Publications

Find at Harvard

March 2008 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Actis: January 2008

By: Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Paul Feltcher, the CEO of Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, is preparing for an executive retreat at which the management team will consider how best to position the firm for the future. Actis could move in a number of different directions... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Private Equity; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Organizational Change and Adaptation

2008
Working Paper

Just Keep My Money! Supporting Tax-time Savings with U.S. Savings Bonds

By: Peter Tufano

This paper reports the results of a 2007 experiment testing if specific process simplification can foster increased take-up rates for savings products, particularly by low-to-moderate income (LMI) households. Tax refund recipients at certain H&R Block tax preparation... View Details

Keywords: Household; Income; Bonds; Investment; Personal Finance; Saving; Taxation; United States

Read Now

07 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Government’s Positive Role in Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship

struggled to realize good returns from investments since the year 2000. Many traditional investors are questioning whether they should continue to provide capital to these funds. But given the important role that venture capital has had... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

02 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 2

federal center and provincial governments, relations between the state and big business, economic policy, and models of economic development. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/710030-PDF-ENG Foreign Direct View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Research Summary

International Financial Integration and Entrepreneurship (joint with Andrew Charlton)

By: Laura Alfaro

We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Researchers have stressed the role of new firm activity and economic dynamism on growth. Yet, the empirical effects of international capital... View Details

February 1998
Case

Creating the International Trade Organization

By: David A. Moss, George R. Appling and Andrew D Archer

In the late 1940s, officials at the U.S. State Department began campaigning for the creation of an International Trade Organization (ITO). This new organization would oversee global negotiations on trade liberalization, foreign direct investment, cartels, and commodity... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Globalized Economies and Regions; Agreements and Arrangements; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Systems; International Relations

07 Apr 2003
What Do You Think?

Should Global Business Initiatives Be Devalued?

that in the global village the villagers drive the economy should be more successful." Flavius Chircu said that "... business leaders should get together with political leaders and figure out where and how to compete." Amadeo Isart was even more View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

17 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Money Isn’t Everything: The Dos and Don’ts of Motivating Employees

companies that add “a little juice” to restricted stock programs by rewarding outperformance only over direct competitors, regardless of broader market shifts. He says these outperformance shares, where more or fewer shares vest as... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

06 Oct 2023
Book

Yes, You Can Radically Change Your Organization in One Week

real problem Turn what you think is the problem into a question and then ask people who have a direct stake in it what they think. Ask yourself: Might you have a role in creating the problem? “We’ve found that when you dig into the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

10 Jan 2005
What Do You Think?

Public Pension Reform: Does Mexico Have the Answer?

Summing Up Judging from responses to the January column, the debate concerning reform of the social security system in the U.S. will take many directions before the question can even be framed adequately. If the responses are an... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

May 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Jiahua Xu

Connecting life insurance policyholders with potential investors (called Life Settlement Providers), Ashar Group plays a pivotal role in the industry. Its current position is, however, increasingly being challenged by consumer-direct models, led by major providers... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Investment; Markets; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Financial Services Industry

August 2006 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Cluster Mobilization in Mitteldeutschland

By: Jeffrey Fear, Christian H.M. Ketels and Claudia Linsenmeier

As part of the privatization in Eastern Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dow Chemical made a major investment in the Halle-Leipzig region, one of the largest chemical industry sites in Europe. The executive in charge of Dow's operations in the region, Bart... View Details

Keywords: Industry Clusters; Development Economics; Privatization; Chemicals; Foreign Direct Investment; Management Teams; Private Sector; Competitive Strategy; Brands and Branding; Market Participation; Chemical Industry; Germany