Publications

December 2022
Article

Conflicting Interests and the Effect of Fiduciary Duty: Evidence from Variable Annuities

By: Mark Egan, Shan Ge and Johnny Tang

We examine the variable annuity market to study conflicts of interest and the effect of fiduciary duty in brokerage markets. Insurers typically pay brokers higher commissions for selling more expensive annuities. Our results indicate that sales are four times as... View Details

Keywords: Variable Annuity; Brokers; Fiduciary Duty; Finance; Investment; Insurance; Conflict of Interests; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

SSRN

November 1, 2022
Article

To Prepare for Future Surges, U.S. Hospitals Must Start Planning—& Sharing Resources—Now!

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Keywords: COVID-19; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Disruption; Planning; Health Industry; United States

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October 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST (B)

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case, describing actions taken by SolarWinds as well as by regulatory agencies in the aftermath of the immediate crisis. The case also includes reflections by SolarWinds managers on the choices they made with respect to disclosure, media relations,... View Details

Keywords: Cyberattacks; Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Legal Liability; Governance Compliance; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology Industry; United States

October 2022
Background Note

Note on Cyberattacks and Regulatory Regimes

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

Describes common types of cyberattacks on enterprises and their costs, as well as the fragmentary regulatory regimes through which U.S. states and regulatory agencies at the start of 2021 attempted to encourage disclosure of cyberattacks and to pursue enforcement... View Details

Keywords: Regulations; Regulatory Agencies; Cyberattacks; Governance; Corporate Disclosure; Cybersecurity; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

February 1986 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Travelers Mortgage Securities CMO

Describes a series of collateralized mortgage obligations offered by Travelers Insurance. Provides a general description of the life insurance business and the role of life insurance in the capital markets. Also describes a variety of mortgage related instruments,... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Capital Markets; Mortgages; Insurance Industry; United States

August 2022 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Wasabi Technologies (A)

By: N. Louis Shipley and Mel Martin

After launching a successful hot cloud storage company, Founder and CEO David Friend is ready to scale the venture rapidly. Wasabi Technologies had focused primarily on direct sales, but an opportunity to pivot to channel sales was on the horizon. The company’s major... View Details

Keywords: Direct Sales; Channel Sales; Information Management; Sales; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Divisions; Information Technology Industry; United States

September 2022
Case

Pointillist: Building a Business in Customer Journey Analytics

By: David C. Edelman

Growth challenges in building a SAAS business using AI for Customer Experience analysis. View Details

Keywords: AI; Customer Experience; Analytics; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; United States

December 1985 (Revised June 1991)
Case

Understanding the U.S. Dollar in 1985

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Currency; United States

July 2022
Supplement

Solution for E-Commerce Analytics for CPG Firms (C): Free Delivery Terms

By: Ayelet Israeli

April 2022
Teaching Note

CVS Health: Prescription for Transformation

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Catarina Martinez

In 2021, new CEO Karen Lynch (named the most powerful woman in business) considered the next transformation phase for CVS Health (a Fortune 5 corporate giant). The 2018 acquisition of Aetna insurance brought her to the company as part of its long evolution from a... View Details

Keywords: Health; COVID-19 Pandemic; Primary Care; Leadership; Change Management; Women Executives; Retail; Pharmacy; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; Clinical Trials; Vaccination; Acquisition; Innovation and Invention; Transformation; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; United States

April 2022
Teaching Note

Gender Equality in Business: 100 Years of Progress?

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 422-066, "Gender Equality in Business: 100 Years of Progress?" The case traces the history of women in management from the early 20th to early 21st century through analysis of Harvard Business Review's coverage of women and gender. The... View Details

Keywords: History; Business History; Gender; Management; Employees; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Work-Life Balance; Prejudice and Bias; Social Issues; Diversity; Equity; United States

April 2022
Supplement

PG&E and the First Climate Change Bankruptcy

By: Stuart C. Gilson

Keywords: Chapter 11; Utilities; Liabilities; Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Legal Liability; Climate Change; Utilities Industry; United States

March 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Case

DaVita Responds to COVID

By: Susanna Gallani and David Lane

Early in August 2021, DaVita CEO Javier Rodriguez was assessing the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on his firm, which provided life-sustaining kidney dialysis to roughly 240,000 people. Effective infection control practices and information sharing had ensured... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change Management; Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Employee Relationship Management; Retention; Wages; Working Conditions; Leadership Style; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States

Article

Moving Forward from COVID-19: Organizational Dimensions of Effective Hospital Emergency Management

By: Mariam Krikorian Atkinson, Nicholas Cagliuso, John Hick, Sara Singer, Elizabeth Bambury, Tuna Cem Hayirli, Masha Kuznetsova and Paul Biddinger

Federal investment in emergency preparedness has increased notably since the 9/11 attacks, yet it is unclear if and how U.S. hospital readiness has changed in the 20 years since then. In particular, understanding effective aspects of hospital emergency management... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Hospital Preparedness/response; Urban/rural Hospitals; Emergency Management; National Strategy; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Performance Effectiveness; Governance; Policy; United States

March 2022
Supplement

Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

March 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Teaching Note

Camera IQ and the Metaverse: Building Augmented Reality Brand Experiences

By: Jill Avery

Camera IQ, a camera marketing software company that empowered brands to create and launch augmented reality experiences (AREs) across social platforms, had just raised an additional $5 million to fund further product development and expand its marketing and sales... View Details

2024
Working Paper

What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences

By: Mark Egan, Alexander MacKay and Hanbin Yang

We present an empirical model of portfolio choice that allows for the nonparametric estimation of investors' (subjective) expectations and risk preferences. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 401(k) plans from 2009 through 2019, we explore heterogeneity in asset... View Details

Keywords: Stock Market Expectations; Demand Estimation; Retirement Planning; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); Finance; Investment Portfolio; Investment; Retirement; Behavioral Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States

SSRN

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December 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Supplement

Katerra (B)

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn

In May 2020, SoftBank executives, having invested nearly $2 billion in Katerra, decided the vision of an end-to-end, vertically-integrated construction process was worth saving—with some major changes to company structure. The SoftBank Vision Fund invested $200 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Failure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Construction; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; Technology Industry; United States

November 2021
Article

Strict ID Laws Don't Stop Voters: Evidence from a U.S. Nationwide Panel, 2008–2018

By: Enrico Cantoni and Vincent Pons

U.S. states increasingly require identification to vote—an ostensive attempt to deter fraud that prompts complaints of selective disenfranchisement. Using a difference-in-differences design on a 1.6-billion-observations panel dataset, 2008–2018, we find that the laws... View Details

Keywords: Voter ID Laws; Voter Turnout; Voting; Political Elections; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States