Publications

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11 Jan 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Does Shareholder Proxy Access Improve Firm Value? Evidence from the Business Roundtable Challenge

Keywords: by Bo Becker, Daniel B. Bergstresser & Guhan Subramanian; Financial Services

02 Nov 2020
What Do You Think?

Is Antitrust Just a Quaint Notion in the Digital Age?

etc.” Several responses questioned whether there was damage to the consumer, often at issue in antitrust. As Shoshanna Zuboff pointed out, in “free” high-tech services, the consumer benefits and resulting satisfaction are highly visible;... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service; Service; Service; Service; Service; Service

March 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Zopa: The Power of Peer-to-Peer Lending

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Isabel Fernandez-Mateo and David Chen

Zopa, a U.K.-based peer-to-peer lending company, connected individual lenders and borrowers via an online interface. The company charged a small fee for completed loan transactions but has not turned a profit. Zopa offered two platforms, Markets and Listings. Markets... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Market Participation; Digital Platforms; Social and Collaborative Networks; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

17 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

New Treasury Rules Help Long-Retirement Planning

deal with medical emergencies or unexpected disasters during their retirement years. Alternatively, retired workers want to bequeath any remaining savings at death to their families, friends and favorite charities. However, if workers buy... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Pozen; Financial Services

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Martin Smith: July 2012

By: Josh Lerner and Felda Hardymon

Martin Smith, a recently hired general partner at a Brazil-based venture capital firm, must decide among three deal opportunities. Each has different strengths (management, market, and technology) but each has its own weaknesses as well. He must also consider each deal... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Deal Choice; Venture Capital; Investments; Career Management; Management Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost vs Benefits; Personal Development and Career; Financial Services Industry; Brazil

August 2008
Case

Sloan & Harrison: The Associate Challenge

By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman

The law firm, Sloan & Harrison, was confronting issues pertaining to morale and turnover among its associate ranks. Annual surveys of associates revealed increasing dissatisfaction, particularly with respect to partner communication, work-life balance, and mentorship.... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Employees; Human Resources; Leadership Development; Management Style; Performance; Work-Life Balance; Conflict Management; Legal Services Industry

August 2008
Case

Sloan & Harrison: Non-Equity Partner Discontent

By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman

The law firm, Sloan & Harrison, was dealing with some discontent among its junior non-equity partners. These partners were concerned with the transparency of the advancement process, their ability to position themselves as both leaders within the firm and rainmakers,... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Human Resources; Leadership Development; Management Style; Performance; Work-Life Balance; Legal Services Industry

12 Jan 2004
What Do You Think?

How Should We Think About the Exportation of Jobs?

exported—those involving personal services such as face-to-face retailing and repair work. The Wal-Martization of work in the U.S. is emphasized while the fastest-growing types... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

22 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Mind of the Market: Extending the Frontiers of Marketing Thought

type of ketchup or laundry detergent they prefer, a ZMET interview at the Mind of the Market lab of HBS offers a far more creative approach. Typically, the ZMET interview combines elements of neuroscience, art, linguistics View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

30 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Venture Investors Prefer Funding Handsome Men

personal persuasion. Kearney, her twin sister, is an entrepreneur and scholar whose research is fueled by both a frustration with and curiosity about the dearth of venture... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

What It Takes to Restore Trust in Business

American business are plainly visible for the whole world to see, Mills warned. Repairing the infrastructure is critically important to restore trust in American business, and tinkering with the rulebook is not enough. The process of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

09 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Are Management Consulting Firms Failing to Manage Themselves?

recruits by five to 10 months. McKinsey, for example, has laid off both non-client and client service staff, and for the first time in its history, has offered buyouts to... View Details

Keywords: by David Fubini; Consulting

January 1998
Case

Jerry Sanders

In 1997, Jay Sanders sold his 10-month-old medical device start-up company for more than $33 million. Looking to the future, he wondered if this was a success he could transform into a medical device brokerage business. As he reviewed his career history and the... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Business Startups; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

October 2018
Case

African Bank Investments Limited (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Africa; South Africa

June 2013
Case

Ken Traub at American Bank Note Holographics

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Michael Norris

Ken Traub is hired as CFO for American Bank Note Holographics, the market-leading security holograph company in January 1999, but discovers on his first day that the company has misstated its financials and resigns. After consulting with the company for the next... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Moral Sensibility; Earnings Management; Crime and Corruption; Personal Development and Career; Management Teams; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States