Publications

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January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota

19 Oct 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Bankruptcy and the COVID-19 Crisis

Keywords: by Jialan Wang, Jeyul Yang, Benjamin Iverson, and Ray Kluender; Legal Services

March 2020
Article

Do Fire Sales Create Externalities?

By: Sergey Chernenko and Adi Sunderam

We develop three novel measures of how much of the price impact of their trading different mutual funds internalize. We show that mutual funds that internalize more of their price impact hold larger cash buffers and use these buffers more aggressively to accommodate... View Details

Keywords: Fire Sales; Externalities; Investment Funds; Price; Financial Liquidity; Management

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03 Jan 2023
What Do You Think?

How Would the Leadership Style of Girl Scouts' Frances Hesselbein Fare Today?

Efforts were made to extend membership among girls of color. No ad appeared without girls from diverse backgrounds. It achieved some success. The Boy Scouts consistently received more contributions than the Girl Scouts, reflecting the fact that males controlled more... View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

November 1999
Case

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (A)

By: Andre F. Perold

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (LTCM) was in the business of engaging in trading strategies to exploit market pricing discrepancies. Because the firm employed strategies designed to make money over long horizons--from six months to two years or more--it adopted a... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Management; Risk Management; Marketing; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry

06 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

The Problem with Hedge Funds

on, by appreciation on their stock market investments. Some speculation via short-selling is necessary and appropriate; it adds liquidity to the market and limits excessive optimism. But too much speculation turns the markets from an... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

not an option, this process helped companies share implementation costs and leverage each other’s competencies to discover new ways of doing things. Some companies took more extreme measures to support their ecosystem, for example sustaining suppliers’ View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

April 2015 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Bankruptcy in the City of Detroit

By: Stuart Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Annelena Lobb

The June 2013 bankruptcy of the city of Detroit, Michigan was, at the time, the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. Detroit had struggled for years with a weakening tax base, high unemployment, a heavy debt load and increasing retiree costs. These... View Details

30 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

How to Recover Gracefully After Shutting Down Your Startup

startup. Liquidation follows and, along with it, a contentious auction of assets to pay creditors. “There are many things that entrepreneurs can do to fail well—in ways that preserve their relationships and integrity—and to position... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

11 May 2009
Research & Ideas

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

mean?" Barton channeled his frustration into an exasperated hand movement, which promptly toppled his coffee cup. Hot liquid flowed from the table onto his lap. "We don't know," said Ruben. "It could be a coincidence... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Masterpiece for the Masses: The First Art Exchange ARTEX

By: Lauren Cohen, Anastasiya Siroochenko (Siro) and Sophia Pan

Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, CEO of ARTEX, aspired to marry the world of art and finance. Hoping to promote transparent, fractionalized ownership of renowned artwork, the founder had spent years contemplating the birth of an art stock market. This exchange would allow... View Details

December 1997 (Revised September 1998)
Case

Yale University Investments Office: November 1997

By: Josh Lerner

David Swensen, chief investment officer at Yale University, reviews the $6 billion endowment strategy, which places an unusually heavy emphasis on private equity and other illiquid securities. Changing market conditions in November 1997 cause him to rethink... View Details

Keywords: Change; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Education Industry

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

The Hard Numbers on Social Investments

110 of the 128 IC investments, collecting both the valuation at the time of the initial investment and the current valuation at the time of the study for privately held companies, or the exit value for those that had experienced a View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

2007
Working Paper

Optimal Reserve Management and Sovereign Debt

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

Most models currently used to determine optimal foreign reserve holdings take the level of international debt as given. However, given the sovereign's willingness-to-pay incentive problems, reserve accumulation may reduce sustainable debt levels. In addition, assuming... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Liquidity; International Finance; Emerging Markets; Mathematical Methods