Publications

June 2005 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Distrobot Systems, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman

Distrobot is a start-up that has developed a new system for warehouse automation. The company is trying to raise money to finance the launch of the product. The founder must decide how much capital to raise, from whom, and on what terms. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Product Launch; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Distribution Industry; Service Industry

15 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 15, 2018

markets and ecosystems through their ability to transfer a package of financial, organizational, and cultural assets, skills, and ideologies across national borders. It argues such firms have been shapers of, as well as responders to,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

10 Jan 2020
News

Competing in the Age of AI

10 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Entrepreneurs: Lessons for Government Policy

It's common wisdom: When it comes to starting a new business, it matters who you know and how much money you have. But research into the inspiration and success of entrepreneurs has not delved very deeply into why this is so. Does it... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

August 2015
Case

Building an e-Commerce Brand at Wayfair

By: Thales Teixeira and Elizabeth Anne Watkins

Wayfair, Inc. comprised five home goods, furniture, and décor e-commerce brands. Wayfair.com, the main brand, which was responsible for the majority of sales, targeted the mass-middle home-goods market. AllModern, DwellStudio, Joss & Main, and Birch Lane were niche... View Details

27 Dec 2014
News

Excusing selfishness in charitable giving: The role of risk

27 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 27

evidence consistent with market participants perceiving staggered boards to be value reducing. Amihud and Stoyanov (2016) (AS2016) contests these findings, reporting some specifications under which the results are not statistically... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2021 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Equity Bank: Charting the Future

By: Lauren Cohen, Michael Chitavi and Spencer C. N. Hagist

After climbing the ranks among Kenya's financial institutions from 66th to 1st, and toppling a quarter of the market share held by mobile money giant Safaricom, CEO James Mwangi must now guide Equity Bank into its next stage of development beyond "Equity 3.0." Should... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Decision Making; Market Entry and Exit; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Institutions; Economics; Kenya

Teaching Interest

MBA Elective Curriculum: Investment Strategies

By: Malcolm P. Baker

This is a CORE course for students pursuing careers in finance. Thus, students interested in pursuing careers in mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds, endowments, wealth management, financial consulting, marketing and client service, sales and trading,... View Details

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

perk that allowed Amazon to capture market share and eventually blow past Sony, which after years of struggling, closed its e-reader store in 2014. “Without creating a competitive advantage, it is difficult for companies to produce and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Forthcoming
Article

Arbitrage Capital of Global Banks

By: Alyssa G. Anerson, Wenxin Du and Bernd Schlusche

We show that the role of unsecured, short-term wholesale funding for global banks has changed significantly in the post-financial-crisis regulatory environment. Global banks mainly use such funding to finance liquid, near risk-free arbitrage positions—in particular,... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banks and Banking; Interest Rates; Financing and Loans

Read Now

19 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 19, 2009

California Public Employees' Retirement System (CaIPERS)—the largest public pension fund in the U.S.—had adopted a new principles-based approach to investing in emerging market equities in November 2007. Previously, CalPERS internal and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 13

voluntary disclosure and marketing decisions. Publisher's link: http://people.hbs.edu/mluca/StrategicDisclosure.pdf January 2015 Innovation Policy and the Economy Firms and the Economics of Skilled Immigration By: Pekkala Kerr, Sari,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

CDC Capital Partners: December 2002

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

Paul Fletcher, CEO of CDC Capital Partners, a private equity group investing in the world's poorest countries, is wrestling with questions raised by the imminent reorganization of the firm. Previously an arm of the United Kingdom's international aid agency, CDC is... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Privatization; Venture Capital; Business and Government Relations; Emerging Markets; Infrastructure; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; United Kingdom

17 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 17, 2018

Programs By: Hanson, Samuel G., David S. Scharfstein, and Adi Sunderam Abstract—We develop a model of government portfolio choice in which a benevolent government chooses the scale of risky projects in the presence of market failures and... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

03 Jun 2014
News

‘Victims’ of churn are accessories to the crime

July 2013 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Experience! The Finger Lakes: The Groupon Partnership Decision

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Chekitan S. Dev, Gabriele Piccoli and Arnold B. Peinado

In 2010, Experience! The Finger Lakes (ExperienceFLX), a tour operator offering guided tours and concierge services in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, was at a crossroads. The business was poised for growth, and its owners, Laura and Alan Falk, were... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; United States