Publications

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21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

funds, Pozen writes with authority and unusual clarity about complex issues in Too Big to Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System (John Wiley & Sons). Roger Thompson: How does the government figure out which financial institutions... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Financial Services; Financial Services

28 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

In many emerging economies, the need to give people in poverty better access to financial services seems obvious. The mobile phone is a perfect vehicle, given their widespread adoption, even among the financially less well off. Designing... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Financial Services

February 2001
Case

California PERS (B)

By: Jay O. Light, Jay W. Lorsch, James O. Sailer and Katharina Pick

The largest state pension fund continues the evolution of its approach to corporate governance contemplating "relationship investing" and other new approaches. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Governance; Financial Management; Asset Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry; California

April 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Petrobras in Ecuador (A)

By: Aldo Musacchio, Lena G. Goldberg and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

On October 18, 2007, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa announced his intention to migrate Petrobras' existing participation contracts to exploit oil reserves in Ecuador's Blocks 18 and 31 to servicing agreements under which Petrobras would be paid a production fee and... View Details

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Governance; Government Administration; Taxation; Contracts; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Public Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Brazil; Ecuador

14 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Reforming New Orleans Schools After Katrina

the ground there, and became interested in a start-up called New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO) through the work that our student teams have done every January since the storm as part of the HBS New Orleans Service Immersion. This year... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

October 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Lehman Brothers and Repo 105

By: Anette Mikes, Gwen Yu and Dominique Hamel

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was the largest bankruptcy in US history. The case examines the economics of the off-balance sheet transactions Lehman undertook prior to the collapse, and highlights the corporate governance challenges in situations where firms... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Policy; Accounting Audits; Corporate Governance; Financial Instruments; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry

January–February 2019
Article

Cracking Frontier Markets

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon

Executive Summary:
With emerging-market giants such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China experiencing slowdowns, investors, entrepreneurs, and multinationals are looking elsewhere. They’ve been eyeing frontier economies such as Nigeria and Pakistan with great... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Innovation and Invention; Development Economics

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February 12, 2021
Article

The Commercial Space Age Is Here

By: Matt Weinzierl and Mehak Sarang

In May of 2020, SpaceX made history as the first private company to send humans into space. This marks not only a tremendous technological achievement, but also the first indication that an entirely new “space-for-space” industry—that is, goods and services designed to... View Details

Keywords: Space Economy; New Markets; Emerging Markets; Opportunities; Entrepreneurship; Commercialization; Aerospace Industry

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May 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and the Global Economy (A)

By: Alberto Cavallo and Christian Godwin

In April 2020, the world struggled to contain the exponential escalation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Dozens of countries had imposed restrictions on travel, work, and social gatherings. A large share of the global population was under lockdowns and... View Details

February 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Richard Grasso and the NYSE, Inc. (A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2003, the New York Stock Exchange faces heated controversy over the pay of Chairman Richard Grasso. Traces Grasso's development and his success serving stakeholders while transforming operations at the world's largest exchange. Describes how Grasso's compensation... View Details

Keywords: Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Executive Compensation; Leadership; Performance; Financial Services Industry; New York (state, US)

Research Summary

Research Summary

By: Ranjay Gulati

My research has focused on interorganizational relationships, with an emphasis on interfirm strategic alliances, which include voluntary exchange or co-development of products, technologies, or services between firms. I examine the factors that influence the... View Details

19 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

LEED-ing by Example

In the debate over whether to increase or decrease the stringency of environmental regulations, the possibility that government agencies might use purchasing to stimulate market demand for "green" products and View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

02 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Food Stamp Entrepreneurs: How Public Assistance Enables Business Bootstrapping

welfare services leads to an increase in the formation of new companies. (The paper cites a related example: author J. K. Rowling, who wrote the first Harry Potter novel while receiving welfare benefits in the United Kingdom.)... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

29 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Work 3.0: Redefining Jobs and Companies in the Uber Age

as Lyft, Postmates, Upwork, TaskRabbit, and scores of others like them—connect large numbers of independent contractors providing services with customers seeking those services. The companies profit by taking a cut of the revenue for... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Web Services; Web Services

April 2023
Case

Strive Asset Management

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and Aldo Sesia

Strive Asset Management, which launched in 2022, was actively targeting several leading U.S. companies in the upcoming 2023 proxy voting season to stop acquiescing to those large asset managers and other institutional shareholders who were pressing those companies to... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Shareholder Activism; Asset Management; Investment Funds; Corporate Governance; Risk Management; Climate Change; Diversity; Equity; Financial Services Industry; United States

November 2010 (Revised September 2015)
Case

American International Group - 2010

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

The AIG Board underwent significant restructuring after the company was bailed out by the U.S. government in September 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Business and Government Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Restructuring; Financial Services Industry