Publications

Research Summary

Credit Supply Shocks, Network Effects, and the Real Economy

By: Laura Alfaro

We consider the real effects of bank lending shocks and how they permeate the economy through buyer-supplier linkages. We combine administrative data on all firms in Spain with a matched bank-firm-loan dataset with information on the universe of corporate loans for... View Details

Accounting Standards and International Portfolio Holdings

A long stream of literature shows that investors significantly underweight foreign investments, a phenomenon referred to as home bias, which is consistently observed across different classes of investments and types of investors. One common explanation for the... View Details

May–June 2014
Article

Paradigm-Changing vs. Paradigm-Deepening Innovation: How Firm Scope Influences Firm Technological Response to Shocks

By: Gautam Ahuja, Curba Morris Lampert and Vivek Tandon

We examine the direction of firms' research efforts as they respond to the shock of a sharp increase in the price of a key input. In terms of direction, firms can respond to this shock with paradigm-changing investments that develop technologies to use substitute... View Details

Keywords: Technological Change; Innovation; Evolutionary Approaches; Shocks; Technological Innovation; System Shocks; Corporate Strategy

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October 1992 (Revised December 1992)
Supplement

Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction: 1992 Update

By: Dwight B. Crane

Briefly summarizes the events that transpired after the investment bank Salomon Brothers revealed that it had repeatedly violated the rules governing the auction of new U.S. Government securities. Includes a description of the violations, the management shake-up that... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Instruments; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

November 1990 (Revised September 1991)
Case

First Chicago Corp.: Corporate Strategy

Lays out the business challenges facing First Chicago Corp. in 1986: the banking industry has been deregulated, many corporations are bypassing banks in their search for capital, and foreign competition has increased. Their traditional market--corporate banking--has... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Investment Banking; Corporate Strategy; Emerging Markets; Commercial Banking; Banking Industry; United States

2016
Book

Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance in Emerging Markets

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Emerging markets play an increasingly important role in the global economy, accounting for 31% of global GDP and more than 50% of global foreign direct investment in 2012. However, doing business in emerging markets remains subject to a high degree of "policy risk,"... View Details

Keywords: Property Rights; Economic Policy; Political Economy; Emerging Markets; Economic Growth; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations

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31 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 31, 2009

Shadow of a Giant (A) Harvard Business School Case 609-002 As the only significant competitor to Intel Corporation in PC microprocessors, Advanced Micro Devices faced daunting investment choices. Not only did it have to fund... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2020 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Anomalie

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Thomas O. Jones

In early 2019, the founders of Anomalie, an online direct-to-consumer provider of bridal gowns, have just agreed to a $13.6 million Series A investment from a Silicon Valley VC. They are considering three major initiatives as they move forward. (1) To scale their very... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Technology Industry

October 2010 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Shenzhen Capital Group

By: Paul A. Gompers, Shaohui Chen, Jessie Lin and Shelley Ling

Haitao Jin, chairman of Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. (SCGC), and Wanshou Li, president of SCGC, must decide how to continue to grow their venture capital/private equity firm in China. SCGC is a premier VC/PE fund in China and a pioneer of the Government Sponsored... View Details

Keywords: Government And Business; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; China

19 Jan 2012
News

A choice of models: Theme and variations

05 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

International Financial Integration and Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro & Andrew Charlton

HBS Case: FX Risk Hedging at EADS

In 2008, EADS, the European aerospace group that owns Airbus, was faced with the decision of how best to hedge a large and growing mismatch between its dollar revenues and its euro manufacturing costs. Specifically, the company needed to decide if it would continue... View Details

February 2007 (Revised June 2007)
Background Note

Brazilian Real Estate Market

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Luke Ingles

From the late 1990s to 2004, Brazil had a reputation as a burgeoning market for foreign investment across many asset classes. Classified as one of the top emerging markets by Goldman Sachs' BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) Reports, the country has exhibited... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Property; Brazil

February 1998
Case

Creating the International Trade Organization

By: David A. Moss, George R. Appling and Andrew D Archer

In the late 1940s, officials at the U.S. State Department began campaigning for the creation of an International Trade Organization (ITO). This new organization would oversee global negotiations on trade liberalization, foreign direct investment, cartels, and commodity... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Globalized Economies and Regions; Agreements and Arrangements; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Systems; International Relations

2008
Book

Mexico Since 1980

By: Stephen Haber, Herb Klein, Noel Maurer and Kevin Middlebrook

This book addresses two questions that are crucial to understanding Mexico's current economic and political challenges. Why did the opening up of the economy to foreign trade and investment not result in sustained economic growth? Why has electoral democracy not... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Foreign Direct Investment; Government and Politics; Growth and Development; Law Enforcement; Welfare or Wellbeing; Mexico

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June 2013 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management

By: Robin Greenwood, Luis M. Viceira and Jared Dourdeville

This case explores reasons for Blackstone Alternative Asset Management's (BAAM's) growth from 2007-2013, a time when the overall fund of hedge funds industry contracted substantially. Additionally, the case analyzes evolving business models and value propositions... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Fund Of Hedge Funds; Hedge Fund Industry Growth; Fund Of Hedge Funds Industry Growth; Evolving Business Models; Value Propositions In The Fund Of Hege Funds Industry; Business Model; Investment Funds; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

July 2005 (Revised September 2020)
Case

The U.S. Current Account Deficit

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael Di Tella, Ingrid Vogel, Renee Kim, Sarah Jeong, Matthew Johnson and Jonathan Schlefer

Investors and policymakers throughout the world were confronted with the risk of painful economic consequences arising from the large U.S. current account deficit. In 2007, the U.S. current account deficit was $731 billion, equivalent to 5.3% of GDP. The implications... View Details

Keywords: World Economy; Macroeconomics; Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Foreign Direct Investment; Business and Government Relations; United States