Publications

01 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making

homogeneous capital stock," according to the paper. To that end, Sadun and her fellow researchers set out to show how—and why—managers need to consider the very different organizational effects of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

21 Jul 2016
Cold Call Podcast

How Small Investors Can Bet Big on Brands They Love

Keywords: Re: Luis M. Viceira; Financial Services

September 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS: Selecting Impact Funds

By: Vikram Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Nathaniel Schwalb

After much internal debate, THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS of Denmark have decided to allocate a small percentage of their investment portfolio to impact investments. Cambridge Associates, one of the leading investment advisory firms in the world, has been engaged to assist... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Mission-Related Investing; Foundations; Investment; Venture Capital; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Investment Funds; Decision Making; Consulting Industry; Financial Services Industry; Denmark; Europe

04 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 4

experimenter who had made them wait, or not interrupting at all. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=44857 Measurement Errors of Expected Returns Proxies and the Implied Cost View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Auctioning Morningstar

By: Malcolm P. Baker and James Quinn

Morningstar, a publisher of data and ratings for mutual fund investors, is considering an auction-based approach to the company's upcoming IPO, with management weighing the risks and benefits of the auction approach vs. a traditional underwritten offering. View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Stock Shares; Cost vs Benefits; Strategy; Auctions; Business or Company Management; Conflict of Interests; Publishing Industry

October 2000 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Harvard Management Company and Inflation-Protected Bonds, The

By: Luis M. Viceira

In March 2000, the board of The Harvard Management Co. (HMC) approved significant changes in the policy portfolio determining the long-run allocation policy of the Harvard University endowment. These changes included a sharp reduction of the allocation to U.S. equities... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Investment Portfolio; Investment Funds; Asset Management; Corporate Governance; Capital Markets; Financial Services Industry; United States

December 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Workplace Safety at Alcoa (B)

At the May 1996 annual shareholders meeting, Alcoa CEO Paul O'Neill reported that Alcoa was making great progress toward becoming a world-class leader, both in terms of workplace safety and profitability. This validated of O'Neill's decade-long emphasis on safety as... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Working Conditions; Quality; Cost; Profit; Management Systems

May 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Exercise

Endeca Negotiation, The: Charlie Yie

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Students play the role of Charlie Yie, a venture capitalist considering an investment in a venture-backed enterprise software company. In the challenging financing climate of the Fall of 2001, he is trying to decide what terms to offer the company as an outside... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Offer; Management Teams; Venture Capital; Valuation; Software; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

22 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Online Banks Fill Funding Needs for Small Business

activity within the business' accounts which can be valuable in a predictive model. Second, they have a built-in source of small businesses seeking loans. Finally, these banks have their own balance sheets off which to lend and don't have... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Financial Services

08 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

The Height Tax, and Other New Ways to Think about Taxation

for our tax system. For example, we might want to split the costs of government equally among all taxpayers, letting each of us keep whatever income we earn above our fair... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

20 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 20

team's knowledge-integration capability. We test our theoretical framework using data on knowledge workers in professional services and discuss implications for research and practice. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-009.pdf The View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1997 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Interactive Minds (A)

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Christina L. Darwall

The efforts of two recent Harvard Business School graduates to start a venture capital/consulting firm focused on opportunities related to the Internet are recounted. Raises the question of what the nature of this opportunity is, how well-positioned the protagonists... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Consulting Industry

05 Jun 2015
Blog Post

The HBS Investment

but no one has mentioned the cost perspective. Given that the total tuition comes to over $200,000 for the two years and you all have or are going to complete this process, what exactly is in your bank account now?” A collective hush... View Details

January 1989 (Revised September 1995)
Case

MSDI-Alcala de Henares, Spain

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Merck & Co., Inc. is evaluating a proposed cost-saving investment by its Spanish subsidiary. The case introduces techniques of discounted cash flow valuation analysis in a multicurrency setting. Can be used to teach basic international parity conditions as they relate... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Cash Flow; Cost Management; Currency; Investment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Valuation; Spain

February 2010 (Revised January 2014)
Case

CommonAngels (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kaitlyn Simpson

Describes the motivations behind the founding of CommonAngels—a group of successful business owners who provide capital, connections, and expertise to entrepreneurs who are building new ventures. In 2005, the group is considering increasing its investment focus to... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Investment; Motivation and Incentives; Social and Collaborative Networks; Financial Services Industry