Publications

February 2010
Case

Saginaw Parts Co. and the General Motors Corp. Credit Default Swap

By: William E. Fruhan

This two-page case demonstrates how to unbundle the cost of credit extensions from product prices by observing the price of a credit default swap. It also explores how credit default swaps work, and how trade creditors are treated under U.S. bankruptcy law. Finally it... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Credit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Laws and Statutes; Risk Management; Auto Industry; United States

April 2006
Background Note

Legal Aspects of Management: Increasing and Capturing the Value of Knowledge Assets

Describes the third module of the Harvard Business School MBA second-year elective course Legal Aspects of Management. This module deals with the way in which intellectual property rights--as protected by patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets--enable firms... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Patents; Competitive Advantage; Trademarks; Copyright

Find at Harvard

09 Dec 2021
News

How the Supply Chain Upheaval Became a Life-or-Death Threat

11 Sep 2018
Working Paper Summaries

IQ from IP: Simplifying Search in Portfolio Choice

Keywords: by Huaizhi Chen, Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun, Dong Lou, and Christopher J. Malloy

December 1997
Case

Baylor Books, Inc.

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Jeremy Cott

The owner of a trade book publishing company must consider proper accounting for books returned and potentially returnable by book stores. Company and industry data are supplied. Costs of failure to publish books under contract and a cost accounting system for books... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Financial Reporting; Publishing Industry

Find at Harvard

February 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Rico Auto Industries: Raising Private Equity in India

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

The CEO of a publicly traded Indian auto components manufacturer must decide whether to accept an investment from a consortium of private equity firms. Describes the decision process for both the private equity investors and the entrepreneur and profiles the... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Auto Industry; India

2015
Working Paper

Collateral Shortages and Intermediation Networks

By: Marco Di Maggio and Alireza Tahbaz-Salehi

This paper argues that in the presence of trading frictions and agency problems, the interbank market may be overly fragile, in the sense that small changes in the liquidity of assets used as collateral may lead to large swings in haircuts and a potential credit... View Details

Keywords: Financial Intermediation; Financial Networks; Secured Lending; Collateral; Repo Runs; ABCP Collapse; Networks; Negotiation; Financing and Loans; Financial Crisis

January 2008
Background Note

Equity Options

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

The goal of this simulation is to understand the reliance of option values on volatility. When an investor trades an option, they are essentially trading volatility. Therefore, much of the focus in this lesson is on forecasting volatility. Students are able to use two... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Forecasting and Prediction; Stock Options; Investment Return; Price; Market Transactions; Mathematical Methods; Value

February 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Metallgesellschaft AG

By: David F. Hawkins and Guy J. Weyns

Metallgesellschaft AG is a commodity and engineering conglomerate based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Metallgesellschaft Corp., a New York based subsidiary of the group, has made oil trading and hedging errors that could drive the group into insolvency. The impact of... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Business Conglomerates; Forecasting and Prediction; Trade; Non-Renewable Energy

March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

WallStreetBets: Democratizing Retail Investing

By: Joseph Pacelli and Alexis Lefort

In summer 2024, Jaime Rogozinski anticipated the launch of a day-trading eSports event, a vision he had nurtured for years. Rogozinski, the founder of the influential subreddit WallStreetBets (WSB), created the forum in 2012 as a space for retail traders to explore... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Emerging Markets; Market Participation; Financial Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Financial Services Industry; United States

October 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Exxel Group, The: March 2001

By: Josh Lerner and Alberto Ballve

The Exxel Group, a leading Latin American buyout fund, faces a challenge when deciding whether and how to exit its largest investment. The capital markets are very weak, precluding an initial public offering. Undertaking a trade sale of the firm, however, proves to be... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Capital Markets; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Latin America

23 May 2018
News

These fast-growing Oregon jobs don't require a college degree

Dennis A. Yao

Dennis Yao is the Lawrence E. Fouraker Professor of Business Administration and Chair of the Doctoral Programs at Harvard Business School. He joined the faculty in 2004 after having been at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. From 1991-1994 he served as... View Details

Keywords: automotive; defense; federal government; high technology

13 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Consequences of Invention Secrecy: Evidence from the USPTO Patent Secrecy Program in World War II

Keywords: by Daniel P. Gross

07 Aug 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Economic Integration and Democracy: An Empirical Investigation

Keywords: by Giacomo Magistretti and Marco Tabellini

November 2002 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Charoen Pokphand Group: A Renewed Focus

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Cate Reavis

As one of Asia's biggest agriindustrial conglomerates, Charoen Pokphand, although solidly positioned in Thailand, was facing an increasingly competitive and complex business environment in China, where it made 30% of revenues. A change in management of the family-owned... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Agribusiness; Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Competition; Restructuring; Partners and Partnerships; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Thailand; China

Find at Harvard

24 Sep 2012
News

With Smartphone Deals, Patents Become a New Asset Class

2017
Working Paper

Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism

By: Sophus A. Reinert and Robert Fredona

N.S.B. Gras, the father of Business History in the United States, argued that the era of mercantile capitalism was defined by the figure of the “sedentary merchant,” who managed his business from home, using correspondence and intermediaries, in contrast to the earlier... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; History; Business History