Publications

July 2024
Article

The Home State Effect: How Subnational Governments Shape Climate Coalitions

By: Jonas Meckling and Samuel Trachtman

Organized business interests often seek to block public interest regulations. But whether firms oppose regulation depends on institutional context. We argue that, in federal systems, sub-national policies and politics can have a home state effect on firms' national... View Details

Keywords: Local Range; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations

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14 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need

of inclusivity, particularly for workers who have been historically marginalized in the workplace. Seek input with humility and openness Psychologically safe leaders are willing to be vulnerable. “It’s about making honest statements that... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

Web

Browse All Articles, Research, & Case Studies - HBS Working Knowledge

gaps, marginalizing caregivers who need to step back from the workforce. Leaders should reconsider how they search for talent and create more supportive conditions for these workers, says Joseph Fuller. 23 Oct 2024 Managing the Future of... View Details

02 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts

Keywords: by Benjamin Edelman, Sonia Jaffe & Scott Duke Kominers; Retail; Technology

February 1997 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Harrington Financial Group

By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel

In early 1997, Harrington Bank, a small Indiana savings and loan (thrift) wondered what its next move should be. Harrington was acquired in 1988 by the principals of Smith Breeden Associates, a money-management and consulting firm specializing in the application of... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Price; Risk Management; Mortgages; Contracts; Asset Management; Investment; Financial Services Industry

September 2024
Article

Investing in the Next Generation: The Long-Run Impacts of a Liquidity Shock

By: Patrick Agte, Arielle Bernhardt, Erica M. Field, Rohini Pande and Natalia Rigol

How do poor entrepreneurs trade off investments in business enterprises versus children's human capital, and how do these choices influence intergenerational socio-economic mobility? To examine this, we exploit experimental variation in household income resulting from... View Details

Keywords: Socio-economic Mobility; Entrepreneurship; Education; Income; Literacy; Poverty

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2013
Working Paper

FIN Around the World: The Contribution of Financing Activity to Profitability

By: Russell Lundholm, George Serafeim and Gwen Yu

We study how the availability of domestic credit influences the contribution that financing activities make to a firm's return on equity (ROE). Using a sample of 51,866 firms from 69 countries, we find that financing activities contribute more to a firm's ROE in... View Details

Keywords: Domestic Credit; Return Of Equity; Corporate Performance; Financial Statement Analysis; Financial Statements; Valuation; Cost of Capital; Asset Pricing; Economic Growth

SSRN

Teaching Interest

Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation

By: Brian L. Trelstad

Combining the tools of philanthropy, business and advocacy (or mission, margin and mandate), social entrepreneurs have tackled long-standing societal issues like teacher training, college access, global public health, renewable energy and sanitation. Social... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Organizations; Social Enterprise; Civil Society or Community; System

March 2022
Teaching Note

Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt

By: Brian Trelstad and Alpana Thapar

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-023. Founded in 2001 by the Sawiris family, one of the wealthiest families in Egypt, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) invested in human capital and provision of basic social services for the most marginalized... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Development; Human Capital; Equality and Inequality; Education; Business Strategy; Social Enterprise; Social Issues; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Egypt

March 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

CarTrade

By: Rajiv Lal and Shreya Ramachandran

Vinay Sanghi, the founder and CEO of CarTrade, had been trying different business strategies to keep the company, which he founded in 2010 as an online marketplace for used and new cars, profitable and on track for growth. In a crowded and disorganized dealer... View Details

Keywords: Online Marketplace; Automobiles; Customer Base; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financing and Loans; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; India; Mumbai

June 2017
Case

MIA: Profit at the Base of the Pyramid

By: Lynda M. Applegate, José Antonio Dávila Castilla, Sarah Mehta and Aldo Sesia

In January 2016, Guillermo Jaime had just returned home to Mexico City after attending a Harvard Business School executive education program. Jaime was the founder and CEO of Mejoramiento Integral Asistido (MIA), a company providing affordable housing to low-income... View Details

Keywords: Base Of The Pyramid; Social Capitalism; Housing; Emerging Markets; Social Enterprise; Society; Wealth and Poverty; Social Entrepreneurship; Construction Industry; Mexico

2012
Working Paper

The Effect of Supply Chain Complementarities on Local Food

By: Baris Ata, Deishin Lee and Mustafa H. Tongarlak

We study the operational tradeoffs of a retailer and farmers in a fresh produce supply chain to determine the equilibrium supply chain structure. These operational tradeoffs arise as a result of the geographic constraints posed by the availability of arable land and... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Food; Supply Chain; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

2009
Chapter

Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This paper starts by discussing consumers' cognitive and emotional reaction to posted prices. Cognitively, some consumers do not appear to make effective use of price information to maximize their consumption-based utility. Emotionally, prices can induce regret and... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Price; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations

2008
Working Paper

Minimally Altruistic Wages and Unemployment in a Matching Model

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This paper presents a model in which firms recruit both unemployed and employed workers by posting vacancies. Firms act monopsonistically and set wages to retain their existing workers as well as to attract new ones. The model differs from Burdett and Mortensen (1998)... View Details

Keywords: Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employment; Wages; Mathematical Methods

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September 2007
Article

Collaborative Brokerage, Generative Creativity, and Creative Success

Analyzing data on utility patents from 1975 to 2002 in the careers of 35,400 collaborative inventors, this study examines the influence of brokered versus cohesive collaborative social structures on an individual's creativity. We test the hypothesis that... View Details

Keywords: Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Patents; Personal Development and Career; Creativity; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks

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Program

Disruptive Innovation

of an industry may change Avoid having your business disrupted by others Achieve differentiation and better margins Assess your company's capabilities Sustain core businesses while enabling innovation Avert common problems that lead... View Details

25 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 25

shape when and how public agencies implement policies effectively on behalf of marginalized citizens. November 2014 Antitrust Law Journal Are Patents Creative or Destructive? By: Nicholas, Tom Abstract—Current debate over patent... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

August 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Iluméxico: For Every Family to Have Power

By: Brian Trelstad, Isa Oliveres and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

In 2022, Manuel Wiechers, the CEO of Iluméxico, a for-profit social enterprise that provided off-grid solar energy services in rural Mexico, was finalizing his presentation for the company’s upcoming board meeting. In the 12 years since Wiechers had co-founded... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Energy; Energy Policy; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Business and Government Relations; Equity; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Energy Industry; Mexico; Latin America

May 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

TransDigm's Acquisition and Integration of Arkwin Industries

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

In May 2013, TransDigm, a company that manufactured a wide range of highly engineered aerospace parts for both military and civilian aircraft, announced it was buying Arkwin Industries for $286 million in cash (3 times Arkwin’s sales of $91 million). Having acquired... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Value Creation; Strategy; Acquisition; Integration; Talent and Talent Management; Aerospace Industry