Publications

26 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 26, 2007

Working PapersTaxes, Institutions and Foreign Diversification Opportunities Authors:Mihir A. Desai and Dhammika Dharmapala Abstract Investors can access foreign diversification opportunities through either... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Oct 2010
First Look

First Look: October 13, 2010

traditional economic thought—which places self-interest as the guiding principle of human motivation—our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 11

forthcoming Journal of Accounting & Economics Career Concerns of Banking Analysts By: Horton, Joanne, George Serafeim, and Shan Wu Abstract—We study how career concerns influence banking analysts' forecasts and how their forecasting... View Details

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

direction, resulting in an excessive number of brands and factories organized nationally in a Europe undergoing economic integration, and a virtually autonomous business in the United States. There were barriers to flows of knowledge,... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

functional managers rather than general managers, a phenomenon we term "functional centralization." Using panel data on senior management positions, we show that changes in the structure of the executive team are tightly linked to changes in firm View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

2016
Working Paper

Diversified Business Groups in the West: History and Theory

By: Asli M. Colpan and Takashi Hikino

This working paper examines the historical origins, evolutionary paths, and long-term resilience of diversified business groups in contemporary developed economies of Western Europe, North America, and Oceania. It aims to come up with a new theoretical understanding of... View Details

Keywords: History; Diversification; Business Divisions; Theory; Oceania; North America; Europe

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08 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 8

Product Market Competition Lead Firms to Decentralize? Authors:Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen Publication:American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 100, no. 2 (May 2010) Abstract There is a widespread sense... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2018 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Saudi Arabia: Vision 2030

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman faces several challenges, both domestic and foreign. Domestically, he needs to build the country’s economy to accommodate a "youth bulge" while balancing between liberals and conservatives. And he needs to diversify the economy away from its... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Economy; Demographics; Diversification; Government and Politics; International Relations; Saudi Arabia

28 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 28

continue with the development strategy of economic diversification set forth by his father. Yet, it is not clear if the ambitious investments in infrastructure, education, tourism, and real estate Emir Hamad... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 17, 2009

Institutions and Foreign Diversification Opportunities Authors:Mihir Desai and Dhammika Dharmapala Publication:Journal of Public Economics (forthcoming) Abstract Investors can access foreign View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 7, 2009

School Case 809-012 Du Pont's realization in 1921 that its "U-form" corporate structure was ill-suited to its new diversification strategy led to a pioneering new kind of organization—the "M" or multidivisional... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 19

out the effect of an increasingly important retail phenomenon (channel integration) on a key factor for inventory management (sales dispersion). Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53103 forthcoming Brookings Papers on View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 18, 2018

paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54967 Does Context Trump Individual Drivers of Voting Behavior? Evidence from U.S. Movers By: Cantoni, Enrico, and Vincent Pons Abstract—This paper assesses the relative influence of contextual drivers of voter... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

13 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 13

PublicationsHigher Ambition: How Great Leaders Create Economic and Social Value Authors:Michael Beer, Russel A. Eisenstat, Nathaniel Foote, Tobias Fredberg, and Flemming Norrgren Publication:Harvard Business Press, 2011 Abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2022
Case

Mastercard: Creating a World Beyond Cash

By: Sunil Gupta, Linda A. Hill, Julia Kelley and Emily Tedards

In late 2021, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach and Chairman and former CEO Ajaypal “Ajay” Banga considered how Mastercard could best position itself for continued success in the years to come. Since Mastercard’s initial public offering in 2006, the company had grown and... View Details

12 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 12

Publication:Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (spring 2011) Abstract This paper examines the optimal response of monetary and fiscal policy to a decline in aggregate demand. The theoretical framework is a two-period general... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Jul 2016
First Look

July 12, 2016

growing public discourse cites the rising cost of education and student debt overhang as a contributor to slow economic growth. A parallel discussion explores the causes of the secular decline in business dynamism and entrepreneurship... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2021
Case

Yellow Digital Retailers: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Norris

In 2020, Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, co-founders of the Pay-as-you-Go Solar company Yellow were considering how to grow their startup. They had achieved some success in their first market, Malawi, and had recently entered Uganda, where business was slower. What did... View Details

Keywords: Solar Energy; Business Model; Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Alternative Energy; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Green Technology; Salesforce Management; Diversification; Expansion; Energy Industry; Africa; South Africa; Malawi; Uganda

March 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Masterpiece for the Masses: The First Art Exchange ARTEX

By: Lauren Cohen, Anastasiya Siroochenko (Siro) and Sophia Pan

Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, CEO of ARTEX, aspired to marry the world of art and finance. Hoping to promote transparent, fractionalized ownership of renowned artwork, the founder had spent years contemplating the birth of an art stock market. This exchange would allow... View Details