Publications

SSRN

Read Now

02 Dec 2002
What Do You Think?

How Will We Respond to the “Moment of Truth” in Option Plans?

options should be rethought in many organizations. First, there is the issue of whether options are the best means of promoting shareholders' best interests in established companies. While making an... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

February 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Edward Lundberg and the Rockville Building: Energy Efficiency Finance in Commercial Real Estate

By: John D. Macomber and Frederik Nellemann

A commercial landlord analyzes options for funding and accomplishing energy efficiency retrofit. The situation is complicated by lease terms and uncertain effectiveness of the intervention. Students must grapple with obstacles including changing energy prices,... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Real Estate Industry

February 2016 (Revised June 2016)
Case

Curtis LLP: A Case on Cases

By: Nikolaos Trichakis

A product market firm faces an inventory investment decision in the face of demand uncertainty. To hedge against some of the uncertainty, the firm contemplates an additional fixed investment that would offer the flexibility of diverting inventory in case of weak sales.... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Decision Making Under Uncertainty; Operations Management; Inventory Management; Real Options; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Operations

15 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

In the Virtual Dressing Room Returns Are A Real Problem

discern online. HP Open Pix and Live Picture offer zoom technology. According to Forrester, Bloomingdale's and J. Crew are starting to use these technologies on their sites. Most online apparel sites plan to introduce zoom technology. A range of View Details

Keywords: by Jan Hammond & Kristin Kohler; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Manufacturing; Retail

August 2020
Article

Financial Market Risk Perceptions and the Macroeconomy

By: Carolin E. Pflueger, Emil Siriwardane and Adi Sunderam

We propose a novel measure of risk perceptions: the price of volatile stocks (PVS), defined as the book-to-market ratio of low-volatility stocks minus the book-to-market ratio of high-volatility stocks. PVS is high when perceived risk directly measured from surveys and... View Details

Keywords: Risk-centric Business Cycles; Cross-section Of Equities; Real Risk-free Rate; Real Investment; Financial Markets; Risk and Uncertainty; Perception; Investment

Find at Harvard

August 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Technical Note

Overview of Senior Housing in the United States

By: Charles F. Wu and Joseph Beyer

This technical note provides an overview of the senior housing industry in the United States. There were 40 million seniors in America in 2010, and that number was expected to double by 2050. Seniors would make up 1 in every five Americans. This note explores the... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Senior Living; Retirement Homes; Development; Property; Finance; Entrepreneurship; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts; United States

Web

Bibliography - Option Pricing in Theory & Practice: The Nobel Prize Research of Robert C. Merton - Exhibits - Historical Collections

Alexander J., and James E. Hodder. "Valuing Flexibility as a Complex Option." Journal of Finance 45, no. 2 (June 1990): 549-565. Trigeorgis, Lenos. "Real Options and Interactions with Financial Flexibility." Financial Management 22, no. 3... View Details

01 Jun 2020
News

Check In

Mike Depatie (MBA 1983) Mike Depatie (MBA 1983) With well over 35 years in hospitality, Mike Depatie (MBA 1983) has seen every side of the business, from front-desk minutiae to sweeping real estate negotiations. Most recently CEO of the... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; hotels; COVID-19; real estate; Accommodation; Hospitality

Career Coach

Jonathan Lee

internships (and externships) in real estate and private equity. He serves as co-president of the HBS Real Estate Club. Employment Experience: United States Army, Blackstone (Internship), QHP Capital... View Details

April 1999 (Revised September 2001)
Case

Penelope's Personal Pocket Phones

By: Paul A. Gompers

Provides students with an opportunity to use simple real options analysis to value a startup. Penelope Phillips is deciding whether to start a company to make wireless phones. Students get experience using traditional discounted cash flow valuation and a real options... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Capital Budgeting; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry

15 Aug 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Ryan Serhant: How to Manage Your Time for Happiness

Keywords: Re: Ashley V. Whillans; Real Estate

2013
Work/Family

Pamela Stone Speaks at the 2013 Gender & Work Symposium

April 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

RTY Telecom: Network Expansion

Requires real option analysis to analyze a capital expenditure decision by a large regional telecommunications firm. The firm needs to add network capacity for its broadband offering and is trying to decide on how to do this. One approach is simply to purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry

Find at Harvard

December 2003 (Revised February 2005)
Case

HiJinx, Inc.

HiJinx is formulating its financial policy after a failed IPO. Options include landlord financing of its expansion, though with the knowledge that its real estate strategy may be compromised. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Expansion; Valuation; Financial Strategy

January 1998 (Revised September 2001)
Case

Genset: 1989

By: Paul A. Gompers and Amy Burroughs

Discusses the start-up strategy at Genset, a French biotech firm. Pascal Brandys, a venture capitalist, and Marc Vasseur, a leading French scientist, must decide how to proceed. Future real options are central to the strategy. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Biotechnology Industry; France

January 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Capital Field: A Room with a View

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Joshua Wyatt

Jerzy Peters, Managing Director of Patron Capital Partners, must decide the best investment option on the development of the Odra Polish theater chain and the associated real estate. Capital Field was a company formed by U.S.-educated Polish natives involved in real... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Emerging Markets; State Ownership; Privatization; Property; Real Estate Industry; Poland

2014
Working Paper

Financing Risk and Innovation

By: Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

We provide a model of investment into new ventures that demonstrates why some places, times, and industries should be associated with a greater degree of experimentation by investors. Investors respond to financing risk―a forecast of limited future funding―by modifying... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Financial Markets; Financing and Loans; Investment; Price Bubble; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Risk and Uncertainty

Read Now

June 1992
Case

Arundel Partners: The Sequel Project

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and William A. Teichner

A group of investors is considering buying the sequel rights for a portfolio of feature films. They need to determine how much to offer to pay and how to structure a contract with one or more major U.S. film studios. The case contains cash flow estimates for all major... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Debt Securities; Contracts; Cash Flow; Valuation; Capital Budgeting; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

April 2017
Article

Financing Risk and Innovation

By: Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

We provide a model of investment into new ventures that demonstrates why some places, times, and industries should be associated with a greater degree of experimentation by investors. Investors respond to financing risk―a forecast of limited future funding―by modifying... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Innovation and Invention