Publications

August 2006
Article

Investor Sentiment and the Cross Section of Stock Returns

By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler

We examine how investor sentiment affects the cross-section of stock returns. Theory predicts that a broad wave of sentiment will disproportionately affect stocks whose valuations are highly subjective and are difficult to arbitrage. We test this prediction by... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Finance; Stocks; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction; Motivation and Incentives; Risk and Uncertainty; Volatility

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24 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 24, 2008

Bazerman Abstract The optimal moment to address the question of how to improve human decision making has arrived. In recent research, judgment and decision-making scholars have moved beyond the concept of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

How Countries Use Financial Policy to Fight COVID-19

able to gain insights,” Cavallo says. Researchers want to learn the most valuable actions from small business loans to expansion of government programs. “For policymakers at this stage, it's, 'Let's try to do everything.' But then, it gets to the point where they have... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

July 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

Hiring Successful Professionals: One Process--Multiple Goals

By: Heidi K. Gardner

The best hiring practices help professional firms attract successful employees, equip newcomers with critical support networks, increase the firm's diversity, and enhance its reputation. This Note delineates how leading firms manage these multiple objectives throughout... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Goals and Objectives; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Management Practices and Processes; Forecasting and Prediction; Employees; Diversity Characteristics; Service Industry

July 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Case

China and the WTO: Doing the Right Thing? (Abridged)

In late 2001, the People's Republic of China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Sets the terms of China's accession agreement against its compliance record some two years later. Discusses why key actors, such as business, organized labor, and other governments,... View Details

Keywords: History; International Relations; Judgments; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics; Governance Compliance; Emerging Markets; Economic Growth; Global Strategy; China

March 2007
Article

Authority, Risk, and Performance Incentives: Evidence from Division Manager Positions inside Firms

By: Julie Wulf

I show that performance incentives vary by decision-making authority of division managers. For division managers with broader authority, i.e., those designated as corporate officers, both the sensitivity of pay to global performance measures and the relative importance... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Performance; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Model; Globalization; Measurement and Metrics; Status and Position; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Divisions

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29 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

Building a Powerful Prestige Brand

started their business, their product line enjoyed little consumer awareness outside New York City. But the couple was determined to build a large market for premium cosmetics. One of the earliest and most important decisions that the... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy F. Koehn; Beauty & Cosmetics; Consumer Products; Retail

03 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty on Supreme Court Health Care Ruling

week's US Supreme Court ruling. It's time to end three-and-a-half years of political wrangling and make the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) work. The law's shortcomings are well known. It provides health care access to 30 million... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Health

February 2017
Case

Valerie Daniels-Carter: High Growth Entrepreneurship via Franchising

By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode

This case looks at entrepreneurship via franchising through the leadership of an African-American entrepreneur who owns almost 150 stores including Burger King, Pizza Huts, and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. Her company is the largest female-owned franchise business in the... View Details

Keywords: Giving And Philanthropy; Weather And Climate Change; Franchise Ownership; Family Business; Experience and Expertise; Decisions; Borrowing and Debt; Food; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Business History; Climate Change; Motivation and Incentives; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Goldman Sachs: A Bank for All Seasons (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Tiffany Lynne Obenchain

Facing the worldwide financial crisis, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein considered his options including whether his company could avoid a forced marriage and what steps Goldman Sachs should take to try to restore confidence in financial services companies. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Commercial Banking; Investment Banking; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Crisis Management; Business Strategy; Banking Industry

27 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 27

Business School Case 713-083 Valero Energy Corporation and Tight Oil Valero Energy, an incredibly successful U.S. refiner, needs to make some decisions about tight oil. As production of light tight oil... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 26

individuals within the organization. Using unique data on lending decisions made by employees in a highly decentralized financial services organization, we show that a monitoring system that captures soft information for vertical... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

New Research: Surviving Bankruptcy, Useful Economics, and Retirement

Published Papers Do the Right Firms Survive Bankruptcy? Journal of Financial Economics Samuel Antill “In United States, Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, firms are either reorganized, acquired, or liquidated. I show that decisions to liquidate... View Details

29 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Entrepreneurial Venture: A Conversation

who enter an industry at precisely the wrong time end up suffering too badly: resilience and decision making on the fly are two traits we try to inculcate in students before they graduate. Describe your... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

March 2020
Supplement

People Analytics at Teach For America (B)

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Julia Kelley

This is a supplement to the People Analytics at Teach For America (A) case. In this supplement, situated one year after the A case, Managing Director Michael Metzger must decide how to apply his team's predictive models generated from the previous year’s data. View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Human Resource Management; Data; Workforce; Hiring; Talent Management; Forecasting; Predictive Analytics; Organizational Behavior; Recruiting; Analytics and Data Science; Forecasting and Prediction; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management

January 2008
Background Note

Equity Options

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

The goal of this simulation is to understand the reliance of option values on volatility. When an investor trades an option, they are essentially trading volatility. Therefore, much of the focus in this lesson is on forecasting volatility. Students are able to use two... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Forecasting and Prediction; Stock Options; Investment Return; Price; Market Transactions; Mathematical Methods; Value