Publications

March 2011 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Wealth Management Crisis at UBS (A)

By: Paul M. Healy

The case describes the challenges that UBS faced as a result of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation for tax fraud, that claimed that UBS had helped some 52,000 U.S. residents hide billions of dollars in untaxed assets in secret Swiss accounts between... View Details

January 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Deutsche Allgemeinversicherung

Describes the application of statistical process control in a service industry. In this case, Annette Kluck must decide how to adopt manufacturing-based principles to a service process ranging from customer account setup to legal services. View Details

Keywords: Quality; Analysis; Service Operations; Business Strategy; Service Industry

04 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Attention Medical Shoppers: What Health Care Can Learn from Walmart and Amazon

In order to get its financial and management woes under control, the health care industry might want to peek at the playbooks of retail giants like Walmart, Google, and Amazon.com. This was a key conversation point at "Perspectives... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

Carliss Y. Baldwin

Carliss Y. Baldwin is the William L. White Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She studies the process of design and its impact of design architecture on firm strategy, platforms, and business ecosystems. With Kim Clark, she authored... View Details

Keywords: computer; electronics; software

September 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Leasing Decision at Magnet Beauty Products, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and George Serafeim

A fast-growing retailer is facing two different leasing options for its stores. In choosing between the two options, management is considering the potential impact of the two options on the company's financial statements, in light of the proposed new accounting... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Standards; Leasing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

Web

PhD Programs - Doctoral

program has four areas of study: Accounting and Management , Marketing , Strategy , and Technology and Operations Management . All areas of study involve roughly two years of coursework culminating in a field exam. The remaining years of... View Details

Web

Publications - Faculty & Research

treatment... View Details Keywords: Measurement and Metrics ; Mathematical Methods ; Analytics and Data Science ; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry ; India Citation Read Now Related Cole, Shawn, Tomoko Harigaya, Grady Killeen, and... View Details

November 2003 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Ivar Kreuger and the Swedish Match Empire

By: Geoffrey Jones and Ingrid Vargas

Taught in Evolution of Global Business. Globalization and corporate fraud are the central themes of this case on the international growth of Swedish Match in the interwar years. Between 1913 and 1932, Ivar Kreuger, known as the "Swedish Match King," built a small,... View Details

Keywords: History; International Finance; Globalized Firms and Management; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Monopoly; Business and Government Relations; Sweden

July 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Central Bank: The ChexSystemsSM QualiFile® Decision

By: Dennis Campbell, Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Peter Tufano and Emily McClintock

The "Central Bank" series analyzes the use of information and product design for managing the counterparty risk of newly acquired customers. Central Bank, a mid-sized regional U.S. bank, was attempting to grow its customer base by increasing the number of new checking... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Knowledge Management; Customer Satisfaction; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Making; Banking Industry; United States

April 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Governance at Metallgesellschaft (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

MG Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of Germany's international conglomerate, Metallgesellschaft, engaged in a disastrous hedging strategy that nearly dragged the entire enterprise into bankruptcy. This case explores issues of responsibility and accountability among the... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Accountability; Business Conglomerates; Governing and Advisory Boards; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; Germany; United States

May 1999
Case

The Saga of Prince Jefri and KPMG (A): Mystery of the Missing Billions

By: Ashish Nanda

Accounting and law firms around the globe are following with great interest the progress through British courts of a lawsuit. Those familiar with the suit, filed by Prince Jefri of Brunei against the professional service firm KPMG Peat Marwick, remark that its judgment... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Service Industry

October 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

H.J. Heinz Co.: The Administration of Policy (B)

Summarizes the investigation conducted by outside legal and accounting firms under the Heinz audit committee. Improper practices were found at three of the five Heinz domestic divisions and at a number of foreign operations. Presents restated financial data for the... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Accounting Audits; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

2025
Working Paper

Performance Capital Flows in DC Pensions

By: Bryan Gutierrez Cortez, Victoria Ivashina and Juliana Salomao

Are defined contribution (DC) pension funds' capital flows sensitive to performance? We examine pressures from individual account holders who can switch their pension managers. Using novel data on retirement accounts for nearly 10 million individuals, we analyze... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Retirement; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Management; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry

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December 2011
Article

Prices or Knowledge? What Drives Demand for Financial Services in Emerging Markets?

By: Shawn A. Cole, Thomas Sampson and Bilal Zia

Financial development is critical for growth, but its micro-determinants are not well understood. We test leading theories of low demand for financial services in emerging markets, combining novel survey evidence from Indonesia and India with a field experiment. We... View Details

Keywords: Price; Knowledge; Demand and Consumers; Emerging Markets; Banks and Banking; Education; Finance; Behavior; Service Operations; Financial Services Industry; India; Indonesia

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August 2017 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Enpara.com: Digital Bank at a Crossroad

By: Sunil Gupta and Eren Kuzucu

In March 2017, Elsa Pekmez Atan (MBA 2004), was wondering about the future of Enpara.com, a digital-only banking platform of QNB Finansbank. Since its launch in October 2012, Enpara had been successful in attracting over 600,000 customers by appealing to digital savvy,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Competition; Banks and Banking; Business Model; Product Launch; Competitive Strategy; Integration; Innovation and Invention; Decision Making; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Digital Transformation; Banking Industry; Turkey

Lynda M. Applegate is a Baker Foundation Professor at HBS and is Chair of the Advisory Committee for Harvard University’s Masters Degree of Liberal Arts in Finance and Management at the Harvard University Extension School. She has also played a... View Details

October 2001 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Zipcar

By: Myra M. Hart and Wendy Carter

Provides a detailed description of the processes and tasks associated with creating a new venture in an emerging industry (subscription car-sharing for urban dwellers). Chronicles the entrepreneur's concept development, industry analysis, market research, identity... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Leadership Development; Venture Capital; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Plan; Budgets and Budgeting; Management Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Auto Industry; Auto Industry