Volatility - Publications - Faculty & Research

27 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 27

LeonardHarvard Business School Case 310-135 After an incredibly volatile six months since Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Finbar McCall contemplated his options. As the investment manager of RPG Prime Reserve Fund, Inc. (RPGXX),... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Jan 2002
Research & Ideas

Countries on the Cusp: The Power of Nationalism

Perspective (Cornell University Press), which he introduced recently as part of Harvard Business School's ongoing International Seminar Series, tackles the volatile subject of nationalism against the backdrop of what he calls... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Weight Watchers Mexico

By: David J. Arnold, Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

Weight Watchers must decide how to react to the Mexican financial crisis. Options include exiting, reducing investment, or continuing previous operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Restructuring; Volatility; Economy; Investment; Marketing; Problems and Challenges; Mexico

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January 2025
Case

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (A)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Acquisition; Trust; Ethics; Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

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November 2024
Case

Polish Agro: Where Do We Grow From Here?

By: Willy C. Shih, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

By July 2024, Polish Agro had grown into one of Poland’s fastest-growing agribusinesses, with €230 million in revenue, 82 employees, and operations across Northern Poland. The company supported farmers with essential agricultural inputs like fertilizers and seeds,... View Details

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Educators

July 1987
Case

Altoona Corp.: Computer Products Division

By: Roger E. Bohn and Robert H. Hayes

A relatively small manufacturer of computer memory disks has achieved a major market position through the use of its statistical quality control (SQC) program. It is now expanding the production of a new line of disks and is encountering problems getting the process... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Volatility; Performance Consistency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Quality; Mathematical Methods; Hardware; Manufacturing Industry

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07 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 7

Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices, coupled with regulatory changes made by the government, force Colbun to revise its business strategy and its sourcing mix. New legislation will replace... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 1990 (Revised June 1991)
Case

IBM Corp.: ""Make It Your Business"" (A)

By: Robert L. Simons

In 1987, IBM changed its strategy in an attempt to become a market-driven company rather than a product-driven company. The case begins with a description of the new strategy and the reasons for the change and then describes the top-down sales planning and quota system... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Competitive Advantage; Business Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Sales; Volatility; System; Information Technology Industry

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28 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 28, 2010

explain the following stylized facts: (1) U.S. and Mexican output co-move more than consumption, (2) U.S. shocks have a larger effect on Mexico than in the U.S., (3) U.S. business cycles lead over medium-term fluctuations in Mexico, and (4) Mexican consumption is more... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2019
Case

Mahindra Finance

By: V.G. Narayanan and Tanvi Deshpande

Mahindra Finance is a non-banking lender operating mainly in the rural and semi-urban areas of India. Set up in 1991, the company had grown to become a market leader with assets of $8.5 billion and a presence in 3,30,000 villages across India. Since most of Mahindra's... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Business Model; Volatility; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Credit; Financing and Loans; Service Delivery; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry; India

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Educators

09 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 9, 2007

is well documented that the venture capital industry is highly volatile and that much of this volatility is associated with shifting valuations and activity in public equity markets. This paper examines how... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Apr 2004
What Do You Think?

Should We Brace Ourselves for Another Era of M&A Value Destruction?

in an asymmetrical fashion (for example, through stock options), it is in their financial best interest to do M&A to add volatility to their business." Is M&A part of the natural Darwinian process of business, or is it rigged... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

27 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 27, 2007

Periodical:Journal of Financial Economics (forthcoming) Abstract It is well documented that the venture capital industry is highly volatile and that much of this volatility is associated with shifting... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Apr 2020
Book

The Key to Powerful Social Change: Small Villages

Who will solve the great problems facing humanity, a list of critical issues that only begins with the current pandemic? In the interview below, Rosabeth Moss Kanter discusses her recent book, Think Outside the Building, and her view that solutions are most likely to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

New Challenges for Long-Term Investors

short-term price volatility of U.S. Treasury bonds has been about 5.5 percent per year in real terms—that is, after correcting for inflation. This volatility is certainly small when we compare it to the... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Depression or Euphoria? Navigating the Market’s Mood Swings

question, "If there is no IPO for five years, will this still be a good investment?" Still, despite volatile markets and flailing start-ups, Stevenson described today as a "very exciting time" to be in business.... View Details

Keywords: by Carrie Levine

16 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Resolving Patent Disputes that Impede Innovation

prompted a new research paper that starts to investigate ways to make these patents less volatile and more efficient—and makes the case for increased government involvement. "Standards are ubiquitous and necessary," says Josh... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology; Legal Services

February 1999
Case

Tele-Communications, Inc. (A): Cascading Miracles

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

John Malone, CEO of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), the largest U.S. cable television company, is in the midst of a strategic and operational turnaround. TCI has been losing market share to direct-to-home satellite broadcasters, and Malone is considering a bold new... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Operations; Television Entertainment; Business Strategy; Volatility; Telecommunications Industry; United States

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December 2016
Case

Public Mission, Private Funding: The University of California, Berkeley

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

UC Berkley, long known as one of the leading public universities in both the U.S. and the world, has seen turbulent times recently. While student enrollment and costs have increased steadily in recent years, the school, which has been fiercely proud of its public... View Details