Publications

April 2018 (Revised December 2018)
Case

The Whistleblower at International Game Technology

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and James Weber

Robert Mayhem, a senior manager at International Game Technology, had filed a whistleblower report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company had misstatements in its financial reports. Mayhem’s report involved IGT’s practice of... View Details

Keywords: Whistleblower; Financial Reporting; Governance Compliance; Ethics

2018
Working Paper

The Impact of Pensions and Insurance on Global Yield Curves

By: Robin Greenwood and Annette Vissing-Jorgensen

We document a strong effect of pension and insurance company (P&I) assets on the long end of the yield curve. Using data from 26 countries, the yield spread between 30-year and 10-year government bond yields is negatively related to the ratio of pension assets (in... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Investment Funds; Insurance; Assets; Interest Rates; Bonds

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May 2021 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Accounting for Bitcoin at Tesla

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Siyu Zhang

On February 8, 2021, Tesla revealed, through its 10-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that it had purchased $1.5 billion of Bitcoin, totaling 7.5% of the company’s cash, and that it planned to accept payments in the cryptocurrency soon. These... View Details

Keywords: Bitcoin; Accounting; Currency; Communication Intention and Meaning; Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Emerging Markets; Risk and Uncertainty; Value Creation

2007
Chapter

Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey

By: Malcolm Baker, Richard Ruback and Jeffrey Wurgler

Research in behavioral corporate finance takes two distinct approaches. The first emphasizes that investors are less than fully rational. It views managerial financing and investment decisions as rational responses to securities market mispricing. The second approach... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Prejudice and Bias; Debt Securities; Financial Management; Price; Theory; Investment; Problems and Challenges; Behavioral Finance; Corporate Finance

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February 2016 (Revised August 2020)
Case

InsightSquared: Developing the Sales and Marketing Plan

By: Mark Roberge, Tom Eisenmann and Frank Cespedes

Fred Shilmover and Sam Clemens prepared for their fourth quarter board meeting. They were excited to have scaled their software startup, InsightSquared, to $2 million in revenue and secured an $8 million round of venture capital. However, they disagreed on the path... View Details

Keywords: Sales Planning; Applications and Software; Marketing; Sales; Planning; Growth and Development Strategy

September 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Harley-Davidson, Inc.: Motorcycle Manufacturer or Financing Company?

Harley-Davidson manufactures and sells motorcycles. It also provides financing for retail purchases and dealer stock. Although Harley's performance has been very strong, analysts and the press have questioned its use of a special-purpose entity to sell securities... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business or Company Management; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Financial Services Industry; Motorcycle Industry; Retail Industry

Lou Shipley is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School. Lou is a three-time technology CEO, most recently at Black Duck Software.

Lou teaches four sales courses at HBS. He specializes in tech entrepreneurship,... View Details

September 2023 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Mohamed Salah

By: Anita Elberse and Taher El Moataz Bellah

In June 2022, Mohamed Salah, one of the world’s best soccer players, and his lawyer and advisor Ramy Abbas Issa were in ongoing discussions with top English Premier League club Liverpool FC about a new playing contract for Salah. Arguably the Arab world’s biggest... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; General Management; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Marketing; Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Contracts; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Process; Sports Industry; England

09 Aug 2017
News

Financial Fraud: It Takes Two

January 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Finova Group, Inc. (A), The

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan

Finova Group, a $14 billion commercial finance company, filed for Chapter 11 in early March 2001, in what was one of the largest U.S. bankruptcy filings of all time and the largest corporate bond default since the Great Depression. While in Chapter 11, Finova became... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Startups; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Price; Crisis Management; Bids and Bidding; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; United States

January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Supplement

Uber in China (C): The Cost of Success for Didi

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

On June 30, 2021, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (Didi) raised $4.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the largest IPO of a Chinese company listed on an American exchange since Alibaba raised $25 billion in 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Uber; Didi Chuxing; Start-up Growth; Regulation; Ride-sharing; Transportation; Business Startups; Business and Government Relations; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development; Policy; Competition; Laws and Statutes; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; China

03 Dec 2020
News

Microsoft Patents New Software that Can Detect When Employees are Lazy

24 Oct 2017
News

Are You Suited for a Start-Up?

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

January 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Wyoff and China-LuQuan: Negotiating a Joint Venture (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Cheng (Jason) Qian

Through stalled joint venture talks between Pennsylvania-based Wyoff Corp. and China-based China-LuQuan, strategic and cross-cultural negotiation challenges are explored both from American and Chinese perspectives. Wyoff, a leading US chemical company has been seeking... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation Style; Strategy; Chemical Industry; China; Pennsylvania

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

technology operations, marketing, supply chain and operations, talent management, and more, who want to move toward an AI-first digital business and operating model Government officials engaged in developing strategy and policy to address AI, its privacy and View Details

September 2024
Module Note

Governance for Non-Profit Social Enterprises

By: Brian Trelstad, Gerald Chertavian and Alexis Lefort

An overview of the various roles a non-profit board of directors plays, including the board’s principal responsibilities and how those evolve as organizations grow and scale. Looks closely at the overall role in setting the mission of the organization; supervising and... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; United States