Publications

December 2002 (Revised December 2017)
Background Note

Teaching Old Companies New Tricks: The Challenge of Managing New Streams Within the Mainstream

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Describes the challenge of starting new ventures or new activities in established companies, especially if they diverge from the mainstream of ongoing commitments. Fledgling ventures require a different kind of management that acknowledges their uncertainty, intensity,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Teaching; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Organizations; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Corporate Strategy

February 2004
Case

The Making of Verizon

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Douglas A Raymond and Ryan Raffaelli

Through a series of mergers, Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon chairman and CEO, successfully shared the co-CEO title twice while building the largest telecom company in the United States. The strong and complementary cultures of the companies that Seidenberg and a key group of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Change Management; Transition; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Risk Management; Telecommunications Industry; United States

April 2008 (Revised December 2008)
Case

North Goes East

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Elena Corsi

In August 2006, Magnus Lofgren and Robert Provine, managing directors and co-founders of the "North Real Estate Opportunities Fund," need to decide which real estate investment the Fund should pursue as its first project. The Fund's target region, Central and Eastern... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Investment Funds; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; Opportunities; Real Estate Industry; Europe

January 2008
Teaching Note

Credit Risk: Valuing Risky Debt & CDOs (TN)

By: Joshua D. Coval and Erik Stafford

Teaching Note for [208111] and [208113]. View Details

Keywords: Price; Credit; Risk Management; Investment; Bonds; Borrowing and Debt; Decisions

March 2012
Article

Does America Really Need Manufacturing?

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih

Too many U.S. companies base decisions about where to locate production largely on narrow financial criteria. They don't consider whether keeping manufacturing at home makes more sense strategically or take into account the impact it might have on their ability to... View Details

Keywords: Production; Geographic Location; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Product Design; Risk Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States

03 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Lehman Brothers Plus Five: Have We Learned from Our Mistakes?

is yes. The safety of the financial system depends on financial institutions' risk exposure, their ability to absorb losses, their reliance on short-term wholesale funding, transparency, and understanding... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Banking; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
Case

Play Time Toy Co.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The president of a toy company is considering the adoption of level production in a business characterized by highly seasonal sales. The issues include balancing the cost savings and the inventory risk, estimating the seasonal financing need, and determining the... View Details

Keywords: Production; Cost Management; Banks and Banking; Sales; Goods and Commodities; Financial Management; Risk Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

companies a clear view of risks to and opportunities in their own strategy. Second, One Report speaks with one voice to all stakeholders, who can even engage with the company via Web 2.0 tools View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

New Challenges for Long-Term Investors

individual's portfolio to his or her age (young investors should take more risk with stocks) and attitudes toward risk (conservative investors should hold more cash). Research... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

March 1985 (Revised November 1988)
Case

Precision Parts, Inc. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting two entrepreneurs in mid-1981. They are considering purchasing a small manufacturer of precision electromechanical parts. Among the issues in the case are the following: 1) Should Taylor and Grayson buy Precision Parts,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Cost vs Benefits; Investment Return; Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Risk and Uncertainty; Outcome or Result; Manufacturing Industry

07 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 7, 2015

Amgen, not least because it contravened Amgen's mission. Internal debate was exacerbated by the presence of considerable uncertainty over the regulatory requirements for BS development and how difficult it... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Jun 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Twenty-first Century Skill: Trading Carbon Credits

Cap and trade has become an increasingly popular mechanism used by governments to induce green behavior among corporate polluters, with news emerging almost daily. Just recently New Jersey Governor Chris Christie withdrew his state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

Article

Lessons From Hollywood: A New Approach To Funding R&D

By: Gary P. Pisano and Andrew W. Lo

Companies find it increasingly difficult to justify long-term, risky R&D investments—particularly in science-based fields such as biotechnology, advanced materials, and energy. We argue in this article that the traditional venture model has limits for such investments... View Details

Keywords: Financial Innovation; Financial Strategy; Project Management; R＆D; Start-up; Innovation Strategy; Business Model; Research and Development; Financial Management; Risk Management; Strategy

Find at Harvard

December 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) in 2009

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brendon Christopher Parry

In late June 2009, management at The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) was considering expanding the footprint of the TIFF Diversified Fund (TDF), the first truly comprehensive endowment management vehicle offered under the TIFF banner. The recent large capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry; United States

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 View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

01 Dec 2001
News

Faculty News

work in long-term planning under risk and uncertainty ranged from helping to pioneer computer applications at large companies to charting U.S. space policy as a member of a... View Details

Keywords: reunions; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

September 1992
Background Note

Note on the Financial Perspective: What Should Entrepreneurs Know?

By: William A. Sahlman

Identifies concepts and tools of finance that are useful to general managers and critical to entrepreneurs: cash, risk, and value. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Cash; Financial Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Risk Management; Value