Publications

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10 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting

ESG issues tend to have the best future investment performance. Q: Why is that? A: If we have better information around ESG issues, and it is communicated and used more effectively, then that information will be incorporated into stock... View Details

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim

07 Oct 2015
Video

Making the Case for a New Kind of Classroom

Forthcoming
Article

The Disappearing Index Effect

By: Robin Greenwood and Marco Sammon

The abnormal return associated with a stock being added to the S&P 500 has fallen from an average of 7.4% in the 1990s to 0.3% over the past decade. This has occurred despite a significant increase in the share of stock market assets linked to the index. A similar... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Investment Return; Value

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February 1979
Background Note

Note on the Theory of Optimal Capital Structure

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Examines the interrelationship between the maximization of the share value of a firm's common stock and the minimization of the firm's weighted average cost of capital. Presents a revised version of a case by J.W. Mullins, Jr. View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Cost of Capital; Stock Shares; Core Relationships; Value

22 Aug 2017
News

Governance through Shame and Aspiration: Index Creation and Corporate Behavior in Japan

08 Oct 2015
Cold Call Podcast

Making the Case for a New Kind of Classroom

Keywords: Re: John Jong-Hyun Kim

April 2004 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Enron Corporation: May 6, 2001 Sell Recommendation

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

A consulting firm to institutional investors recommends selling Enron Corp.'s equity short on May 6, 2001, while many sellside analysts are recommending the stock as a "buy." View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Financial Reporting; Investment; Competency and Skills; Financial Statements; Consulting Industry

06 Apr 2017
HBS Seminar

Arkadiy Sakhartov, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania

25 Jan 2016
News

From Pepsi to Target: Industry leaders worth betting on

April 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Livedoor

By: Robin Greenwood and Michael Schor

The president of Fuji Television must decide how to respond to a competing bid for the shares of Nippon Broadcasting Systems (NBS). Livedoor, the other bidder, is a highly valued Internet company that has been accused of financial wizardry to keep its stock price high. View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Television Entertainment; Behavioral Finance; Corporate Finance; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Japan

January 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Fortress Investment Group

By: Malcolm Baker, Carlos M. Galvez and James Quinn

CEO Wesley Edens and the five Fortress principals are contemplating a move unprecedented in the industry: becoming the first hedge fund and private equity firm to complete an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This case examines potential reasons for a leading... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Public Equity; Initial Public Offering; Investment Funds; Going Public; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

September 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Dimensional Fund Advisors, 2002

By: Randolph B. Cohen

Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) is an investment management firm that prides itself on basing its investment strategies on sound academic research. Many of the best-known finance research papers of the past two decades (especially those by Eugene Fama and Kenneth... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Use and Leverage; Research; Success; Investment; Financial Services Industry

12 Mar 2014
News

Old Spice Attracting Women in Gender-Bending Hit for P&G

April 1999 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Al Dunlap at Sunbeam

By: Brian J. Hall, Rakesh Khurana and Carleen Madigan

Al Dunlap was one of the best-known corporate turnaround artists of the 1990s. In 1996, he was hired at Sunbeam to effect a restructuring, but was fired almost two years later when the company's financial performance and stock price began to decline. Many of the... View Details

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Restructuring; Stock Shares; Performance Evaluation; Leadership Style; Resignation and Termination; Motivation and Incentives; Executive Compensation; Outcome or Result; Consumer Products Industry; United States

22 Aug 2024
Research & Ideas

Reading the Financial Crisis Warning Signs: Credit Markets and the 'Red-Zone'

A year ago, most experts thought the US economy was thundering headlong toward recession, as the Federal Reserve moved at a historic pace to slow inflation by bridling interest rates. Yet, despite recent tremors in the stock market, no... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Banking

May 1997
Case

Donna Karan International Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Sarayu Srinivasan

Designer Donna Karan takes her firm public. After eager anticipation from Wall Street, the stock loses 60% of its value. This case addresses the questions: Is Karan's company ready to undertake responsibilities of being public? Is the company's strategy sustainable?... View Details

Keywords: Public Equity; Stock Shares; Financial Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Going Public; Business Strategy; Valuation; Fashion Industry

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February 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Exercise

Accounting for Pensions at General Motors Corporation (B)

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

A potential investor in General Motor's stock reviews the retiree benefit note data included in the company's 2001 financial statements as part of the investment analysis of the company. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Accounting; Compensation and Benefits; Financial Services Industry; Auto Industry; Accounting Industry

19 Jan 2021
Video

Hemendra Kothari

Hemendra Kothari, chairman of DSP Investment Managers in India, discusses how his firm reacted to the Harshad Mehta Stock Exchange scam in 1992. View Details

January 2020
Case

Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2019, Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (Lead) was the largest supplier of lithium-ion rechargeable battery manufacturing equipment in the world. Based in Wuxi, China, the company generated RMB 3.9 billion ($557 million) in revenues in 2018, up from RMB 175... View Details

Keywords: Lithium-ion Batteries; Electric Vehicles; Government Subsidies; Industry Dynamics; Markets; Change; Strategy; Decision Making; Manufacturing Industry; China