Publications

Research Summary

Overview

Having grown up in a developing country, Professor Sikochi’s research focus is driven by a desire to understand how capital flows to firms and entrepreneurs with the ultimate goal to help build capital markets in the developing economies. To this end, he conducts... View Details

28 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Sophisticated Investors May Be Harming Fintech Lending Platforms

must address a major design problem: Sophisticated investors have been gaming the system by applying specialized screening tools to scoop up the choicest loans with the lowest default rates, leaving less experienced investors with less... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Financial Services

06 Apr 2021
Working Paper Summaries

Currency Hedging in Emerging Markets: Managing Cash Flow Exposure

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Mauricio Calani, and Liliana Varela; Financial Services

March 2011 (Revised December 2017)
Background Note

The IMF: The Washington Consensus, the Critics, and the New Challenges as China Rises

By: Rafael M. Di Tella, Natalie Kindred and Monica Baraldi

How the International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines and carries out its mandate has evolved considerably since 1944, when it was founded to serve a vital but narrow function in maintaining the global foreign exchange system and thus enabling international trade. This... View Details

Keywords: History; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Trade; Financial Institutions; Macroeconomics; Financial Services Industry

September 1976 (Revised January 1977)
Case

Del Norte Paper Co. (C)

By: William A. Sahlman

Designed to serve two roles: first, it provides a reasonably comprehensive description of an ongoing capital budgeting system for the international operations of a large American company. Second, it allows the student to focus upon and critically analyze a series of... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; International Relations; Globalized Markets and Industries; Goals and Objectives; Service Delivery; Business Subsidiaries; Performance Evaluation; Performance Expectations; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

April 1999
Case

French Pension System, The: On The Verge Of Retirement? (Abridged)

By: David A. Moss

Surveys the French pension system, its particular institutional characteristics, and some of the critical challenges and opportunities facing French reformers. Like almost every other industrialized country, France has a large pay-as-you-go public pension system that... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Economic Growth; Economics; Capital Markets; Wages; Public Administration Industry; France

September 1997 (Revised October 1997)
Case

French Pension System, The: On the Verge of Retirement?

By: David A. Moss, Anne Dias and Bertrand O. Stephann

Surveys the French pension system, its particular institutional characteristics, and some of the critical challenges and opportunities facing French reformers. Like almost every other industrialized country, France has a large pay-as-you-go public pension system that... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Compensation and Benefits; Capital Markets; Economic Growth; Labor; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Welfare; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Public Administration Industry; France

June 2024
Supplement

Zeswitz Music (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Acquisition; Revenue; Marketing; Music Industry; Retail Industry; Pennsylvania

March 1988 (Revised September 1993)
Case

United Services Automobile Association (USAA)

Under the leadership of Robert F. McDermott, USAA has been transformed from a property and casualty insurance company with $200 million in assets in the late 1960s to a $11 billion financial services empire in 1988. The case illustrates the value of having a CEO drive... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Leadership; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

Article

An Evaluation of Money Market Fund Reform Proposals

By: Samuel G. Hanson, David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

U.S. money market mutual funds (MMFs) are an important source of dollar funding for global financial institutions, particularly those headquartered outside the U.S. MMFs proved to be a source of considerable instability during the financial crisis of 2007–2009,... View Details

Keywords: Balance and Stability; Globalized Markets and Industries; Banks and Banking

Read Now

July 1998 (Revised August 1998)
Case

Optimark: Launching a Virtual Securities Market

Bill Lupien's OptiMark Technologies, Inc., plans to launch a super-computer system in September, 1998 that he believes will release previously withheld liquidity to the securities market. While today's market matches those trades based on price and size, Lupien's... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Financial Markets; Product Launch; Financial Services Industry; United States

21 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 21

allow manufacturers to commercialize innovations with financial value. Yet scholars have recently shown that entrepreneurial activity by users is more widespread than previously believed. We present data and statistics documenting the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Sep 2023
Blog Post

HBS Latino Student Association Spotlight: Ana Barrera (MBA 2024)

difference in the world, Harvard provides the platform to develop the critical skills and connections to challenge the status quo. For me, that means championing investment in the educational and financial empowerment of underserved... View Details

23 Sep 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Operational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting

Keywords: by Julia Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer & Michael W. Toffel; Health

Global Capitalism at Risk: What Are You Doing About It?

Market capitalism, a system that has proven to be a remarkable engine of wealth creation, is poised for a breakdown. That sounds dire, and it is. Increasing income inequality, migration, weaknesses in the global financial system, environmental degradation, and... View Details

October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

KOKO Networks: Bridging Energy Transition and Affordability with Carbon Financing

By: George Serafeim, Siko Sikochi and Namrata Arora

The problem was massive: two million hectares of African forests were lost annually to charcoal production for cooking, an area equivalent to 13 times Greater London, resulting in one billion tons of carbon emissions yearly. At the same time, an estimated 700,000... View Details

Lynn Sharp Paine is a Baker Foundation Professor and John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration, Emerita, at Harvard Business School. A member and former chair of the General Management unit, she has served in numerous leadership positions including Senior... View Details

October 2015
Article

Hormones and Ethics: Understanding the Biological Basis of Unethical Conduct

By: Jooa Julie Lee, Francesca Gino, Ellie Shuo Jin, Leslie K. Rice and Robert A. Josephs

Globally, fraud has been rising sharply over the last decade, with current estimates placing financial losses at greater than $3.7 trillion dollars annually. Unfortunately, fraud prevention has been stymied by lack of a clear and comprehensive understanding of its... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Ethics; Science

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January 2022
Case

Hybrid Classroom - an Opportunity or a Threat?

By: V.G. Narayanan

When the Covid pandemic struck in the spring of 2020, HBS pivoted to remote instruction while maintaining the interactive and engaged discussions which distinguished the case system pedagogy. In fall 2020 HBS adopted a hybrid approach, fitting out its classrooms with... View Details

Keywords: Education; Teaching; Higher Education; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Adaptation; Opportunities; Education Industry