Publications

20 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 20

Shareholders Using a Geographic Instrument Authors:Bo Becker, Henrik Cronqvist, and Rüdiger Fahlenbrach Abstract Large shareholders may play an important role for firm performance and policies, but identifying this empirically presents a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Article

Investor Activism and Takeovers

By: Robin Greenwood and Michael Schor

Recent work documents large positive abnormal returns around the time that a hedge fund announces its activist intentions with a publicly listed firm. We show that these returns are largely explained by the ability of activists to force target firms into a takeover: In... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Portfolio; Public Ownership

November 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

'Care in Every Drop': Ayala Corporation and Manila Water (A)

By: Debora L. Spar, Paul Healy, Tricia Peralta and Julia M. Comeau

Since 1834, eight generations of the Ayala family have used their conglomerate to fund nation-building projects in the Philippines, including investments in tramcars, telecommunications, hospitals, and schools. In 1997, Ayala’s subsidiary, Manila Water, took control of... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Economic Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Natural Resources; Crisis Management; Failure; Privatization; Social Issues; Urban Development; Adaptation; Public Opinion; Mission and Purpose; Utilities Industry; Asia; Philippines

April 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The Auction for Travelport (A)

By: Andrei Hagiu and Misha Sanwal

A senior Blackstone director is deciding how aggressively to bid for Travelport, a travel distribution business containing several key services and platforms. Travelport's most important properties were Galileo, one of the top 3 global distribution systems (GDSs),... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Product Positioning; Cost vs Benefits; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Competitive Advantage; Auctions; Industry Structures; Travel Industry

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—Middle East

companies, either private or state-owned Entrepreneurial ventures—either new companies or new ventures within established companies Growing family businesses Multinational firms with an increased presence in... View Details

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

$25,000 of annual revenue Private foundations After removing these and a few other special cases for which tax data were not available, we were left with 1,625 organizations. Of these, 1,190 organizations disclosed the size of their... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

September 2017 (Revised June 2021)
Supplement

Tempur Sealy International (C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

Analyzes the commercial relationship between Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm following the events discussed in the (B) case. View Details

September 2017 (Revised June 2021)
Supplement

Tempur Sealy International (B)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

Analyzes the commercial relationship between Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm following the events discussed in the (A) case. View Details

November 2012
Case

Edison Schools, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Conflict of Interests; Initial Public Offering; For-Profit Firms; Public Sector; Market Entry and Exit; Education; Business Startups; Education Industry

December 2008
Article

Which Kind of Collaboration Is Right for You?

By: Roberto Verganti and Gary P. Pisano

Nowadays, virtually no companies innovate alone. Firms team up with a variety of partners, in a wide number of ways, to create new technologies, products, and services. But what is the best way to leverage the power of outsiders? To help executives answer that... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Framework; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy

Find at Harvard

09 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 9, 2008

Working PapersHow Firms Respond to Being Rated Authors:Aaron K. Chatterji, Michael W. Toffel Abstract While many independent rating systems are designed primarily to help buyers overcome information asymmetries when making purchasing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Government’s Positive Role in Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship

Silicon Valley is the poster child for capitalism, the synergistic geography where smart private money supports cool ideas, creates jobs, boosts national productivity, and provides a handsome return for investors. Less well understood... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

06 Feb 2014
HBS Seminar

Karthik Ramanna, Harvard Business School

September 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Case

3i Group plc: May 2006

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Since 2004, Philip Yea, the first outsider ever to lead 3i Group, one of Europe's largest publicly listed private equity firms, has been trying to help the far flung organization become more of a streamlined partnership even as it functions around the globe. As he... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Globalized Firms and Management; Alignment; Partners and Partnerships; Public Ownership; Employees; Goals and Objectives; Financial Services Industry