Publications

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December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Charles Schwab

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Charles Schwab's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the following... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

May 2022
Supplement

Third Point in 2020: Growth Is Where the Value Is? (B)

By: Robin Greenwood and Denise Han

In early May 2020, Daniel Loeb’s team at Third Point was evaluating a potential growth opportunity in the Walt Disney Company and whether investor activism might play a role. Battered by the effects of COVID-19, the company’s stock had initially tumbled to $86 and then... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Equity; Disney; Value; Economics; Finance; Investment; Strategy; Management; Investment Activism; Investment Return; Growth and Development; North America

03 Mar 2017
News

Big Blue’s Big Bet

that we’re smart in the things we’re attacking, and to try to solve real-world problems that make an impact.” Watson General Manager David Kenny (MBA 1986) adds: “The tech sector tends to reward short-term thinking.” But Watson is... View Details

Keywords: Paul Kix; illustrations by Dan Page

September 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Gain Liquidity

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Evan Richardson

Samir Kaul, a Partner at Khosla Ventures, looked out his office window. It was late June, 2011, and like almost every day in Menlo Park, the sun was shining. Kaul was reflecting on what had been a very positive 10 months in the venture capital business. Over that span,... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Product Development; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry

15 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Business IT Innovation is so Difficult

come together." The first step, she says, is "treating it as an innovative process. Understand that there's uncertainty and put processes in place to manage it." When firms invest in a new product, for... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

01 Jun 2008
News

Where Are They Now?

Christian University, he was not only TCU’s first African American basketball player but also the first in the entire Southwest Conference. In 1975, about the same time a kid named Bill Gates opened a shoestring operation called Microsoft, Cash was closing in on his... View Details

Keywords: Mary Ellen Gardner; Management; Management; Management; Management; Management

spring 2002
Article

Returns on Project-Financed Investments: Evolution and Managerial Implications

By: B. C. Esty

Keywords: Management; Project Finance; Investment Return

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2007
Working Paper

Facts and Fallacies about U.S. FDI in China

By: Lee Branstetter and C. Fritz Foley

Despite the rapid expansion of U.S.-China trade ties, the increase in U.S. FDI in China, and the expanding amount of economic research exploring these developments, a number of misconceptions distort the popular understanding of U.S. multinationals in China. In this... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Expansion; China; United States

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17 Dec 2024
News

Solving the Underemployment Crisis

than half of new college graduates are underemployed. We’re not measuring whether someone got a job in their field, we’re measuring whether they got any kind of college level occupation. So, for example, an engineer who goes to work as an View Details

April 2004
Teaching Note

The Arts Property and Hotel (TN)

By: Arthur I Segel

Teaching Note to (9-803-009). View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Investment; Agreements and Arrangements; Management; Accommodations Industry; Barcelona

June 2006
Case

Vignette: Bombay Tyre Manufacturing Ltd.

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Presents a U.S.-based investor who had taken a minority position in a publicly owned manufacturer in India. The company's controller is not performing and the stock price is suffering because of delayed and disappointing results. Removing the controller, however, is... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Equity; Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Management; Investment Activism; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy

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24 Apr 2014
News

Driving the family business onto a global stage

Anand Mahindra (AB 1977, MBA 1981), as chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), has grown the family business into a thriving Indian multinational automotive manufacturing corporation, creating jobs for thousands. Not... View Details

Career Coach

Matt Spielman

Matt (Columbia ’94, HBS ’99) is the Founder and Managing Partner of Inflection Point Partners, an executive coaching and leadership development firm dedicated to igniting careers and energizing lives. Matt and his team at Inflection... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking; Investment Banking

September 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

KKR: Leveraging Sustainability

The case describes KKR's Green Portfolio Program, one of the firm's environmental initiatives, which has achieved $160 million in cost savings. While pleased with its progress in achieving greater energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, the firm is looking for... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Energy Conservation; Cost Management; Supply Chain Management; Risk Management; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development; Performance Efficiency; Financial Services Industry

30 Jan 2012
News

Shopping Around

‘contemplating’ a problem and confronting and resolving it.” As the driving force in McArthurGlen’s transformation from an entrepreneurial enterprise to a multinational real-estate development and management company, Calabrese has been... View Details

Keywords: real estate; shopping; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

13 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Public Companies Underinvest in the Future

managers whose company's stock price is very sensitive to earnings news," Farre-Mensa says. Stein's model suggests that such managers might avoid investing in a long-term... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

01 Apr 2002
News

Q&A - Mark Fields

After HBS, he signed on with the Ford Motor Company, where he served in various capacities, including two years as managing director of Ford Argentina S.A. In 1998, he moved to Mazda (33.4 percent of which is owned by Ford) as senior... View Details

Keywords: auto; Mazda; Ford; Mark Fields; Machinery Manufacturing; Manufacturing

June 2025
Case

Vail Resorts: Responding to Activist Pressure (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

On January 27, 2025, the head of a relatively small hedge fund named Late Apex Partners sent a highly critical letter to the board of directors of Vail Resorts, the world’s largest ski resort operator. In his letter, and the 88-slide presentation that accompanied his... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Capital Budgeting; Corporate Governance; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Leading Change; Valuation; Investment Activism; Climate Change; Management Succession; Financial Management; Risk Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Travel Industry; United States; Australia; Canada

October 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Schroder Ventures: Launch of the Euro Fund

By: Josh Lerner, Kate Bringham and Nick Ferguson

Schroder Ventures is considering launching a pan-European fund in response to investor demand. This will lead to changes in the interactions between the parent organization and the national affiliates. A related question is the extent to which the private equity model... View Details

Keywords: Change; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Multinational Firms and Management; Product Launch; Europe