Publications

Read Now

January 2018 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Capital Allocation at HCA

By: W. Carl Kester and Emily R. McComb

In early 2017, HCA Holdings, an investor-owned hospital management company, faced a strategically important capital allocation decision. After the exit of its private equity sponsors in 2016, HCA had to determine how best to allocate its substantial annual free cash... View Details

Keywords: Capital Allocation; Cash Distribution Policy; Dividends; Share Repurchases; Growth Strategy And Execution; Growth Investing; Capital Expenditures; Debt Management; Debt Reduction; Debt Policy; Hospital Management; Investor-owned Hospital Chains; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Corporate Finance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Industry; United States

Research Summary

The Fragile State of the World: Unfairness, Discontent, and Global Capitalism

By: Rawi E. Abdelal

In this project, Abdelal explores the varieties of domestic discontent that undermine the stability of global capitalism. Discontent has manifested itself in the rise of populist movements and parties on both the Left and the Right, thereby weakening the Center. The... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Populism; Inequality; Fairness; Geopolitics

2011
Article

Too Big to Live: Why We Must Stamp Out State Monopoly Capitalism

The problems of excessive economic concentration, so lucidly and incisively analysed here, are not limited to the financial services industry. For the problem is now widespread: while five firms control 80% of the banking industry, a similar or greater concentration is... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Monopoly

September 2015 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Macy's: Evolution in the Sunshine State

By: Boris Groysberg, Das Narayandas, Benson P. Shapiro and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2009, Lee O'Rourke was promoted to district vice president in charge of Macy's newly created North Florida district. This district consisted of 11 stores located in the greater Orlando area and in the east coast towns of Daytona, Melbourne, Merritt Island, and Vero... View Details

Keywords: Human Capital; Managing Performance; Retail; Organization; Change Management; Leadership; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Retail Industry; United States

March 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

State Street Corporation

By: William E. Fruhan

To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color. State Street Corp. reports a 13% gain in EPS in 2008 amidst a global financial crisis. The stock price declines 59% on the day of the earnings report. This one day decline was exceeded in the... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Crisis Management; Financial Services Industry

December 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Kellogg Company/eighteen94 capital

By: David Bell, Damien McLoughlin and Natalie Kindred

With 33,000 employees and revenues of $13 billion in 2016, Kellogg Company was the world’s largest producer of branded packaged cereal and a leader in branded convenience foods. Founded in 1906 and based in Michigan, the company had a proud history of product and... View Details

8 Mar 1985
Lecture

Capital and Ownership Structure: A Comparison of United States and Japanese Manufacturing Corporations

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Capital; Ownership; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Japan

1988
Chapter

Capital and Ownership Structure: A Comparison of United States and Japanese Manufacturing Corporations

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Capital Structure; Ownership; Organizational Structure; Business Ventures; United States; Japan

20 Nov 2016
News

Simplivity Raises $58 Million in Additional Capital

Keywords: technology; innovation; entrepreneurship; venture capital

Article

Capital and Ownership Structure: A Comparison of United States and Japanese Manufacturing Corporations

By: W. C. Kester

Keywords: Capital; Ownership; Production; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Japan

Find at Harvard

May 2016
Case

Revitalizing State Bank of India

By: Srikant M. Datar, N. M. Bhatta, Rishikesha T. Krishnan and Rachna Tahilyani

State Bank of India is India’s oldest and largest bank with the government of India as its majority shareholder. Arundhati Bhattacharya, a 35-year veteran of the bank, is appointed as its chairman in October 2013. Her appointment coincides with Moody’s downgrading the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Communication Strategy; Leadership Style; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change And Adaptation; Performance Evaluation; Culture; Corporate Social Responsibility And Impact; Human Resources; Employees; Compensation And Benefits; Recruiting; Capital Markets; Performance Expectations; Financial Services Industry; Asia; India

02 May 2008
What Do You Think?

What is the Future of State Capitalism?

Summing Up In state capitalism, is the operative word "capitalism"? State capitalism is neither to be applauded nor feared, judging from the tone of responses to this... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

February 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Collab Capital

By: Natalia Rigol, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Mitchell Weiss

Founded in 2020 by Jewel Burks Solomon and her partners, Barry Givens and Justin Dawkins, Collab Capital was a new investment firm built on two pillars: first, it would identify and support ventures founded by Black entrepreneurs, a group underrepresented in... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Race; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry; Atlanta

April 2022
Article

Going Out or Opting Out? Capital, Political Vulnerability, and the State in China's Outward Investment

By: Meg Rithmire

How do state-business relations interact with outward investment in authoritarian regimes? This paper examines this question in the context of China’s rapid transformation into a major capital exporter. While most political economy scholarship focuses on firms’... View Details

Keywords: Outward Investment; Capital Controls; Corruption; Foreign Direct Investment; Political Economy; State-owned Enterprises; Investment; Global Range; Capital; Globalization; Policy; Government and Politics; China

Find at Harvard

Article

B Corps: Can It Remake Capitalism in Japan?

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article examines the B Corporation movement that originated in the United States in 2006. The founders sought to create a new type of company whose governance structure mandated them to consider financial, social and environmental performance. A certification... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Sustainability; B Corporations; Stakeholder Capitalism; Governance; Organizational Structure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Japan