Publications

2016
Working Paper

Intellectual Property Rights Protection, Ownership, and Innovation: Evidence from China

By: Lily Fang, Josh Lerner and Chaopeng Wu

Using a difference-in-difference approach, we study how intellectual property right (IPR) protection affects innovation in China in the years around the privatizations of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Innovation increases after SOE privatizations, and this increase... View Details

Keywords: Privatization; Copyright; Innovation and Invention; China

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03 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 3

Abstract—Regulation Fair Disclosure was passed in 2000 in response to the concern that certain investors were gaining selective access to privileged firm information. In spite of the passage of this regulation, some investors continue to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

The VC Quandary: Too Much Money

home run" or for U.S. firms that need to penetrate the European market. Mullen spoke as a member of the panel "State of the Venture Capital Industry: Past, Present and Future" at the 11th Annual Venture Capital & View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Financial Services

October 2007
Case

Blue River Capital

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Richard Bullock

Examines the strategy and experience of Indian private equity firm Blue River Capital. Blue River was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India

December 2012
Article

Evidence on the Use of Unverifiable Estimates in Required Goodwill Impairment

By: Karthik Ramanna and Ross L. Watts

SFAS 142 requires managers to estimate the current fair value of goodwill to determine goodwill write-offs. In promulgating the standard, the FASB predicted managers will, on average, use the fair value estimates to convey private information on future cash flows. The... View Details

Keywords: Goodwill Impairment; Fair-value Accounting; FASB; SFAS 142; Fair Value Accounting; Standards; Cash Flow; Agency Theory; Motivation and Incentives; Forecasting and Prediction; Goodwill Accounting

SSRN

December 2010 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Silver Lake

By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth A. Kind

Dave Roux, co-founder and chairman of Silver Lake, a private equity (PE) firm specializing in technology investments, was meeting with the firm's investment committee via video conference to discuss options for Silver Lake's future growth. While the private equity... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Private Equity; Expansion; Global Range; Financial Services Industry

November 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Clear Channel 2006

By: Richard S. Ruback and Leslie Pierson

The Board of Directors of Clear Channel Communications, a radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising company, has to respond to a revised proposal from two private equity firms to take the company private. In November of 2006, the Board had unanimously approved an... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation Offer; Privatization; Business and Shareholder Relations

July 2008
Case

Hilton Hotels: Brand Differentiation through Customer Relationship Management

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Gabriele Piccoli and Chekitan Dev

This case analyzes the Hilton Hotels Corporation's CRM strategy at a key juncture in its history, immediately after the firm has been taken private by Blackstone. The case provides students with a comprehensive history of the evolution and IT enablers of Hilton's CRM... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Privatization; Performance Evaluation; Information Technology; Accommodations Industry

John D. Dionne has been a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School since 2014 and is a recently retired Senior Managing Director and Senior Advisor to Blackstone. He is also Managing Partner of Franconia Capital, a... View Details

January 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Blackstone at Age 30

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

Since its IPO in 2007 and following the global financial crisis, Blackstone largely outpaced its alternative investment firm peers in assets under management, new business launches, profitability, and market capitalization. Under the leadership of Stephen A.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

January 2007 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Austin, Blakeley, & Cambridge, LLC

The founding partners of ABC, LLC, one of the leading private equity firms in the world, are trying to understand why some of the other top firms in the business, such as KKR and Apollo, have been tapping the public equity markets for their own funds, and whether they... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Public Equity; Investment Funds; Going Public; Financial Services Industry

Article

A Public Option Can Be a Triple Win for U.S. Healthcare

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard Boxer

The United States needs to control healthcare costs and quality while reaching universal coverage. The strongest choice is a public option that allows people to choose between Medicare and private payers. But a public option needs sustainable financing mechanisms that... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Public Option; Universal Health Coverage; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Quality; United States

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25 Mar 2016
Video

Jim Southern, Founding Partner, Pacific Lake Partners

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

companies in the S&P 400 Index. Some 70 percent of the PE-backed firms hired new CEOs when they were acquired, and about two-thirds of those new CEOs were outsiders to the company (though many had general industry expertise). Unlike... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

January 2015 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Lagkagehuset: Building a Bakery Chain

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Emer Moloney

A Danish bakery chain that was acquired by a private equity firm in 2008, and has grown from 3 to 31 stores, plans to address reoccuring operational and organizational issues before growing further. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Chain; Retail; Bakery; Operations; Retail Industry; Denmark

2004
Working Paper

Are Perks Purely Managerial Excess?

By: Raghuram G. Rajan and Julie Wulf

Why do some firms tend to offer executives a variety of perks while others offer none at all? A widespread view in the corporate finance literature is that executive perks are a form of agency or private benefit and a way for managers to misappropriate some of the... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Performance Productivity; Executive Compensation; Corporate Finance

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July 2017
Article

Intellectual Property Rights Protection, Ownership, and Innovation: Evidence from China

By: Lily Fang, Josh Lerner and Chaopeng Wu

Using a difference-in-difference approach, we study how intellectual property right (IPR) protection affects innovation in China in the years around the privatizations of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Innovation increases after SOE privatizations, and this increase... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Privatization; State Ownership; Trademarks; Copyright; Innovation and Invention; China