investing - Publications - Faculty & Research

March 1991 (Revised May 1991)
Case

New York Life Insurance Co.: Pension Department

Analyzes competition in the pension fund industry. In particular, New York Life must decide whether to compete head-to-head with mutual fund giants by offering record-keeping services or to just continue to focus on selling investment products. Presents the results of... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Financial Instruments; Insurance Industry; Financial Services Industry

Citation

Find at Harvard

08 Jul 2021
Video

Peter Wharton-Hood

Peter Wharton-Hood, a former senior executive at Standard Bank and Deutsche Bank in South Africa, discusses how a failed takeover attempt prompted Standard Bank in South Africa to invest in a range of new banking technologies, including an internet banking system which... View Details

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely exceed 9 billion people, up 30 percent from 6.9 billion today, according to projections from both the US Census Bureau and the United Nations. What's more, the population in the world's cities is expected to increase by 3... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 06 Apr 2016
Webinars: Career

Pitching to Venture Capitalists? Learn from an Expert

Are you pitching--or getting ready to pitch--a new business idea? Sounds easy, but it is complicated and tricky. Join Ray Rothrock (MBA 1988), Partner Emeritus at Venrock, as he shares lessons from his more than 25 years of experience in the venture capital business... View Details

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 19 Jan 2017
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Public Entrepreneurship: Can Startups Help Solve our Biggest Public Problems?

There is a new generation of inventors, inside government and outside of it, turning problems into opportunities. The webinar will provide a sense for how public entrepreneurship can be deployed in companies and in government, and for how to tackle its trickier... View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 19 Oct 2017
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Innovative Finance for the Common Good

Whether it's a vaccine or green bond, drought insurance, pay-as-you-go financing for solar electricity in Kenya, or discounted metro cards in New York, innovative finance is as much about incentives and sound decision making as it is about money; when it works,... View Details

March 2018
Article

Making the Numbers? 'Short Termism' and the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disaster

By: Hazhir Rahmandad, Rebecca Henderson and Nelson P. Repenning

Much recent work in strategy and popular discussion suggests that an excessive focus on "managing the numbers"—delivering quarterly earnings at the expense of longer-term investments—makes it difficult for firms to make the investments necessary to build competitive... View Details

Keywords: Capability; Short-termism; System Dynamics; Tipping Point; Business or Company Management; Earnings Management; Resource Allocation

Citation

Find at Harvard

Program

Launching New Ventures

managerial skills needed to make sound investment decisions, manage rapid change, and ensure the success of your new enterprise throughout its lifecycle. Details Conceive, launch, and grow a successful new venture Analyze, prioritize, and... View Details

2014
Working Paper

The Rising Cost of Consumer Attention: Why You Should Care, and What You Can Do about It

By: Thales S. Teixeira

Attention is a necessary ingredient for effective advertising. The market for consumer attention (or "eyeballs") has become so competitive that attention can be regarded as a currency. The rising cost of this ingredient in the marketplace is causing marketers to waste... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Advertising

Citation

Read Now

Research Summary

Entrepreneurial Finance

By: William A. Sahlman

William A. Sahlman is examining the investment and financing decisions made at all stages in the development of entrepreneurial ventures. Related lines of inquiry concern the role of financial institutions in providing risk capital, and the role of government policy in... View Details

January 2015
Case

Brentwood Associates: Exiting Zoës Kitchen

By: Joan Farre-Mensa and Stephanie Siu

The case discusses the trade-offs associated with the different exit options that private equity firm Brentwood Associates contemplated for its investment in Zoës Kitchen during the summer of 2013: an IPO, a sale to a strategic or financial acquirer, or waiting a few... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; California

Citation

Educators

Purchase

24 Mar 2007
News

Capital Currents

14 Feb 2017
News

The Value of a Facebook Fan: Does “Liking” Influence Consumer Behavior?

March 2020
Case

Thingtesting: Launching a Brand Discovery and Testing Digital Community

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

Thingtesting, a brand discovery and testing digital community devoted to uncovering and exploring direct-to-consumer brands, had just received seed funding and was contemplating a second year of growth. The new year brought many challenges, as founder Jenny Gyllander... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Program

Foundations of Private Equity and Venture Capital

industry models, from venture capital to growth equity to buyouts, as well as the key issues related to investment criteria, management strategies, and decision-making processes. For executives with significant experience in the private... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance

Web

Programs & Events - Alumni

competitive advantage. Jun 22 22–27 JUN 2025 Executive Education HBS Campus Leading Professional Service Firms Develop strategies and management approaches that balance client demands, employee satisfaction, and growth—and sustain a sound bottom line. Dec 31 TBD... View Details

July 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Supplement

Arauco (B): "Papel" in Brazil

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jorge Tarzijan and Jordan Mitchell

This is Part B to the "Arauco: Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion?" case. This short case looks at the company in late 2007 after it has decided to invest in a Brazilian joint venture involving forests, saw mills, and a paper mill. The case acts as an epilogue... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Investment; Vertical Integration; Forest Products Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Brazil; Chile

Citation

Purchase

May 2023
Teaching Note

Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 520-051. Away, a direct-to-consumer, digital native e-commerce seller of travel luggage, is debating how to invest its latest round of venture funding. How quickly could and should Away scale and what were the most promising growth... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Segmentation; Venture Capital; Consumer Products Industry

Citation

Purchase

2010
Chapter

The Financing of R&D and Innovation

By: Bronwyn H. Hall and Josh Lerner

Evidence on the “funding gap” for investment innovation is surveyed. The focus is on financial market reasons for underinvestment that exist even when externality-induced underinvestment is absent. We conclude that while small and new innovative firms experience high... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Venture Capital; Corporate Finance

Citation

Find at Harvard

November 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Arcapita - 2002

In 2002, Arcapita Bank, B.S.C., then known as First Islamic Investment Bank, or FIIB, faced a liquidity crunch. Aracapita offered Islamic-compliant private equity, real estate, and venture capital products. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, however, Islamic... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Globalized Firms and Management; National Security; Religion; Financial Services Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase