Publications

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Keeping Credit Flowing to Consumers in Need

credit crunch? Nicolas P. Retsinas: In 2007 the nonprime mortgage market crumbled. Many of these products were predicated on ever-rising home values, which would enable owners to sell, pay off, buy again-a cycle toward ever-bigger,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

February 2011
Background Note

GUIDESlines: Benchmark Values for the GUIDES Framework

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl, Jacob Kuipers and Jonathan Schlefer

GUIDESlines provides benchmark values of the key economic indicators identified in the GUIDES framework for both developed countries (the OECD) and fast-growing emerging markets (the BRINCS countries). View Details

Keywords: Economics; Business Cycles; Macroeconomics; Framework; Business and Government Relations

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

methods, such as multiple-case inductive studies and traditional methods of causal inference. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55043 Quantile Forecasts of Product Life Cycles Using Exponential... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 2015
Tutorial

Introduction to International Macroeconomics

By: Laura Alfaro and Elizabeth A. Meyer

This tutorial is a web-based, interactive program which will provide students with an introduction to the basic principles of macroeconomics and international macroeconomics. View Details

Keywords: International Macroeconomics; International Economy; Current Account; Unemployment; Inflation; Monetary Policy; Fiscal Policy; Gdp; Macroeconomics; Money; Business Cycles; Inflation and Deflation; Trade

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

‘Retail Revolution’ Excerpt: The Scale of the Ecommerce Threat

apart. “If this cycle continues, whole retail chains can quickly become full of zombie stores” Taken all together, lower price points, decreased traffic, and smaller baskets means lower sales and margins for brick-and-mortar stores. Given... View Details

Keywords: Re: Rajiv Lal; Retail

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

cycles The crisis demonstrates, painfully, the importance of cash. In his famous essay "The Yield from Money Held,” the economist William Hutt described cash in your pocket or on the balance sheet as “a fire engine when there are no... View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

March 2005 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Cisco Systems: Managing the Go-to-Market Evolution

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

With the collapse of the dot-com market and related shrinkage in the high-tech industry, Cisco took a dip in its sales and profits in 2001. Coming back from the recession, Cisco had to manage and evolve its go-to-market strategy and design in keeping with its new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Design; Business Cycles; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy

February 2023 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in New Delhi, India

By: Vikram S Gandhi and Radhika Kak

The case uses the example of Tata Motors to discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing business in India. View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Economic Sectors; Economy; Macroeconomics; Business History; India

March 2014
Article

Cyclicality of Credit Supply: Firm Level Evidence

By: Bo Becker and Victoria Ivashina

Theory predicts that there is a close link between bank credit supply and the evolution of the business cycle. Yet fluctuations in bank-loan supply have been hard to quantify in the time series. While loan issuance falls in recessions, it is not clear if this is due to... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Banks and Banking; Bonds; Financial Markets; Financing and Loans; Banking Industry

SSRN

Find at Harvard

19 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Wrapping Your Alliances In a World Wide Web

—End-users have no mechanism enabling effective procurement through uniform templates, which can be contextually linked to government authorized schedules. This often causes a nonsensical lengthening of the purchasing cycle whereby most... View Details

Keywords: by Andrew McAfee

05 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

Using Competition to Reform Healthcare

surgical team, the overall care cycle is crucial. Unless the patient's problem is accurately diagnosed, the patient is properly prepared, and recovery and rehabilitation are managed well, patient results will suffer. Indeed, the impact of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter; Health

06 May 2002
Research & Ideas

A Toolkit for Customer Innovation

corrections. The cycle repeats until a satisfactory solution is reached, often requiring many costly and time-consuming iterations. To appreciate the extent of the difficulty, consider product development at BBA (now International Flavors... View Details

Keywords: by Stefan Thomke & Eric Von Hippel

09 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

The Entrepreneurs Who Invented Economic Forecasting

New Deal. Still, it was an important stepping-stone from the previous generation who did not fathom a role for government in modifying the business cycle at all. Q: What effect did the Great Depression have on the prediction business? A:... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

May 2018 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Argentina Power—Don't Cry for Me Argentina

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

In 2016, Bruce Wayne, Managing Director of Energy Finance Corporation (“EFC”), was refining the Investment/Credit Committee materials for the development of up to 10 power generating plants in Argentina. As a subsidiary of the much larger International Conglomerate... View Details

Keywords: Cross Border; Energy Markets; Infrastructure Finance; Infrastructure Development; Business Subsidiaries; Business Cycles; Macroeconomics; Energy Generation; International Finance; Project Finance; Government and Politics; Demand and Consumers; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Argentina; Latin America

April 1992 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Reconstruction of Zambia

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Examines the causes of decline--economic, social, and political--of the Zambian economy since 1974. It takes place at the time of the election of Frederick Chiluba, in October 1991. Examines the problems of economic development in Africa, and especially, of structural... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Borrowing and Debt; International Finance; Political Elections; Africa; Zambia

January 2000 (Revised April 2000)
Case

StarMedia: Launching a Latin American Revolution

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

By the fall of 1999, StarMedia had sprinted to a sizable lead in the race to acquire Latin American Internet users. Its pan-regional, horizontal portal was the first to target Spanish- and Portuguese-language speakers on the Internet, registering 1.2 billion page views... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; History; Risk Management; Business Cycles; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Infrastructure; Media; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Web; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry