Publications

January 2016
Case

Sentient Jet: The Uber of Private Jets

By: Anat Keinan and Sandrine Crener

Founded in 1999 in the Boston area, Sentient Jet had become a leading private aviation company in the United States. Its success was built on the introduction of a groundbreaking membership program that offered business travelers the flexibility and convenience of... View Details

January 2000 (Revised September 2000)
Case

Casablanca Finance Group

Examines the founding and development of an investment bank in Morocco. Two Moroccan expatriates return from Paris and enter the brokerage business. Over the next six years they build the leading financial services firm in the country. Concludes with a series of... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

September 2011
Case

AXA Private Equity: The Diana Investment

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

The case focuses on an investment made by AXA Private Equity, a French manufacturer of food ingredients. The investment is made at the height of the financial markets, and financed with significant debt. Soon thereafter, the financial crisis impacted the company's... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Ethics; Investment; Financial Crisis

November 2001
Case

Charles Schwab Corp.: Introducing A New Brand

By: Rajiv Lal and David Kiron

As the financial services industry converges, how should Charles Schwab, widely known as a discount brokerage firm, position its brand? This case presents elements of the company's overall brand strategy--including brand assets, choice of target audience, and media... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Financial Services Industry

21 Jan 2020
Blog Post

Meet the AFAA Club

welcome service members and veterans from all military branches and nations. While HBS admits outstanding and talented individuals from numerous industries, perhaps no group of students has more experience... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

25 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

More Proof That Money Can Buy Happiness (or a Life with Less Stress)

happiness that money can bring, I think we are missing something,” says Jachimowicz, an assistant professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at HBS. “We also need to think about all of the worries that it can... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

July 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Blue Ocean or Stormy Waters? Buying Nix Check Cashing

By: Peter Tufano

Kinecta Federal Credit Union has the opportunity to purchase Nix Check Cashing as part of their "blue ocean" strategy to reach the financially underserved and increase credit union membership and deposits. But they face financial as well as reputational risk. Check... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Credit; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Strategic Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Reputation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

January 2021
Case

Leading Culture Change at SEB

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Elena Corsi

The Risk organization at SEB, a leading Nordic financial services group founded in 1856, undertook a culture change program focused on psychological safety, empathic listening, and strategic framing. The program enabled risk organization teams to make progress on... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Risk Management; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Banking Industry; Sweden

16 Apr 2024
Video

Career Journeys | Jade Haynes

21 Sep 2017
Cold Call Podcast

State Street’s SHE: Investing in Women Leaders

Keywords: Re: Vikram Gandhi; Financial Services

December 2010 (Revised June 2018)
Case

The Pecora Hearings

By: David Moss, Cole Bolton and Eugene Kintgen

In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, the Senate Banking Committee began a much-publicized investigation of the nation's financial sector. The hearings, which came to be known as the Pecora hearings after the Banking Committee's lead counsel Ferdinand Pecora,... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Fairness; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Institutions; Debt Securities; Stocks; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; History; Financial Services Industry; United States

Research Summary

Managing Customer Information

By: Frances X. Frei

After a service offering is implemented, firms routinely collect significant amounts of data, including customer, employee, and firm financial data. However, service firms are not nearly as effective as they could be in taking advantage of these data. This research... View Details

28 Sep 2015
News

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

March 1995 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Co-operative Bank, The

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Srikant M. Datar

A British bank with strong roots in the cooperative movement encounters declining profitability in an increasingly competitive and deregulated financial services industry. It attempts to grow by broadening its customer base and increasing the range of products and... View Details

Keywords: Product; Competition; Expansion; Cost Management; Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry