Publications

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March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

China: To Float or Not To Float? (D)- Bank of America's Strategic Investment in China Construction Bank

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

With its $3 billion investment in Chinese state bank China Construction Bank, Bank of America--the second U.S. bank behind Citigroup in terms of assets and market capitalization--was one of several foreign banks directly participating in China's banking sector reform.... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Banks and Banking; Foreign Direct Investment; International Relations; Banking Industry; China; United States

27 Feb 2013
Working Paper Summaries

In Strange Company: The Puzzle of Private Investment in State-Controlled Firms

Keywords: by Mariana Pargendler, Aldo Musacchio & Sergio G. Lazzarini; Banking; Financial Services

February 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Lehman Brothers

By: Tom Nicholas and David Chen

In 2008, the U.S. financial system was in a state of crisis and Lehman Brothers went from a major Wall Street investment bank to an insolvent institution. It was a swift end for a firm that had its beginnings over 150 years prior. What would be the firm's legacy? And... View Details

Keywords: History; Business History; Development Economics; Business Exit or Shutdown; Investment Banking; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; United States

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Make Restructuring Work for Your Company

objective. Combining the two banks created opportunities to eliminate overlaps in such areas as back-office staff, branch offices, and computing infrastructure. Management of both banks also believed that larger and more diversified financial View Details

Keywords: by Stuart C. Gilson

22 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 22, 2008

approach is the assumption that teams are stable in their membership and internal organization. In practice, however, such stability is rare, as the composition and structure of teams often changes over time or between projects. In this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

About - Business & Environment

Environment (SSEE) and the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET). His research studies the Financial Economics of Climate Change and Sustainability focusing on the implications of climate View Details

09 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Could Clean Hydrogen Become Affordable at Scale by 2030?

Hydrogen is poised to move from the sidelines of global clean energy as the industry learns to produce it more efficiently and at lower cost, according to newly published research led by Gunther Glenk, a climate fellow with Harvard Business School's Institute for the... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Green Technology

Charlotte L. Robertson

Charlotte Robertson is an Assistant Professor in the Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches BGIE in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Robertson conducts research on the history of financial... View Details

Web

Latin America - Global

2025, in Mexico City, Harvard Business School’s Institute for Business in Global Society (BiGS) and the Latin America Research Center hosted a solutions-driven roundtable, bringing together business leaders, policymakers, and civil... View Details

October 2017 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Eastern Bank: Innovating Through Eastern Labs

By: Karen Mills, Dennis Campbell and Aaron Mukerjee

Eastern Bank is a 200-year-old New England mutual bank with a community focus. Eastern specializes in small business lending, having made strategic investments to become the top SBA lender in New England in the midst of the Great Recession, when other banks were... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Management

12 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

How Can Financial Advisors Thrive in Shifting Markets? Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

broadly for other industries looking to appeal to younger clients or adapt marketing strategies to a fluid business environment. Sizing up a changing investment world Historically speaking, financial advisory firms have focused on... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Financial Services

20 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Risky Business with Structured Finance

compensation for these risks. The paper also raises larger questions. "There has been a significant change in the price of these securities," says Coval. "How much of the repricing that's occurred was an elimination of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Banking; Financial Services

Web

HBS - The year in Review

Initiatives and other faculty at HBS. Topics include race, diversity, and inequality; climate change and sustainability; and economic inclusion. The inaugural cohort of BiGS Visiting Fellows joined the School in fall 2022. More on the... View Details

February 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Merrill Lynch: Integrated Choice (Abridged)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and James Weber

Merrill Lynch, a full-service brokerage firm with $1.5 trillion in client assets, is under attack from both discount and electronic brokerage firms. It responds with Integrated Choice, a suite of products designed to capture clients, from the do-it-yourself investor... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry

Program

Compensation Committees

Summary Executive compensation has become a flashpoint issue for board members, institutional investors, regulators, and the media. Examining critical market and regulatory issues, this board leadership program enables compensation... View Details

September 2021
Case

Posse Foundation: Developing Strong Leaders from Diverse Backgrounds

By: John J-H Kim, Robin Mendelson and Julia Kelley

Founded in 1989, Posse Foundation was a nonprofit organization with a mission of developing future leaders who reflected the U.S.’s rich diversity. The organization ran a selective, localized admissions process in 10 U.S. cities to identify outstanding students with... View Details