companies; Insurance; Bonds; Assets; Risk Management; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Insurance Industry

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Blending Heritage and Innovation: Lisa Yan (MBA 2025) - MBA

Blog Blog MBA Voices Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author Career and Professional Development Staff Author HBS Community Author HBS Faculty Author MBA Admissions Author MBA Students Topics Topics 1st... View Details

23 Jan 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Transaction Costs and the Duration of Contracts

Keywords: by Alexander MacKay

07 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

The Right Way to Cry in Front of Your Boss

position for criers That may not always be the case depending on the relationship between the person in distress and the observer, as well as the organization’s “display rules.” In other words, are you in a field like finance that... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

December 2001 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Argentina's Convertibility Plan

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

Describes the political and economic development in Argentina from 1989 to 1995, with a focus on the role of the currency board. Culminates in Argentine policy makers (Menem in particular) contemplating how to respond to the tequila crisis in the middle of 1995.... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Government and Politics; Interest Rates; Balance and Stability; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Crisis; Crisis Management; Policy; Currency; Macroeconomics; Argentina

Web

How I Spent my 2+2 Deferral: Zoe Bhargava - MBA

Blog Blog MBA Voices Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author Career and Professional Development Staff Author HBS Community Author HBS Faculty Author MBA Admissions Author MBA Students Topics Topics 1st... View Details

March 1999 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Xerox: Book-In-Time

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Book-In-Time, developed at Xerox, can dramatically reduce the cost of printing "one" book. Combined with the possibilities of digital content storage and transmittal, the new technology has vast opportunities. Xerox needs a commercial plan. The case describes the state... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Distribution; Planning; Opportunities; Commercialization; Technology Adoption; Publishing Industry