Publications

Read Now

May 2012
Case

Indigo Telecom Australia

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Two entrepreneurs identify an opportunity to bring ubiquitous satellite phone service to the outback of Australia. This case challenges students to carefully identify and evaluate the added-value the firm is bringing to the market, its priorities in implementation, and... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Start-up; Co-founders; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Australia

Mihir A. Desai is the Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School and a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He received his Ph.D. in political economy from Harvard... View Details

October 2015
Article

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

The evolution of products into intelligent, connected devices is revolutionizing business. In a November 2014 article, "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition," Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and PTC president and CEO James... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Operations; Business Strategy

Register to Read

Contrary to the impression put forth in the literature, Spanish women at the turn of the twentieth century played an active and visible role in the business sphere. Using a unique database containing microdata on the founders of Spanish multi-owner firms from... View Details

September 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Perella Weinberg Partners: New Firm, Old Values

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aman Malik

In the five years since it opened its doors, the investment banking boutique Perella Weinberg Partners had grown into a firm that advised a roster of blue-chip clients on critical transactions and had over $8 billion of client assets under management. The three... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Investment Banking; Growth and Development; Compensation and Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Going Public; Banking Industry

27 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

New Research: Surviving Bankruptcy, Useful Economics, and Retirement

Published Papers Do the Right Firms Survive Bankruptcy? Journal of Financial Economics Samuel Antill “In United States, Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, firms are either... View Details

February 2010
Article

Managing Know-How

By: Deishin Lee and Eric J. Van den Steen

We study how firms can use a knowledge management system to optimally leverage employee-generated know-how. In particular, we consider the following practical strategic questions for the manager of a knowledge-intensive firm: should her firm develop a formal knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Change; Employees; Information; Knowledge Management; Outcome or Result; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; System; Value

Read Now

December 2000
Case

Daymon Associates

By: Ray A. Goldberg

How does a firm act as a coordinater between the food retailer and manufacturer and satisfy both? View Details

Keywords: Food; Globalized Markets and Industries; Distribution; Production; Sales; Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry

27 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 27

Using a large sample of publicly traded U.S. firms over 16 years, we investigate the impact of corporate socially responsible (CSR) strategies on security analysts' recommendations. Socially responsible... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2023
Working Paper

Evaluation and Learning in R&D Investment

By: Alexander P. Frankel, Joshua L. Krieger, Danielle Li and Dimitris Papanikolaou

We examine the role of spillover learning in shaping the value of exploratory versus incremental R&D. Using data from drug development, we show that novel drug candidates generate more knowledge spillovers than incremental ones. Despite being less likely to reach... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Forecasting and Prediction; Valuation; Pharmaceutical Industry

Read Now

November 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

WL Ross & Co. and INVESCO

Wilbur Ross has built a successful private equity firm focused on distressed investing, WL Ross & Co. In 2006, INVESCO, an asset management company, approaches him about acquiring his firm. INVESCO has had weak performance in recent years and is looking to increase its... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Acquisition; Financial Services Industry

14 Jan 2022
News

Harvard Business School’s Former Dean Joins Kushner’s Thrive Capital

August 2020
Background Note

US Private Equity Firms: ESG and Impact (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Holly Fetter

This is the second part of a two-part note. The first part (A) explores how US private equity firms are incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, & Governance) factors and impact objectives into their investment strategies and firm practices. It is based on publicly... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Financial Services Industry; United States

01 Feb 2018
News

Ignore environmental, social and governance risks at your peril

January 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Andreessen Horowitz

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Liz Kind

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm launched in 2009, has quickly broken into the VC industry's top ranks, in terms of its ability to invest in Silicon Valley's most promising startups. The case recounts the firm's history; describes its co-founders'... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Industry Structures; Financial Services Industry; California

Article

Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members

By: Suraj Srinivasan

I use a sample of 409 companies that restated their earnings from 1997 to 2001 to examine penalties for outside directors, particularly audit committee members, when their companies experience accounting restatements. Penalties from lawsuits and Securities and Exchange... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Business Earnings; Financial Statements; Lawsuits and Litigation; Labor; Markets; Financial Reporting; Accounting Audits; Cost; Reputation

SSRN

Bob White is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School where he teaches courses in the MBA program (Required and Elective curricula) and the Executive Education program. Courses taught include Entrepreneurial... View Details

June 2017
Article

Is Operating Flexibility Harmful under Debt?

By: Nikolaos Trichakis, Dan A. Iancu and Gerry Tsoukalas

We study the inefficiencies stemming from a firm's operating flexibility under debt. We find that flexibility in replenishing or liquidating inventory, by providing risk-shifting incentives, could lead to borrowing costs that erase more than a third of the firm's... View Details

Keywords: Covenants; Risk-shifting; Inventory; Agency Costs; Debt Financing; Risk Management; Borrowing and Debt

December 1999 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Hermes Systems

By: Michael L. Tushman and Daniel Radov

Covers the history of Hermes, a large telecommunications and network equipment company, as it grows from a single business firm to a diversified firm from 1980-95. Examines the use of entrepreneurial subsidiaries for product development and fast growth. Other issues... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Diversification; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Divisions; Problems and Challenges; Product Development; Technology Industry