Publications

March 2006 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Geeli

By: Li Jin, Kenneth A. Froot and Si Ping May Yu

A well-performing Chinese manufacturer faces major impediments raising funding to grow. Highlights various imperfections that shape the financing decision. View Details

Keywords: Capital Costs; International Finance; Diversification; Financial Instruments; Cost of Capital; Global Strategy; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Hong Kong

February 2007
Case

Behavioral Finance at JP Morgan

By: Malcolm P. Baker and Aldo Sesia

Following a successful model in Europe, JP Morgan has introduced a set of five U.S. retail mutual funds with an investment philosophy and marketing strategy grounded in behavioral finance. The asset management group believes that understanding investor biases like... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Investment Funds; Behavioral Finance; Competitive Advantage; Asset Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Europe

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

Sharing the Responsibility of Corporate Governance

each company in the portfolio is acting in a socially responsible manner. So-called green funds attempt to invest in socially responsible companies but often their selection criteria, which are often based on the View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

September 2023
Case

FoodCloud: Tackling Food Insecurity and Climate Change in One Bite

By: Brian Trelstad and Emer Moloney

In 2013, Aoibheann O’Brien and Iseult Ward founded FoodCloud, a non-profit social enterprise that aimed to address food waste and food insecurity issues. Through its technology platform, Foodiverse, FoodCloud connected surplus food from retailers with community groups... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Green Technology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Republic of Ireland; Europe

January 2018
Case

Blue Harbour's Activism at Babcock & Wilcox

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

The case describes Blue Harbour Group's investment in Babcock & Wilcox and its transformation into BWX Technologies. In 2004, activist hedge fund Blue Harbour Group invested in Babcock & Wilcox, an energy and construction company. Blue Harbour developed an investment... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Investment Activism; Leading Change; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; United States

11 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

The Business of Saving the Planet

2018: Implications for Business This background note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Working Knowledge Stories on the Business of Environmental Sustainability Should a Pension View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Energy; Green Technology

30 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

COVID Not Slowing VC Investment

expect their investments to outperform major equity indexes going forward, and they’re continuing to fund new endeavors. “It’s sort of the opposite of doom and gloom,” Gompers... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services; Banking

July 2010
Case

Fidelity Retires in Canada

By: Robert C. Pozen and Edward Warren Scott

The head of Fidelity Canada was faced with a decision about what to do with its retirement business there. Although Fidelity as a fund manager has made some headway in Canada, the competition has been very tough for the administration of retirement plans—a separate... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Investment Funds; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Retirement; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Canada; United States

Find at Harvard

02 Jul 2015
Op-Ed

The Future of the Greek Economy

out of the brinkmanship of the past weeks, but not after payments to the International Monetary Fund have been missed, and European funding has... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Dante Roscini & George Serafeim; Banking

01 Mar 2018
News

Making Sense of the Modern Startup

matter who funds it? How does it evolve logically over time? What insights could you derive from studying that particular set of circumstances, where there’s lots of... View Details

Keywords: Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (PMD 51, 1986)

February 2011 (Revised April 2012)
Case

PepsiCo Peru Foods: More than Small Potatoes

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Rakesh Khurana, Rajiv Lal and Matthew Bird

The regional head of supply chain for PepsiCo South America Foods and his team had worked for 10 years to realize their dream of creating an agricultural research center in Peru that could provide more productive and healthier varieties of potatoes for the Frito-Lay... View Details

Keywords: Food; Supply Chain; Planning; Growth and Development Strategy; Leading Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Peru

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Supplement

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A2)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

The A1 and A2 versions of the “Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)” split the original A case into two parts. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006. The... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Conflict and Resolution; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

16 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

The Unfulfilled Promise of Educational Technology

Not only has technology entered nearly every area of our personal life, it's the rare industry that isn't computerized, networked, and advertised on Facebook. Except one: education. Outside View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

April 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

The Engine

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Fiona Murray and Nicholas Christman

The Engine, a venture capital firm founded by MIT to fill a gap in the technology funding landscape by commercializing breakthrough science and technology. Led by managing partner and CEO Katie Rae, the Engine's unique approach involved an unusually longer fund life,... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Services Industry

01 Oct 2000
News

Class of 1975 Endows Chair in Entrepreneurship

With the study of entrepreneurial management flourishing at HBS, the challenge to find and support new faculty and to fund curriculum development is more pressing than ever. Recently these needs were... View Details

Keywords: Nancy O. Perry

October 2006 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

Note on U.S. Public Education Finance (A): Revenues

Describes the revenue structure of U.S. public education. Covers funding by federal, state, and local governments. Examines in detail two federal education laws: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act... View Details

Keywords: Education; Revenue; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

January 1996 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Weston Presidio Offshore Capital: Confronting the Fundraising Challenge

By: Josh Lerner

Weston Presidio Capital encounters substantial difficulties while raising its first fund. The incentives and roles of investment advisors ("gatekeepers") pension funds and consultants are explored. The relationship with lead investors is considered. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Markets; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry