Publications

December 1985 (Revised October 1986)
Case

J.C. Penney (A)

An assistant treasurer at J.C. Penney is looking at various alternatives for financing the company's $2.5 billion store expansion and modernization program. The case provides a listing of different ways/capital markets issues to obtain this financing. Designed to be... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Capital Markets; Financing and Loans; Retail Industry; United States

October 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Background Note

Note on Funding Deep Tech Startups

By: Karim Lakhani, Peter Barrett and Noubar Afeyan

This Background Note provides essential information on funding deep technologies—those technologies that were inherently capital intensive, time consuming, risky, and potentially disruptive. Both dilutive and non-dilutive sources of investment are highlighted, along... View Details

20 Dec 2006
Op-Ed

Investors Hurt by Dual-Track Tax Reporting

of being able to characterize their income separately depending on the audience. Something as simple as interest expense can be engineered to be an expense for tax authorities and a dividend for capital markets. Investors On The Short End... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai

Web

Faculty & Advisors | MBA

Harvard University; BA, Chemistry, Princeton University Hannah Chang is a Managing Director at Wu Capital, a global evergreen fund. Dr. Chang focuses on early-stage biopharmaceutical venture capital investments out of the firm’s San... View Details

February 2013
Case

New Enterprise Associates

By: Felda Hardymon and Tom Nicholas

NEA was established in 1977 and it subsequently morphed into one of the largest venture capital firms in the world. Despite its size and significance, some other firms established during the same era such as Kleiner-Perkins and Sequoia (both were established in 1972),... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Venture Capital; Organizational Structure; Innovation and Invention; Financial Services Industry; United States

September 2008
Article

Does Innovation Cause Stock Market Runups? Evidence from the Great Crash

By: Tom Nicholas

This article examines the stock market's changing valuation of corporate patentable assets between 1910 and 1939. It shows that the value of knowledge capital increased significantly during the 1920s compared to the 1910s as investors responded to the quality of... View Details

Keywords: History; Technological Innovation; Patents; Stocks; Valuation; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; United States

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June 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

The Southeast Bank of Texas in the Financial Crisis

By: Robert C. Pozen and Benjamin Greff Schneider

The Southeast Bank of Texas, like most other financial institutions in the U.S., has fallen on hard times during the financial crisis of the past year. Now, in March 2009, the bank is faced with several choices as a result of the new reforms spawned from the financial... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Banking Industry; Texas

29 Aug 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Patent Trolls

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun & Scott Duke Kominers

May 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Valuing Peloton

By: E. Scott Mayfield

Peloton Interactive, a well-known venture-capital-backed unicorn in the connected fitness space, recently had gone public with a market capitalization of over $8.0 billion. However, in the weeks following its public debut, Peloton’s stock price had fallen by over 25%.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Public Equity; Initial Public Offering; Disruptive Innovation; Business Strategy; Valuation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

December 2021
Supplement

Troverie (B)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham

Resolves the questions raised in Troverie (A); recounts pivots and efforts to raise capital from strategic investors and sell Troverie; and shares the founder's post-mortem reflections on what went wrong and what he might have done differently. View Details

Keywords: Startup; Failed Startup; Luxury Goods; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Failure; Luxury; Fashion Industry; United States

12 May 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Financing Payouts

Keywords: by Joan Farre-Mensa, Roni Michaely & Martin C. Schmalz

2013
Working Paper

Improving Store Liquidation

By: Nathan Craig and Ananth Raman

Store liquidation is the time-constrained divestment of retail outlets through an in-store sale of inventory. The retail industry depends extensively on store liquidation, not only as a means for investors to recover capital from failed ventures, but also to allow... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Financial Condition; Operations; Retail Industry

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January 1983 (Revised February 1988)
Case

Hospital Corp. of America (B)

By: W. Carl Kester

Focuses on HCAs financing options for reaching its target capital structure. The options include new equity conversion of convertible debentures, a debt-for-equity swap, the sale of assets, and fixed-rate debt. Students must address the problem of market timing and... View Details

Keywords: Assets; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Equity; Debt Securities; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Health Industry; United States

March 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Patagonia: 'Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder'

By: Brian Trelstad, Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael Norris and Susan Pinckney

In September 2022, Yvon Chouinard, the iconoclastic founder of outdoor apparel company Patagonia, announced a new ownership model for his company. Chouinard and his family had held complete control of the company's voting and non-voting stock since its founding 50... View Details

December 2014 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Alibaba Goes Public (A)

By: Krishna Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan, Charles C.Y. Wang and David Lane

In 2014 Alibaba debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, creating not only the largest IPO in history but this initial desire to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was denied due to the company's desire to preserve its partner's control over decision rights. Why did... View Details

Keywords: Dual-class Share Structure; Alibaba; IPOs; VIE; Corporate Governance; Financial Services Industry; United States; Hong Kong; China

Mar 2012
Report

A Jobs Compact for America's Future

human capital in the United States. In short, badly needed investments in the workforce are not being made, thereby threatening the country's future competitiveness and living standards. So argues Kochan, of MIT's Sloan School of... View Details

Article

Did Bank Distress Stifle Innovation During the Great Depression?

By: Ramana Nanda and Tom Nicholas

We find a negative relationship between bank distress and the level, quality, and trajectory of firm-level innovation during the Great Depression, particularly for R&D firms operating in capital intensive industries. However, we also show that because a sufficient... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; R＆D; Bank Distress; Patents; Research and Development; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Banking Industry; United States

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October 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

The Predictive Index

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James Weber

Mike Zani and Daniel Muzquiz needed to decide next steps to create a new category in the human resources consulting industry and scale their company.
Zani and Muzquiz, serial entrepreneurs, acquired Predictive Index in 2014. Previously, as clients of the... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Change Management; Disruptive Innovation; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Consulting Industry; Service Industry; United States