Publications

SSRN

November 2006 (Revised December 2011)
Case

HCA, Inc. (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Focuses on the buyout of HCA by three private equity firms: Bain Capital, KKR, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity. It provides an opportunity to discuss a variety of issues related to leveraged buyouts including the process, the role of private equity, the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Private Equity; Investment; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Valuation

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

input more valuable. Distributed supermodular complementarity (DSMC) exists when two or more independent actors can create complementary value by pursuing their own interests and will not find it advantageous to combine in order to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2007 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Italy: If not now, when?

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Julia Galef

Describes Italy's main macroeconomic problems: low productivity growth, stagnant GDP growth, and high public debt. As of early 2007, the country's global competitiveness has plummeted and its debt remains well above the level allowed by the EU's Maastricht treaty.... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Macroeconomics; Borrowing and Debt; International Relations; Competition; Italy

Web

The Intersection of Public Relations and Photography | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Corporate Eye: Photography and the Rationalization of American Commercial Culture , 1884–1929 . “Businesses, especially manufacturing and communications industries at the forefront of both labor activism and welfare capitalism, responded to negative public opinion... View Details

06 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 6

productive. The authors have studied when 161 countries adopted 104 technologies over the past 200 years, and they conclude that profound economic advantages-as measured by per capita income-accrue to early adopters of technology. Read... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2001 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Kingsley Management

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Includes a brief overview of key challenges facing recent HBS graduates seeking funding for a business, followed by a 22-page excerpt from the Kingsley Management business plan. Describes Matthew Lieb and Chris Jones, two of the partners who developed the business plan... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Plan; Opportunities; Investment Return; Organizational Structure

October 22, 2015
Article

The Mayo Clinic Model for Running a Value-Improvement Program

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Derek A. Haas, Richard A. Helmers, March Rucci and Meredith Brady

Applying time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) in health care cannot be delegated to the finance function. The most successful implementations have had strong executive support, exceptional clinical leaders, and dedicated, multi-disciplinary project teams. The... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

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February 2011 (Revised July 2013)
Case

A123 Systems: Power. Safety. Life.

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

A123 Systems, the largest manufacturer of lithium ion batteries in North America, is producing and selling batteries for electric vehicles in China and electric buses in Europe and America. It just opened two plants in Michigan, partially funded by a grant from... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Diversification; Machinery and Machining; Renewable Energy; Transportation; Management Skills; Corporate Finance; Auto Industry; Battery Industry

30 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 30, 2007

interpretations or recognitions that are new to each of them, thereby helping them recognize problems that are genuinely new. We also show that when communication is too intense, its beneficial aspects give way to the pathologies of "groupthink." We conclude... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 1991 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Southland Corp. (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Examines Southland's financial difficulties following the LBO in 1987 up to the first restructuring plan in July 1990. The teaching objectives are: to explore the complexities of a failed leverage buyout and the operating restrictions that result from financial... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Crisis Management

January 2012 (Revised April 2015)
Case

India 2014: The Challenges of Governance

By: Lakshmi Iyer and Richard H. K. Vietor

In January 2012, the government of India faced significant challenges to achieving three key objectives of high growth, inclusive development, and improved governance. The economy was experiencing a growth slowdown, persistently high inflation, and infrastructure and... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges; Economic Growth; India

07 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 7

around the world, as noted by Richard Lewis, Chief Executive of the AELTC. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/517093-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 117-039 Accounting for the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2002 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Italy: A New Commitment to Growth

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Rebecca Evans

Examines Italy's efforts to comply with the Maastricht Treaty and become integrated with Europe in the European Union. By 2002, Italy has achieved macroeconomic stability, but slow growth threatens the country's future competitiveness. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Economic Growth; Competitive Strategy; Integration; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics; Globalized Economies and Regions; International Relations; Alliances; Italy; European Union

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05 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 5, 2018

Vincent, and Clémence Tricaud Abstract—In French parliamentary and local elections, candidates ranked first and second in the first round automatically qualify for the second round, while a third candidate qualifies only when selected by... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later: Home Finance

urged prospective home-buyers to save the entire purchase price before acquiring a home. In practice, however, most home-buyers and home-builders after the Civil War got themselves a mortgage—or three or four. By the 1920s, economists... View Details

July 1991
Case

Pioneer Petroleum Corp.

By: Richard S. Ruback

Pioneer is an integrated oil company. Its operations include exploration and development, production, transportation, and marketing. The case focuses on Pioneer's cost of capital calculations and its choice between a single company-wide cost of capital or divisional... View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Energy Industry; Mining Industry