Publications

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

person's view of the water privatization (relative to other privatizations) was 16% more negative if he/she was read a vignette with some of the negative statements about the water privatization that Argentina's President expressed during... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 1990 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Circuit City Stores, Inc. (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Susan Harmeling

Circuit City sells consumer electronic equipment, appliances, and extended service and warranty contracts which supplement those provided by equipment manufacturers. Equipment is sold at low margins, while warranties carry very high margins. A question has been raised... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Cost; Profit; Financial Statements; Revenue; Marketing Strategy; Electronics Industry; Consumer Products Industry

August 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Supplement

Urban Water Partners (B)

By: Karthik Ramanna, George Serafeim and Aldo Sesia

The case explores a new business venture to bring clean water to residents of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who otherwise cannot afford it. Management has enough money to get their company through August 2010, but needs more capital thereafter. An HBS alumnus is interested... View Details

Keywords: Human Needs; Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Health Industry; Utilities Industry; Dar es Salaam

18 Jan 2021
Book

How Thinking Like a Startup Helps Governments Solve More Problems

differences, clearly public entrepreneurs are ultimately responsible to and accountable to voters, citizens, people living in the community. And that’s different from being mainly responsible to private stakeholders and private customers.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 5, 2017

of 9,360 U.S. cities found that air pollution predicted six different categories of crime; these analyses accounted for a comprehensive set of control variables (e.g., city and year fixed effects, population, law enforcement) and survived... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 23, 2011
Article

Leading and Lagging Countries in Contributing to a Sustainable Society

By: Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim

To determine the extent to which corporate and investor behavior is changing to contribute to a more sustainable society, researchers Robert Eccles and George Serafeim analyzed data involving over 2,000 companies in 23 countries. One result: a ranking of countries... View Details

Keywords: Change; Society; Corporate Disclosure; Natural Environment; Rank and Position; Social Issues; Financial Statements; Behavior

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10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Professors Introduce Valuation Software

elements of the firm's accounting if they believe that reported data do not capture the economic performance of the company. The model then provides standardized financial statements and financial ratios for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

26 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 26, 2019

attempts at managing these ”strategic paradoxes” fail because they’re not managed carefully and consistently. (It’s easy to write a great purpose statement or to dream up a new business model but way more difficult to follow through when... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

response to, varying market conditions. However, while the problems of balance-sheet liability and revenue recognition, and the related problems of income statement presentation, can be resolved by the application of DV/RV reasoning, this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Supplement

Oriflame S.A. (B)

By: David F. Hawkins and Karol Misztal

Exercise for recording derivative hedging transactions, accompanied by a technical note on IFRS derivative accounting. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; International Accounting; Currency Exchange Rate; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk Management; Standards; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

November 1994 (Revised February 1996)
Case

Toy World, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester

A shift from seasonal to level production of toys will change the seasonal cycle of Toy World's working capital needs and necessitate new bank credit arrangements. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Business Cycles; Cash Flow; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment Funds; Financial Statements

October 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Souqalmal: The Choice Is Yours (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Alpana Thapar

This case describes how Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, a Dubai-based online comparison aggregator of banking and insurance products launched her business in 2011 and rapidly grew it over next couple of years. However, by 2017, the Mauritian entrepreneur... View Details

Keywords: Unit Economics; Finance; Accounting; Competitive Strategy; Financial Statements; Insurance Industry; Middle East

February 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Warnaco Group, Inc. (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Restructuring; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 1

centers. It uses a transfer-pricing system designed to account for interdependencies between profit centers and to induce coordination. Further, profit center managers are incentivized with own-level residual income measures. The use of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Mar 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Can the Proposed American Health Care Act Improve on 'Obamacare'?

their patient populations need, and workers and families can have the freedom and flexibility to make their own health care choices." This statement speaks to a strong attachment to personal freedom and choice in American... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch, Dr. Gordon Moore, and Emily Boudreau

November 2000 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Yahoo!'s Stock-Based Compensation

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Amy Maislos, an investor in Internet and technology companies, was excited to read that Yahoo! had reported a positive net income for 1998 operations. During the late 1990s, stock prices of Internet companies had risen rapidly even though most companies were reporting... View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Internet and the Web; Financial Statements; Corporate Disclosure; Business Earnings; Earnings Management; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

July 2009
Supplement

Spreadsheet Supplement to Blue Ocean or Stormy Waters? Buying Nix Check Cashing (CW)

By: Peter Tufano

These spreadsheets will allow students to analyze financials for Kinecta Federal Credit Union and Nix Check Cashing. They also provide insight into the banking and AFS markets in which both organizations operate. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Institutions; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry