Publications

September 1989
Background Note

Performance Curves: Costs, Prices, and Value

By: Robert J. Dolan and Benson P. Shapiro

Explains the concept of a family of performance curves. The most well known is the price/performance curve relating the prices of items in a product line to their performance. Also discusses the cost/performance curve and its impact on product positioning, product line... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Price; Product Positioning; Performance; Competition; Value

14 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Getting Down to the Business of Creativity

explores the emergence of "air taxis," a novel service based on a new class of light, economical jet aircraft that have come on the market recently. "The economics are such that entrepreneurs... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Entertainment & Recreation

October 1998 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Farallon Capital Management: Risk Arbitrage (A)

By: Andre F. Perold and Robert Howard

Farallon Capital Management, an investment firm that specializes in risk arbitrage, has taken significant long and short positions in MCI Communications and British Telecommunications, respectively, in the belief that the proposed merger of these firms will be... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital; Capital Markets; Investment; Management; Risk Management; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

29 May 2017
Blog Post

The Diverse Community at HBS

Before I came to HBS, I worked at Disney in a consumer insights role with the Corporate Brand Development and Studio Marketing teams. Tracking evolving consumer behaviors in entertainment was part of my job and I was fascinated by the... View Details

December 2003 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Alusaf Hillside Project

By: Kenneth S. Corts and John R. Wells

The aluminum industry has suffered from long periods of depressed prices and profits interspersed with relatively short-lived price and profit peaks. The case investigates why this has occured, focusing on the decision Alusaf must make on whether to invest in a major... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Business Cycles; Financial Crisis; Metals and Minerals; Financial Strategy; Investment; Price; Profit; Demand and Consumers; Industry Structures

February 2003 (Revised October 2004)
Background Note

Antamini Simulation Model

By: Peter Tufano

Antamini is a simulation of the value of an investment project whose outcome is uncertain. This case describes the situation facing a natural resource firm as it contemplates bidding on a copper mine in Peru. The bidder faces uncertainties about the ore deposit size... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Auctions; Investment; Mining; Mining Industry; Peru

Find at Harvard

01 Oct 1999
News

A Message from Dean Clark

promising distance learning initiative that will enrich the prematriculation process for incoming students. In Executive Education, the Program for Global Leadership now includes distance learning modules on global financial markets and... View Details

23 Mar 2021
Blog Post

A Lifelong Friendship: From Classmates in Cameroon to Roommates at HBS

chemical engineer took me on an incredible journey from working in refineries to launching new chemical products in the U.S. and Canada. I worked in numerous functions ranging from Sales to R&D to Marketing in big companies. However,... View Details

June 2020
Teaching Note

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Sarah Mehta

This teaching note provides guidance for teaching the case “Generation Investment Management” (820-033), which looks at the challenges facing a sustainable investment firm. View Details

July 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Dynamic Pricing at Wendy's: Where's the Beef?

By: Elie Ofek, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

In early 2024, Wendy’s new CEO announced on an earnings call that the company would install digital menus in its US locations so it could begin testing dynamic pricing—changing prices up or down in response to shifts in supply and demand – as well as allow engaging in... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Pricing; Marketing Strategy; Price; Technology Adoption; Consumer Behavior; AI and Machine Learning; Customer Focus and Relationships; Policy; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Jun 2017
News

The Exchange: Venture Forth

entrepreneur? That’s the next question: What is it that VCs are actually looking for? You also address another commonly held idea about the VC world: Investments are not always made based on the numbers. PG: In first-year Finance and... View Details

Keywords: April White

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

technology, three core principles have emerged that work together to ensure that complementary, interconnected products coexist and compete. These core principles are particularly important when applied to platforms, which have played a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Dec 1998
News

A Journey to Leadership: Luke O'Neill

combines academic and experiential learning and involves students in activities as diverse as constructing solar panels, producing maple syrup, and delivering emergency medical care in search-and-rescue situations. "Our educational goal,"... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

2023
Working Paper

Saving and Consumption Responses to Student Loan Forbearance

By: Justin Katz

How do households adjust savings and consumption in response to liquidity from debt relief? I study this question using policy variation induced by federal student loan forbearance in the 2020 CARES Act and an individual-level panel of daily financial transactions for... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Consumer Behavior; Borrowing and Debt; Interest Rates; Financial Liquidity; Personal Finance; Government Legislation