Publications

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November 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Constellation Brands' Investment in Canopy Growth: Aiming High

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2017, Constellation Brands, the U.S.-based beverage company, acquired a 9.9% equity interest in the Canadian marijuana company, Canopy Growth. In 2018, Constellation announced a subsequent investment in Canopy—taking its ownership interest to 37%. However, Canopy’s... View Details

Keywords: Equity Investment; Marijuana; Growth Investing; New Market Development; Beverage Industry; Equity; Investment; Strategy; Consulting Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Canada; United States

November 2004
Case

Deere & Company

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

John Deere & Co. wants to improve shareholder value and provide incentives to do so. The task is difficult in a volatile agriculture and construction industry. It also wants to be more global and provide machinery that traces commodities from the field to the consumer. View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Volatility; Machinery and Machining; Multinational Firms and Management; Goods and Commodities; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Construction Industry

November 1997
Case

Colly Cotton Ltd.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

Colly Farm is an entrepreneurial cotton farm complex that has to compete on a world market. In going public it has to satisfy the market that it can remain profitable in volatile times. View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Entrepreneurship; Going Public; Balance and Stability

November 1988 (Revised January 1996)
Case

Note on Management of Crisis

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Intended to be used in cases dealing with crisis management and gives students a more theoretical perspective on leadership during volatile periods of business activity. Written to accompany the Lucky Stores case series. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Leadership; Management; Theory

18 Jun 2018
Working Paper Summaries

A Measure of Risk Appetite for the Macroeconomy

Keywords: by Carolin E. Pflueger, Emil Siriwardane, and Adi Sunderam

January 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Background Note

The Great Moderation, Dead or Alive?

By: Diego A. Comin

The Great Moderation is a significant decline in the volatility of fluctuations in most macroeconomic variables that the United States and other developed and developing economies have experienced at least since the mid-1980s. This case describes the basic facts,... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Business Cycles; Macroeconomics; United States

January 2002
Case

Metromove.com Business Plan

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Sheila Marcelo

Enables analysis of a business plan in a volatile market. Also enables analysis of the decisions entrepreneurs must make as they start a new business, develop the concept, choose partners, and find funding. View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships

31 Aug 2020
Working Paper Summaries

The Pass-Through of Uncertainty Shocks to Households

Keywords: by Marco Di Maggio, Amir Kermani, Rodney Ramcharan, Vincent Yao, and Edison Yu

2024
Working Paper

Transitory and Permanent Cash Flow Shocks in Debt Contract Design

By: Le Ma, Anywhere Sikochi and Yajun Xiao

We examine how lenders design contracts to account for transitory and permanent cash flow shocks facing borrowers. We find that volatile transitory cash flow shocks are associated with fewer liquidity covenants, indicating financial flexibility that enables firms to... View Details

Keywords: Debt Covenants; Cash Flow Shocks; Debt Contracting; Likelihood Of Default; Cash Flow; System Shocks

SSRN

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Video

What's Behind China's Wild Stock Ride?

March 1996
Case

FASB and Employee Stock Options, The

Summarizes the accounting principles governing employee stock options, including the recently issued accounting standard SFAS 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation. Presents the theoretical issues involved with valuation and measurement of employee stock-based... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Accounting

Research Summary

Capital flows in a Globalized Economy: The Role of Policies and Institutions (joint with Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Vadym Volosovych)

By: Laura Alfaro

We describe the patterns of international capital flows in the period 1970-2000. We then examine the determinants of capital flows and capital flow volatility during this period. We find that institutional quality is an important determinant of capital flows.... View Details

31 Jul 2012
News

What's the long-term impact of the EU’s carbon market crisis?

November 1996 (Revised September 1997)
Case

BancZero New Product Development

By: Marco Iansiti and Alberto Moel

The Mexico City office of a large U.S. bank is asked by clients to develop currency swaps, a derivative financial product. This case deals with the new product development process in financial services, and the problems and issues that are raised in product development... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Banks and Banking; Financial Instruments; Situation or Environment; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Volatility; Banking Industry; Mexico City; United States

January 2008
Background Note

Equity Options

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

The goal of this simulation is to understand the reliance of option values on volatility. When an investor trades an option, they are essentially trading volatility. Therefore, much of the focus in this lesson is on forecasting volatility. Students are able to use two... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Forecasting and Prediction; Stock Options; Investment Return; Price; Market Transactions; Mathematical Methods; Value

26 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

David, Goliath, and Disruption

As elegantly described by HBS professor Clayton M. Christensen in his 1997 bestseller, The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, so-called disruptive technologies are upstart innovations that manage to penetrate the market share of some... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2008
Article

Venture Capital Investment Cycles: The Impact of Public Markets

By: Paul Gompers, Anna Kovner, Josh Lerner and David Scharfstein

It is well documented that the venture capital industry is highly volatile and that much of this volatility is associated with shifting valuations and activity in public equity markets. This paper examines how changes in public market signals affected venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Market Cycles; Venture Capital; Investment; Experience and Expertise; Public Equity; Volatility; Financial Services Industry