Publications

SSRN

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September 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Supplement

Citigroup's Exchange Offer (C)

By: Robin Greenwood and James Quinn

Citigroup faced considerable distress in early 2009. In late 2008, the bank had accepted $45 billion in preferred equity from the United States government via the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Yet, the stock had continued to slide in early 2009. In late... View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Financial Services Industry

Professor Christopher A. Bartlett received an economics degree from the University of Queensland, Australia (1964), and both the masters and doctorate degrees in business administration from Harvard University (1971 and 1979).

As a practicing manager prior... View Details

Keywords: consulting; health care; management consulting; manufacturing; medical supplies; wine

2008
Book

Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours

By: Tarun Khanna

China and India are home to one-third of the world's population. And they're undergoing social and economic revolutions that are capturing the best minds--and money--of Western business. In "Billions of Entrepreneurs," Tarun Khanna examines the entrepreneurial forces... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Development Economics; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Economies and Regions; China; India

JOSEPH L. BOWER, Donald K. David Professor Emeritus, has been a leader in general management at Harvard Business School for 51 years. He also served on the faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School during its first decade. He has served in many administrative roles... View Details

Keywords: banking; chemical; electronics; financial services; home appliances; hotels ＆ motels; information technology industry; insurance industry; private equity (LBO funds); retailing

Andy Wu

Andy Wu is the Arjun and Minoo Melwani Family Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education programs. He researches, teaches, and advises managers... View Details

Keywords: venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry; venture capital industry

August 2020
Article

Leverage and the Beta Anomaly

By: Malcolm Baker, Mathias F. Hoeyer and Jeffrey Wurgler

The well-known weak empirical relationship between beta risk and the cost of equity—the beta anomaly—generates a simple tradeoff theory: As firms lever up, the overall cost of capital falls as leverage increases equity beta, but as debt becomes riskier the marginal... View Details

Keywords: Risk Anomaly; Leverage; Capital Structure; Risk and Uncertainty

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October 2001
Case

SchoolSuccess.net

By: James E. Austin and Arthur McCaffrey

The mission of the nonprofit Jumpstart for Young Children was to address the problem of school readiness of low-income family preschoolers. It had been growing significantly, and to achieve its projected expansion would require major increases in funding. After... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Early Childhood Education; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; Management Teams

February 2003 (Revised January 2006)
Case

AIT Group Plc

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

A U.S. venture capital firm has just learned that the deal structure for purchasing an illiquid U.K. software firm is unacceptable to institutional investors. The group must decide if it still wants to go through with the deal. This decision hinges on whether the... View Details

Keywords: Price; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Venture Capital; Financial Condition; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; United States; United Kingdom

Web

Programs & Events - Alumni

At a Crossroads: Adapting to a Shifting Landscape. We will cover how the real estate industry is evolving around a range of topics, including Capital Markets, PropTech & Innovation, Affordable Housing & Social Impact, Sustainability &... View Details

Web

Initiatives & Projects - Faculty & Research

Private Capital Project The Private Capital Project facilitates deeper interaction between academia and practitioners in the Venture Capital and Private Equity industries, to... View Details

April 2003
Case

Captain Crisis in the United States Army, The

From 1989 to 1999, the Army watched as captain attrition rose from a planned and acceptable 6.7% to a staggering 10.6%. At the beginning of a new century, the Army leadership is concerned that current and projected staffing levels for junior officers are insufficient... View Details

Keywords: Human Capital; Retention; Government and Politics; Public Administration Industry

December 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

China Netcom: Corporate Governance in China (A)

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Xiangdong and Tracy Manty

With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York Stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman, Zhang Chunjiang, began a program... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; State Ownership; Public Ownership; Financial Markets; Capital Markets; Telecommunications Industry; China

28 May 2024
In Practice

Job Search Advice for a Tough Market: Think Broadly and Stay Flexible

‘yes’ The venture capital and startup job market is particularly slow this year. I am reaching into my network more than in prior years to put students in touch with people in the industry. Down rounds and layoffs in tech have been in the... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

2009
Working Paper

Labor Regulations and European Private Equity

By: Ant Bozkaya and William R. Kerr

European nations substitute between employment protection regulations and labor market expenditures (e.g., unemployment insurance benefits) for providing worker insurance. Employment regulations more directly tax firms making frequent labor adjustments than other labor... View Details

Keywords: Employment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Taxation; Insurance; Investment; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Europe

August 2019 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Baroo (A): Pet Concierge

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Susie L. Ma

Baroo CEO Lindsay Hyde was facing unrest from the board of her pet services startup in August 2017. One board member (and lead investor) was alarmed that Baroo’s growth was slowing while its appetite for funding was accelerating. Hyde wanted to hit the gas and continue... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Outcome or Result; Failure; Business and Shareholder Relations; Venture Capital; Governing and Advisory Boards; Opportunities; Strategy; Service Industry; United States; Massachusetts

April 2012
Article

Celebrate Innovation, No Matter Where It Occurs

By: Nitin Nohria

The author offers opinions on technological innovations and innovations in business. It is argued that the country of origin of a technological innovation is less economically important than the ability of a society to capitalize on that innovation and convert it into... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Profit; Commercialization; Marketing; Distribution

05 Nov 2012
News

How to restore America’s industrial commons

May 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

MStudio and Djoli: Accelerating Startup Growth in Francophone Africa

By: Paul A. Gompers, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Temitayo Lawal

Djoli, a procurement platform, was one of the startups launched and supported by MStudio, a startup studio in Côte d'Ivoire, in 2023. After a year of operations, Djoli must look beyond MStudio, which had supported them financially and in kind in exchange for equity,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Distribution Industry; Technology Industry; Africa; Côte d'Ivoire

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri: The ABACUS System

By: Robert L. Simons

Describes the computer-based information system (ABACUS) used to monitor and control business operations in a complex, global company. Describes the technical attributes of the database system, financial reporting requirements, target setting and profit calculations on... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Profit; Business Growth and Maturation; Analytics and Data Science; Design; Accounting Audits; Growth and Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Complexity; Technology Industry