Publications

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April 2009
Case

The First Global Financial Crisis of the 21st Century

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

The global economy was expected to suffer from negative growth for the full year in 2009, a phenomenon not seen since World War II. While the U.S. subprime mortgage disaster was blamed as the original instigator, it was noted that the "global imbalances" of the U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; International Relations; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution

25 Aug 2017
News

What Iraq's Kurdish Peshmerga Believe

2005
Book

Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya

By: Caroline M. Elkins

In a groundbreaking and Pulitzer winning debut, Harvard historian and 1998 IDRF Fellow Caroline Elkins has recovered the lost history of the last days of British colonialism in Kenya. Elkins reveals for the first time what Britain so desperately tried to hide. In the... View Details

Keywords: British Colonialism; Political Prisoners; History; Kenya; Great Britain

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December 1994 (Revised January 1996)
Case

Constructing a Nation: The United States and Their Constitution, 1763-1792

By: David A. Moss

Examines the founding of the United States of America during the second half of the eighteenth century. Focuses on: 1) the reasons why the American colonists rebelled against Britain (1763-1774); 2) the problems the new nation confronted during the War of Independence... View Details

Keywords: History; Economic Systems; Laws and Statutes; Property; Government Administration; United States

11 Sep 2014
HBS Seminar

Petra Moser, Stanford University

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Doing Business in Helsinki, Finland

By: Martin A. Sinozich, Lena Duchene, Tonia Labruyere and Daniela Beyersdorfer

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Finland. It highlights Finland's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Foreign Direct Investment; Crisis Management; Culture; Environmental Sustainability; International Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Finland; Europe

February 2016 (Revised September 2020)
Case

T-Mobile in 2013: The Un-Carrier

By: John Beshears, Francesca Gino, Jonathan Lee and Sean (Yixiang) Wang

By 2013, the U.S. wireless industry was in the midst of a costly transition. As consumers began to embrace more sophisticated mobile devices, the industry's four main players spent heavily to improve their infrastructures for providing reliable high-speed data... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Positioning; Competition; Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry; United States

July 1993 (Revised November 1993)
Case

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: Marketing Strategy for the Debut Bond Offering

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the first supranational financial institution of the post-Cold War era, is planning its debut in the international capital markets through a bond issuance of $500 million. The bank must determine its marketing... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Marketing Strategy; Capital Markets; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Europe

27 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 27

firm's business rather than the scale of the firm's prior lobbying efforts. These results support the existence of significant barriers to entry in the lobbying process. Download working paper: http://www.people.hbs.edu/wkerr/DynamicsOfFirmLobbying.pdf The Impact of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Apr 2012
News

An Innovative Education

Fall 2011
Article

A Brief Postwar History of U.S. Consumer Finance

By: Gunnar Trumbull and Peter Tufano

In this brief history of U.S. consumer finance since World War II, the sector is defined based on the functions delivered by firms in the form of payments, savings and investing, borrowing, managing risk, and providing advice. Evidence of major trends in consumption,... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Finance; Consumer Credit; U.s. History; Consumer Behavior; Personal Finance; Credit; Trends; History; United States

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July 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

The Mozilla Foundation: Launching Firefox 1.0 (A)

Explores the Mozilla Foundation's decisions leading up to the launch of Firefox 1.0, including its default browser, managing corporate partnerships, managing product development, and moving toward a revenue-based model. Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Commercialization; Open Source Distribution; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Social Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; United States

March 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

John F. Kennedy: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of John F. Kennedy from a wealthy family in Boston to president of the United States. The case describes how Kennedy, as a young man, lived a privileged life in the shadow of his older brother, Joe. When Joe was killed in World War II, Jack... View Details

Keywords: Politics; Business And Government; Legacy; Leadership Development; Personal Characteristics; Business and Government Relations; Success; Power and Influence; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; United States

October 1996 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Regarding NAFTA

By: Debora L. Spar

In the aftermath of World War II, the countries of the industrialized world engaged in an unprecedented round of institution-building, through which historical barriers to international trade, especially tariffs, came tumbling down. The GATT has reshaped the... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Trade; North America

September 2011 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Liberia

By: Eric Werker and Jasmina Beganovic

From 1989 to 2003 civil war raged in Liberia, causing GDP per capita to drop an unprecedented 90% from peak to trough. The roots of Liberia's conflict and economic decline are complex and intertwined, resting on over a century of discriminatory elite rule and twisted... View Details

Keywords: War; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Macroeconomics; Liberia

Web

Publications - Faculty & Research

Business Review 102, no. 6 (November–December 2024): 78–85. November–December 2024 Article Why Employees Quit By: Ethan Bernstein , Michael B. Horn and Bob Moesta The so-called war for talent is still raging. But in that fight, employers... View Details

April 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Christina Lubinski

This case examines the management of home and host country risk by Beiersdorf during the interwar years. It can be used both in business history courses and more generally to teach political risk management by multinational corporations. Beiersdorf, a German personal... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; War; Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Global Strategy; Ownership; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Consumer Products Industry; Germany