Publications

June 2018
Background Note

Introduction to Life Settlements

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Jiahua Xu

Life insurance is an asset owned by the majority of American adults (61%). Note that this 61% penetration rate is essentially at parity with home ownership (64%) and higher than that of 401(k) retirement account ownership (53%). Life settlements, or life insurance... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Assets; Value; Markets; Investment Return

January 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Colombia: Strong Fundamentals, Global Risk

By: Aldo Musacchio, Richard H. K. Vietor, Jonathan Schlefer and Carolina Camacho

By mid-2009 Colombian President Alvaro Uribe had ended decades of virtual civil war and strengthened the business climate, but he faced tough economic challenges. Though he had instituted prominent market reforms and brought inflation down sharply, Colombia seemed... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Macroeconomics; Trade; Global Strategy; Infrastructure; Business and Government Relations; Colombia

07 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Immigrant Workers Cluster in Particular Industries

Vietnamese manicurists, Korean dry cleaners, Haitian cab drivers, Gujarati motel owners. Anyone who lives in an American city can see how immigrants tend to cluster in industries along ethnic lines. Is this because they are forced to by... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Transportation; Beauty & Cosmetics; Retail

30 Jul 2008
Op-Ed

Why the U.S. Should Encourage FDI

Last year, foreign investors set new records for their acquisition activity in the United States. And 2008 began with nearly daily stories of American financial executives courting foreign direct investors, particularly sovereign wealth... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir A. Desai

August 2021
Case

Yummy: Delivering Value to Venezuela

By: Ayelet Israeli, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Carla Larangeira

By June 2021, Yummy had become Venezuela’s first and largest food delivery app and last-mile logistics company. In Caracas, the nation’s capital, Yummy held a 55% market share, while operations in other cities had already started to take place, including in three of... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Health Pandemics; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion

December 1994 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Jensen Shoes: Lyndon Brooks' Story

Jane Kravitz (Caucasian female), strategic product manager, and Lyndon Brooks (African American male), a member of her staff at Jensen Shoes, a successful producer and marketer of casual, athletic, and children's footwear, are assigned to new positions and to each... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Ethnicity; Race Characteristics; Performance Evaluation; Gender Characteristics; Management Skills; Diversity; Apparel and Accessories Industry

June 2020
Teaching Note

Brand Storytelling at Shinola

By: Jill Avery, Giana M. Eckhardt and Michael Beverland

Detroit, Michigan, aka “The Motor City,” is known as the birthplace of most of the American classic automotive brands. It is a city filled with the rich history of the industrial age, the pride of American manufacturing, and of the soulful sounds of Motown music. It is... View Details

Keywords: Brand Storytelling; Brand Management; Brand Management Of Places; Luxury Brand; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Advertising; Luxury; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; United States

12 Feb 2016
Op-Ed

The Real Jobs Tragedy in the US: We've Lost the Skills

domestic skills market is far more relevant to the future of American workers than potential job losses through expanded trade with other Pacific-rim nations. Signs of distress The long-term structural... View Details

Keywords: by Joe Fuller and Matt Sigelman; Manufacturing; Electronics

February 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Banca Regional Andino: Facing the Globalization of Microfinance

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

Three leading Latin American microfinance banks join forces to face the new challenges of globalization, competition, and politics while common shareholder ACCION investments considers its options. From an initial project to share costs in the revamping of their IT... View Details

Keywords: History; Microfinance; Competitive Strategy; Globalization; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development; Bolivia; Ecuador; Peru

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July – August 2011
Article

The Paradox of Samsung's Rise

By: Tarun Khanna, Jaeyong Song and Kyungmook Lee

Twenty years ago, few people would have predicted that Samsung could transform itself from a low-cost original equipment manufacturer to a world leader in R&D, marketing, and design, with a brand more valuable than Pepsi, Nike, or American Express. Fewer still would... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Research and Development; Marketing; Business Processes; Brands and Branding; System; Globalized Markets and Industries; Transformation; Cost; Forecasting and Prediction; Production; Quality; China; India; Turkey

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19 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 19

own brand name. But while American Well attracted some of the largest U.S. health insurers as clients, a surprisingly small number of individual members had actually used the online care service. American... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Winter 2009
Article

Is Private Equity Out of Control in Latin America?: The Impact of Structures on Private Equity Transactions in Latin America 1988-2007

By: Roberto Charvel

This article explores the private equity industries in 25 Latin American countries from 1988 to 2007. View Details

Keywords: Latin America; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Startups; Business Cycles; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Assets; Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Latin America; North and Central America

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2019
Working Paper

Racial Heterogeneity and Local Government Finances: Evidence from the Great Migration

By: Marco Tabellini

Between 1915 and 1930, during the First Great Migration, more than 1.5 million African Americans migrated from the South to the North of the United States, altering the racial profile of several northern cities for the first time in American history. I exploit this... View Details

Keywords: Migration; Race; City; Financial Condition; Government and Politics; History; United States

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Fall, 2024
Article

Sixty Years of the Voting Rights Act: Progress and Pitfalls

By: Andrea Bernini, Giovanni Facchini, Marco Tabellini and Cecilia Testa

We review the literature on the effects of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA), which removed formal restrictions to Black political participation. After a brief description of racial discrimination suffered by Black Americans since Reconstruction, we introduce the goals... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Equality and Inequality; Race; Political Elections; Voting; Policy; Outcome or Result; Government Legislation

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25 Aug 2015
First Look

First Look Tuesday

Working Papers Patent Publication and the Market for Ideas By: Hegde, Deepak, and Hong Luo Abstract—In this paper, we study the effect of invention disclosure-through patent publication-on the market for... View Details

August 2005 (Revised January 2012)
Case

McKinsey and the Globalization of Consultancy

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Alexis Lefort

Considers McKinsey's strategy during the first stage of the globalization of the management consultancy industry between the 1950s and 1973. Briefly reviews the history of management consulting before considering the factors that led McKinsey to open its first... View Details

Keywords: History; Demand and Consumers; Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Service Operations; Consulting Industry

September 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Supplement

Wyoff and China-LuQuan: Negotiating a Joint Venture (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Cheng (Jason) Qian

Through stalled joint venture talks between Pennsylvania-based Wyoff Corp. and Jinan-based China-LuQuan, strategic and cross-cultural negotiation challenges are explored both from American and Chinese perspectives. Wyoff, a leading U.S. chemical company, has been... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Chemical Industry; China; Pennsylvania

03 Apr 2019
Book

Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small Business

already in numerous areas such as marketing and customer acquisition. These same capacities will be the foundational elements for creating an intelligent small business financial platform or dashboard. Excerpted from Karen G. Mills,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Banking; Financial Services

2020
Working Paper

Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This study examines how community-based brick-and-mortar retailers can achieve sustained market growth in the face of online and big box retail competition. The appearance of Amazon.com in 1995 led to a significant decline in the number of independent bookstores in the... View Details

Keywords: Bookstores; Competitive Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; United States