Publications

Article

Exchange Rates and Foreign Direct Investment: An Imperfect Capital Markets Approach

By: K. A. Froot and Jeremy Stein

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Market Imperfections; Foreign Direct Investment; Markets; Financial Instruments; Asset Pricing

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November–December 1991
Article

How Capital Budgeting Deters Innovation--And What To Do About It

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Innovation and Invention

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October 1991 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Butler Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The Butler Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of the... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital Structure; Forecasting and Prediction

3 Oct 1991
Lecture

How are Changes in the Global Capital Markets Affecting Interaction between Shareholders and Corporations?

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Capital Markets; Business and Shareholder Relations

July 1991
Case

Pioneer Petroleum Corp.

By: Richard S. Ruback

Pioneer is an integrated oil company. Its operations include exploration and development, production, transportation, and marketing. The case focuses on Pioneer's cost of capital calculations and its choice between a single company-wide cost of capital or divisional... View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Energy Industry; Mining Industry

March 1991 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Berkshire Partners

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Berkshire Partners is a limited partnership engaged in the acquisition of companies valued between $25 million and $250 million. The purpose of the case is to examine the resources of the firm and discuss the firm's competitive advantage vis-a-vis other types of... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Advantage; Acquisition; Corporate Finance

February 1991
Case

Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (B)

By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan

The ARES team formally proposes that Burlington Northern implement the ARES system. The project meets resistance. In light of financial restructuring and high level of debt, executives wonder whether the company can afford ARES. Weak links during the ARES development... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Restructuring; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Budgeting; Projects; Technology Adoption; Service Industry

February 1991 (Revised October 1991)
Case

Fenchel Lampshade Co.

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes the proposed purchase of a lampshade manufacturer by Steven and Michele Rogers, recent graduates of the Harvard Business School. Focuses on their plans to raise the capital necessary to buy the company. Among the issues raised are how to structure the deal... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Negotiation Deal; Business or Company Management; Cost vs Benefits; Manufacturing Industry

February 1991 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Tennessee Controls: The Strategic Ranking Problem

By: Robert L. Simons and Dale Geiger

Tennessee Controls has instituted a new formal asset acquisition process to rank competing proposals. Judy Starnes, the new division manager, is asked to rank three proposals by using techniques to quantify economic returns, risk, as well as the credibility of the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Governance Controls; Management Systems; Strategic Planning; Mathematical Methods; Electronics Industry

October 1990
Case

Parenting Magazine

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a set of decisions confronting Robin Wolaner, who is negotiating with representatives of Time Inc. about investing in a project to launch a new magazine called Parenting. The negotiations have reached an impasse. Among the issues to be considered are the... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation; Negotiation Deal; Valuation; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Outcome or Result; Risk and Uncertainty; Projects; Journals and Magazines; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry

October 1990
Article

The Structure and Governance of Venture-Capital Organizations

By: William A. Sahlman

Keywords: Governance; Venture Capital; Organizations

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1990
Chapter

Capital Market Theory and the Pricing of Financial Securities

By: Robert C. Merton

Keywords: Capital Markets; Financial Instruments; Asset Pricing; Mathematical Methods

1990
Other Unpublished Work

The High Price of Land and the Low Cost of Capital: Theory and Evidence from Japan

By: David S. Scharfstein, Anil Kashyap and David Weil

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Japan

July 1990 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Consolidated Equipment Co.

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

A mature company seeks to rejuvenate itself with internal R&D and external acquisitions. It has developed a DCK model for analyzing the value of a proposed acquisition. A rewritten version of an earlier case by J.K. Butters. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Valuation; Business Growth and Maturation; Research and Development; Acquisition; Capital Budgeting