Publications

2009
Report

Nordic Globalization Barometer 2009: Global Pressure—Nordic Solutions?

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

Less than a year after the first Nordic Globalization Barometer has been launched, the state of the world economy has changed dramatically. A deep financial crisis is taking its toll on investors, borrowers, and the financial institutions that serve them. A deep... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Crisis; Financial Markets; Globalized Economies and Regions; Competitive Strategy; Scandinavia

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March 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Revlon: Surviving Covid-19

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah Gulick

In October 2020, Revlon faced a crossroads. While it had been struggling with high levels of debt before COVID-19, the pandemic had caused it to go further into debt. Unlike other financial crises, many consumers had stopped buying skincare or cosmetics, and sales of... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Leveraged Buyouts; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

January 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Digital Transformation at Tata Steel

By: Krishna Palepu, Das Narayandas, Radhika Kak and Rachna Tahilyani

T.V. Narendran, CEO of Tata Steel, India’s oldest steel manufacturing firm, had taken concrete business and cultural transformation steps to future-ready the firm since taking over in 2013. He had deleveraged and instilled financial discipline, acquired new businesses,... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Change Management; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Steel Industry; Asia; India

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

or local companies. It was also the sheer spread of businesses it owned beyond packaged consumer products, including African trading, plantations, specialty chemicals, paper and packaging, transport, advertising, and market research companies. It was not surprising... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

November 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Investor Relations at TOTAL

By: Gregory S. Miller, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Examines investor relations and financial communications in a large company with a diverse group of financial stakeholders. Total is an "energy major" based in Paris, France. The importance of its product and its impact on economies and environments combine with the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Business and Shareholder Relations; Communication Strategy; Paris

August 2001
Case

Finnigan Corporation

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Barbara Feinberg

Finnigan Corp., headquartered in San Jose, CA, was the world's leading producer of mass spectrometers, holding a 45% market share of instruments used for chemical analysis in pharmaceutical product development, environmental testing, genetic testing, and other... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Financial Crisis; Machinery and Machining; Technology Industry; San Jose

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February 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Case

BASIX

By: Shawn A. Cole and Peter Tufano

BASIX, an Indian microfinance corporation, must decide whether to continue to sell weather insurance to its clients. A brand-new financial product, weather insurance pays if measured rainfall during the growing season falls below a pre-specified limit. Mr. Sattaiah,... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Microfinance; Insurance; Risk Management; Banking Industry; India

07 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

When Celebrity ‘Crypto-Influencers’ Rake in Cash, Investors Lose Big

finance—investing outside of the traditional financial system, usually in blockchain-based digital assets. She said that she was “already liking” Tronix (TRX) tokens, a crypto product whose founder was... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

March 2009
Article

Earnings Management and Corporate Tax Shelters, and Book-Tax Alignment

By: Mihir Desai and Dhammika Dharmapala

This paper reviews recent evidence analyzing the link between earnings management and corporate tax avoidance and considers the implications for how policymakers should evaluate the financial reporting environment facing firms. A real-world tax shelter is dissected to... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Taxation; Financial Reporting; Business and Shareholder Relations

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October 2021 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Ant Group (A)

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Feng Zhu, Susie L. Ma and Kerry Herman

In 2004, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba created Alipay, an app to facilitate payments on its e-commerce sites. As Alibaba grew, so did Alipay, until Alipay spawned its own ecosystem of financial technology products and services under the name of Ant Group. By 2020,... View Details

Keywords: Payment Systems; Information Technology; Value Creation; Network Effects; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Initial Public Offering; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; China

15 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 15, 2006

Financial Studies Abstract This paper examines how financial constraints and product market exposures determine the response of multinational and local firms to sharp... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 1987 (Revised June 1987)
Background Note

Note on Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II)

By: David A. Garvin

Describes Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), a production technique designed to couple business and financial plans with manufacturing plans. It is an important tool for aligning manufacturing with a company's overall strategy and goals. Describes MRPII,... View Details

Keywords: Design; Finance; Surveys; Goals and Objectives; Resource Allocation; Production; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Business Strategy

October 2000 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Software Associates

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The president of a small consulting firm has just seen his second-quarter profit and loss statement, showing an increase in revenues but a substantial decline in profits. He asks his chief financial officer to explain the results. The CFO works hard to accumulate... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Cost; Financial Statements; Production; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

February 1996
Case

Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The pharmaceutical division of a diversified company has been asked to develop a Balanced Scorecard. Research and development projects take about ten years to bring a new product to the marketplace and the division depends on good relations and active feedback from its... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Research and Development; Product Launch; Commercialization; Consumer Behavior; Customer Focus and Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Pharmaceutical Industry

June 2005
Case

Furqan Nazeeri and the IMTrader Spin-Out

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Brian DeLacey

Furqan Nazeeri is looking to spin out a promising set of products and technologies from an established financial services firm. Designed as an exercise in negotiation. Includes material from the original business plan, and it is possible to simulate a negotiation... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business or Company Management; Negotiation Process; Product Development; Technology Adoption

February 1989 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Asahi Breweries Ltd.

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Focuses on competitive repositioning, organizational renewal, and personal leadership. Describes how Asahi Breweries was faced with a major capacity expansion decision after succeeding in increasing market share dramatically in the traditionally stable Japanese beer... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Leadership; Organizational Structure; Product Launch; Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Mission and Purpose; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan

October 2022 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Driving Decarbonization at BMW

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel

The case describes BMW’s electrification and decarbonization strategy, and how the company measured carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of its vehicles and used tools like carbon abatement cost curves to evaluate decarbonization opportunities. In mid-2022,... View Details

March 2012
Article

How to Make Finance Work

By: Robin Greenwood and David S. Scharfstein

Once a sleepy old boys' club, the U.S. financial sector is now a dynamic and growing business that attracts the best and the brightest. It is tempting to declare the industry a roaring success. But its purpose is to serve the needs of U.S. households and firms, and by... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Value; Competitive Advantage; Investment; Performance Evaluation; Household; Financial Crisis; Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States

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