Risk - Publications - Faculty & Research

May 2010 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Friend Bank: The Time for Hope

In 2010, Friend Bank was entering the fifth year of Hope Harris Johnson's ambitious 20-year growth plan to transform her family's one branch community bank into an institution with a substantial presence in southeastern Alabama. Harris Johnson was pleased, so far, with... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Family Ownership; Competitive Advantage; Banking Industry; Alabama

Citation

Educators

Purchase

October 2003 (Revised January 2016)
Exercise

The BCPC Internet Strategy Team: An Exercise

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

This short fictional case forms the basis of a team decision-making exercise. The case, inspired by a real decision facing a major telecommunications company, describes a cross-functional management team convened by the CEO for the purpose of developing a... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Management; Perspective; Product Launch; Internet and the Web; Knowledge Sharing; Telecommunications Industry

Citation

Purchase

25 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

It’s All in a Name: Reputable Investors Help Startups Shine

company off the ground,” says Bernstein, the Marvin Bower Associate Professor in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at HBS. “At the earliest stages, you have no reputation, no brand name, and you're facing significant uncertainty and View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

01 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

The Airbnb Lesson for Startups? Success Takes More Than Technology

not coincidentally, after the global financial crisis. Uber needed drivers right away to create supply, and they were there because they were unemployed. The same thing with Airbnb—people needed to make money, and they were willing to take the View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Travel; Tourism

05 Jun 2013
What Do You Think?

Do We Need to Extend ‘No Surprises Management?’

or are reluctant to risk carrying bad news up the chain of command, making a bad situation worse. What if the NSM concept was extended downward, to entreat managers not to surprise those reporting to them? The potential benefits were... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Gear: Why Managers Don’t Act

altogether, like the deer in the headlights. But that rarely happens," he writes in his book, adding that the "car stuck in a rut" metaphor is more apt. Risky Business Managers should look out for the following risk factors... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Education, Technology, and Business: What’s the Catch?

citing the fact that many teaching colleges don't use technology themselves. Technology is not part of the teaching curriculum, and many school administrators simply don't embrace technology. "We need a major social investment in training," in order to avoid... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler; Education

05 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Venture Capital Goes Boom—or Bust?

picture of the risks inherent in their business models—risks that pose some serious concerns for potential investors—or they lack a thorough understanding of the four basic problems that can limit financiers' willingness to invest... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner

01 May 2000
What Do You Think?

Can You Hard-Wire Performance?

Berglund, from whom I might have expected as much as one of my former students, asked whether I was asking the right question. He proposed what was for him the real question: "Does it make sense to shift (to a supplier) the risk a... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

23 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Market Research Meets the “People Factor”

managers were not likely to embrace research results that caught them off-guard. "If the purpose of research information is to reduce uncertainty (and thereby the risk associated with making a hitherto unsupported decision),"... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

IFC India 2025: The Coal Dichotomy: Balancing Economic Growth and Decarbonization in India - Blog - Business & Environment

Blog Blog Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author HBS Faculty Author HBS Staff Author Students Topics Topics Accelerating Climate Solutions Conference 2023 Alumni Alumni Programs Alumni in Climate Networking Series Business & Environment... View Details

09 Oct 2015
News

Balancing Progress and Preservation

than just financial gain,” he stresses. Some of his most successful deals have involved conservation easements that minimize investment risk while creating economic value from parcels that merit conservation. He has worked extensively on... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance

01 Feb 1999
News

Q&A: Camille Tang Yeh of the Asia-Pacific Research Office

Both transitions have strategic and competitive implications for firms operating in and out of the region. The current "reconstruction" of Asia offers insights about differentiating systemic from asystemic risks and illuminates possible... View Details

Keywords: Educational Support Services; Educational Services

16 Jul 2024
Blog Post

Driving Positive Impact on Community and Climate with Ben Schutzman (MBA 2016)

complicated, but there are obvious risks around the new EV technology, the new infrastructure needed, and the support services, which are much more expensive than the current diesel or gas counterparts. Highland was founded to be a... View Details

25 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 25, 2006

Authors:Jakub Wojciech Jurek and Luis M. Viceira Revised Working Paper Author's Abstract We develop an analytical solution to the dynamic portfolio choice problem of an investor with power utility defined over wealth at a finite horizon who faces an investment... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Planning for Surprises

predictable surprises. Finally, many are more willing to run the risk of incurring a large but small-probability loss in the future rather than accepting a smaller, yet certain loss now. We don't want to invest in preventing a problem... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

Creating Inclusive Recruiting Events in a Time of Innovation - Recruiting

(SELP—India 4, 2019) 29 Jan 2025 Finding Professional Purpose: Building an Impactful Career that Reflects your Values with Lisa Tanzer (MBA 1993) Lisa Tanzer 22 Jan 2025 Career Risks and Professional Growth: Finding a Fulfilling Career... View Details

20 May 2016
Op-Ed

World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics

new report says as much. The report comes from The Commission on Global Health Risk Framework for the Future. It makes 26 recommendations which aim to strengthen the WHO’s leadership role in coordinating international preparedness and... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Health

01 Mar 2018
News

Ink: Alumni Books and Recommendations

rise of political risk and the decline in institutional trust—Harari’s masterful treatise on the history of Homo sapiens outlines intrinsic drivers for the complex world we live in and the future we may yet inherit. Harari’s work comes... View Details

Keywords: April White

Article

The Evolution of Science-Based Business: Innovating How We Innovate

By: Gary P. Pisano

Science has long been connected to innovation and to business. As early as the late 19th century, chemical companies, realizing the commercial potential of science, created the first industrial research laboratories. During much of the 20th century, large-scale... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Governance; Innovation and Management; Risk Management; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Commercialization

Citation

Find at Harvard

Read Now