Publications

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

April 2009 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Dot.com: Online Pet Retailing

By: Tom Nicholas and David Chen

From 1995 to 1999, the U.S. experienced a period of tremendous growth in its information technology (IT) sector. The IT industry, although it accounted for less than 10% of the U.S. economy's total output, contributed disproportionately to economic growth. One market... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Price Bubble; Growth and Development Strategy; Failure; Competitive Strategy; Online Technology; Retail Industry

2005
Working Paper

Wintel: Cooperation or Conflict

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and David B. Yoffie

We study the incentives of complementors (producers of complementary products) to cooperate vs. compete and how these interact. In a system of complements, like the PC, the value of the final product depends on how well the different components work together. This, in... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Price; Time Management; Product; Product Development; Research and Development; Conflict and Resolution; Motivation and Incentives; Value

Read Now

May 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Exercise

Remicade/Simponi: Confidential Instructions for Merck

By: Guhan Subramanian and Rhea Ghosh

This two-party negotiation exercise features a real-life dispute between Merck and Johnson & Johnson regarding European distribution rights to two highly lucrative drugs. View Details

Keywords: Price; Rights; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Deal; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Pharmaceutical Industry

April 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Case

David Berman

By: Ananth Raman, Vishal Gaur and Saravanan Kesavan

Examines the decision of a hedge fund manager who is considering investing in a retail stock. The protagonist is concerned about the retailer's inventory level. Explores the relationship between the retailer's inventory and future earnings--and, hence, the relationship... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Stocks; Price; Supply Chain Management; Investment

Alumni WDYDWYD

Jeanine Barnett

struggled with fiscal discipline, but the ones that got it right struck an elusive yet harmonious balance between art and science. Today as an apparel buyer, with every fabric approval and pricing analysis for my assortment, I do what I... View Details

Web

William Donaldson | Baker Library

institutional fund manager required higher quality research on firms’ projected stock price performance than was available on Wall Street at the time. Bill and his partners Dan Lufkin and Richard Jenrette promptly launched DLJ to meet... View Details

09 Jan 2019
News

Why New England Needs New Ideas

foster economic prosperity. The trio offers the anecdote of Isaac Merritt Singer, a Charlestown-based printing machinery maker who became a sewing machine magnate thanks to a smart business model, a strategic sales approach, and consumer-friendly View Details

Keywords: New England

15 Dec 2024
News

Kelp Is on the Way

Petrochemicals are all around us—from ubiquitous plastic packaging to the inconspicuous lining of your takeaway coffee cup, and in everyday products like soaps, deodorants, and toothpaste. But that will change, according to Matthew Perkins (MBA 2009). When industries... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Illustration by Melinda Beck; Water, Sewage and Supply Systems; Utilities

28 Nov 2016
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: Wayfair

merchandising, easy product discovery and attractive prices for over 7 million products from over 7,000 suppliers across five distinct brands: Wayfair.com, Joss & Main, AllModern, DwellStudio and Birch Lane. Our cofounders are... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

26 Jan 2021
News

Numbers Talk at Tesla

When Zachary Kirkhorn (MBA 2013) became CFO of Tesla in early 2019, few envied him. The electric carmaker had just reduced headcount by 7 percent. Tesla needed to cut costs and its vehicle prices to avoid bankruptcy, CEO Elon Musk told... View Details

Keywords: finance; automotive; manufacturing; innovation; Manufacturing

09 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 9

Peter Tufano, and Michael Hofmann Publication:Harvard Business Review 84, no. 10 (October 2009): 68-75 An abstract is unavailable at this time. Preview the article: http://hbr.org/2009/10/managing-risk-in-the-new-world/ar/1 Behavioral Aspects of View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 4

examine the legal basis of applicable rights and identify the circumstances in which such transfers are permitted. Publisher's link: http://www.benedelman.org/publications/legal-aspects-of-transfer-of-ips-may2013.pdf 2006 Review of Financial Studies The View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

William T. Grant

Grant opened his department store operation in 1906 with a 25 cent-limit on all merchandise. Grant created this 25 cent niche market at a time when department store prices began at 50 cents and Kresge and Woolworth sold their merchandise... View Details

Keywords: Retail

August 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Caja Espana: Managing the Branches to Sell (B)

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Price; Sales; Problems and Challenges; Goals and Objectives