Publications

April 2019
Teaching Note

The a2 Milk Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) became the most valuable company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange in 2018 by capitalizing on a biochemical discovery related to the protein composition of cow's milk. Because many people find the A1 protein difficult to digest, and... View Details

17 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Why Global Brands Work

bureaucracy in which regional managers exaggerate the need for local adaptations to defend their turf; and a deteriorating market share, financial performance, and stock price. Fords worldwide should have a... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Auto

05 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Are Stockbrokers Illegally Leaking Confidential Information to Favored Clients?

investors” “Our findings highlight that an important source of returns for fund managers in the stock market is not their superior skill or investment acumen,” the authors write. “Rather, some managers... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

March 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

The Home Depot, Inc.

For its first 20 years, Home Depot was known for its entrepreneurial spirit and focus on customer service. Merchandising, purchasing, and store operations were all decentralized. When the company hit $45 billion in sales, many believed that a more disciplined approach... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Profit; Leading Change; Six Sigma; Service Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry

January–February 2019
Article

Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance

By: Claudine Gartenberg, Andrea Prat and George Serafeim

We construct a measure of corporate purpose within a sample of U.S. companies based on approximately 500,000 survey responses of worker perceptions about their employers. We find that this measure of purpose is not related to financial performance. However, high... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Employee Motivation; Belief Systems; Corporate Performance; Human Capital; Middle Management; Culture; Corporate Culture; Meaning; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Employees; Perception; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness

SSRN

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February 2008
Case

Cincom Systems, Inc.

By: Tom Nicholas and David Chen

Tom Nies, charismatic CEO of Cincom Systems, is considering a public offering of his software enterprise, but the 1987 stock market crash checks his plans. Nies reflects that capital for expansion will keep Cincom at the frontier of technological development in a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Capital; Initial Public Offering; Organizational Culture; Going Public; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology Industry

11 Aug 2011
News

Groupon IPO dented by market, new numbers

January 1994 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Pankaj Ghemawat

Focuses on the evolution of Wal-Mart's remarkably successful discount operations and describes the company's more recent attempts to diversify into other businesses. The company has entered the warehouse club industry with its Sam's Clubs and the grocery business with... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Price; Marketing Channels; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Information Technology

Research Summary

Output and asset price fluctuations

What are the sources of business cycles? How are these shocks propagated in the economy? Why are their effects so persistent? How can we explain asset price fluctuations? How are shocks transmitted internationally?To study these questions, I have developed a series... View Details

October 2012 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Kleiner-Perkins and Genentech: When Venture Capital Met Science

By: Felda Hardymon and Tom Nicholas

Genentech is a rare success story in the biotechnology industry. Hundreds of billions of dollars of venture capital have been invested without the expected transformational effects. Established in 1976, Genentech was to develop the new science of recombinant DNA into... View Details

Keywords: Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Innovation and Invention; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Science; Biotechnology Industry; United States

Research Summary

Overview

I am a doctoral candidate in the strategy unit at Harvard Business School. My main areas of interest are organizational economics, public policy, and technology. My research is published at PNAS and forthcoming at the Journal of Financial Economics. My work has been... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Communication Technology; Wages; Policy; Brazil

March 2012
Article

The Incentive Bubble

By: Mihir Desai

The past three decades have seen American capitalism quietly transformed by a single, powerful idea—that financial markets are a suitable tool for measuring performance and structuring compensation. Stock instruments for managers, high-powered incentive contracts for... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Financial Markets; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Governance; Equality and Inequality; Human Capital; United States

Read Now

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207091 China Netcom: Corporate Governance in China (A) Harvard Business School Case 308-027 With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2024
Case

Tonik

By: Andy Wu, Maliha Malek Quadir and Aticus Peterson

This case study examines Tonik, the first digital bank in the Philippines, as it navigates the challenges of scaling its lending operations and achieving profitability in an evolving fintech landscape. It explores Tonik's journey from its launch in 2018 to early 2024,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Financing and Loans; Profit; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Product; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; Philippines

January 2011
Case

Sidoti & Company: Launching a Micro-Cap Product

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Sarah Abbott

It is 2010 and Sidoti & Company, a New York-based brokerage firm specializing in small capitalization stocks, has just launched a new product- micro cap stock research. The firm has hired a group of five analysts who will produce written research reports on micro-cap... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Financial Strategy; Product Launch; Strategic Planning; Corporate Strategy; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

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18 Feb 2015
News

Reinvent Your Sales Process While Still Hitting Your Numbers

September 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Tesla's Uncertain Fate as EV Race Accelerates

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

By September 2021, Tesla had a staggering market cap of $755 billion. As the leader of the automobile industry, Tesla’s worth surpassed that of the six largest runner-ups combined, including Toyota, Volkswagen, BYD, Daimler, Great Wall Motors, and General Motors. As... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Valuation; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Auto Industry

September 2016
Article

Disproportional Control Rights and the Bonding Role of Debt

By: Aiyesha Dey, Valeri Nikolaev and Xue Wang

We examine the governance role of debt in the context of U.S.-based dual class ownership structures. We hypothesize that the use of debt alleviates the conflict between shareholder classes by balancing the power of controlling insiders. We document that dual class... View Details

Keywords: Dual Class; Private Debt; Debt Covenants; Bonding Mechanisms; Ownership Type; Capital Structure; Borrowing and Debt