Publications

15 Aug 2018
News

Put away that credit card. You need to use cash more

April 2015 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Bankruptcy in the City of Detroit

By: Stuart Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Annelena Lobb

The June 2013 bankruptcy of the city of Detroit, Michigan was, at the time, the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. Detroit had struggled for years with a weakening tax base, high unemployment, a heavy debt load and increasing retiree costs. These... View Details

John Beshears is the Albert J. Weatherhead Jr. Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit, teaching the second-year MBA course "Negotiation." He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.... View Details

January 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

The Armstrong Investigation

By: David Moss and Eugene Kintgen

In the early 20th century, public outrage at certain life insurance practices led to an investigation in New York State that threatened to curtail growth in the industry. Charles Evans Hughes guided the four-month-long Armstrong Investigation, which made startling... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Annuities; Insurance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Insurance Industry; New York (state, US)

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

shows. Despite scrutiny of overdraft fees during the financial crisis more than a decade ago, some banks still reorder checking account debits so that the largest amounts, rather than the earliest debits posted, are withdrawn first.... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

06 Jun 2025
Video

Climate Alliances Under Pressure: Climate Fellow at Harvard Explains the Pullback

January 2006 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Akin Ongor's Journey

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

A retired bank CEO, one of Turkey's most admired leaders, wants to start a leadership institute to develop emerging leaders in the eastern Mediterranean region. Describes his biography and values, the models he established for excellent financial performance and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Values and Beliefs; Partners and Partnerships; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Startups; Environmental Sustainability; Retirement; Education Industry; Turkey; United States

Ramana Nanda is Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance and Academic Lead of the Institute for Deep Tech Entrepreneurship at Imperial College London. His research examines financing frictions facing new ventures, with an aim to help entrepreneurs with fundraising and... View Details

Keywords: financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services

11 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

Doing Well by Doing Good? One Industry’s Struggle to Balance Values and Profits

other journalists. Analyzing the responses and drawing upon decades of academic research on institutional dynamics and careers, they detail how journalists have reconciled the moral calling of their profession with the collapse and... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

16 Aug 2012
News

Focus on your results, not your hours

September 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Old Mutual

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Kirsty O'Neil-Massaro

Designed to explore the demutualization and listing overseas of one of Africa's largest financial institutions, Old Mutual, and the effects that these actions have on South Africa's domestic capital markets. Explores the particular difficulties that arise as a result... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Global Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Capital Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Education; Financial Strategy; Business or Company Management; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; South Africa

Find at Harvard

November 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

By: Rory McDonald, Samir Junnarkar and David Lane

Five years on from the 2008 financial crisis, Goldman Sachs remained wounded. Revenues at the global investment bank had stagnated below pre-crisis levels, and the firm had yet to rebound from a substantial decline in securities-trading revenues. Marcus by Goldman... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Banks and Banking; Innovation Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

19 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Activist Board Members Increase Firm’s Market Value

government's regulatory efforts to increase shareholder power at the board level following the recent financial crisis. To help answer that question, three Harvard Business School professors performed a natural experiment made possible by... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

June 2013 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Ibrahim Dabdoub at the National Bank of Kuwait

By: Linda A. Hill and Dana M. Teppert

Ibrahim Dabdoub, the Group chief executive of the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), reflects on his past 30 years at the helm of the Bank. Under his leadership, NBK grew from a small local bank to one of the preeminent financial institutions in the region. However,... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Middle East; Team Leadership; Leadership Style; Leadership; Leadership Development; Groups and Teams; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Banking Industry; Kuwait; Middle East

May 1998 (Revised January 1999)
Case

Japan: "Free, Fair, and Global?"

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Stephen E. Lynagh

In April 1998, Prime Minister Hashimoto faced serious problems, both with his program of six systemic reforms and with his fiscal policy. Japan had been in effective recession for six years, unable to retain the miracle-growth achieved in earlier decades. Hashimoto has... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Development Economics; Social Issues; Policy; Economy; Government Administration; Financial Crisis; Japan