Publications

1983
Article

Cost-Benefit Analysis Defended

By: Dutch Leonard and Richard Zeckhauser

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Mathematical Methods

23 Mar 2023
News

HBS faculty members and other experts across Harvard reflect on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the state of the banking industry. How ‘Payment Banks’ Could Prevent the Next Bank Collapse Professor Mihir Desai writes in Harvard Business Review that to shore up... View Details

January 2006
Tutorial

Alternative Choice Decisions Analysis

By: David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens

Shows how managers use information on costs and revenues to decide between possible alternative courses of action. Presents two case examples of differential cost analysis. The first, a make or buy decision, examines two alternatives in which only costs vary. The... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Profit; Revenue; Information; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Conflict and Resolution

February 1999 (Revised March 1999)
Exercise

Investment Analysis Exercises

By: Dwight B. Crane and Penny Joseph

To teach present value analysis. View Details

Keywords: Investment

August 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Exercise

Data Analysis Exercise

By: Frances X. Frei

Keywords: Operations; Service Delivery; Management

February 1992
Case

Negotiation Analysis Consultants

By: Paul A. Vatter

Keywords: Negotiation

December 1995 (Revised July 1997)
Background Note

Breakeven Analysis (Abridged)

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr.

2007
Text Book

Business Analysis and Valuation: Using Financial Statements

By: Paul M. Healy and Krishna G. Palepu

Financial statements are the basis for a wide range of business analysis. Managers, securities analysts, bankers, and consultants all use them to make business decisions. There is strong demand among business students for course materials that provide a framework for... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Framework; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Statements

Read Now

Research Summary

Managerial Decision Analysis

By: David E. Bell

David E. Bell and Arthur Schleifer, Jr. are concluding a multiyear project aimed at producing more field-oriented case material for the Managerial Economics course, specifically, materials on decision, data, and risk analysis. A series of case- and textbooks (with... View Details

December 1978 (Revised November 1985)
Background Note

Economic Cost-Benefit Analysis

By: James E. Austin

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits

August 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

eSig: Growth Analysis

By: Mark Roberge and Tom Eisenmann

eSig, an early-stage startup, offers an electronic signature application as a "freemium" product, i.e., users can upgrade from a free basic version to a premium version by paying a subscription fee. Using 9 months of data from 50,000 user activations (available as a... View Details

Keywords: Esignature; Computer Software; Business or Company Management; Marketing Channels; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Computer Industry

Educators

May 2008
Exercise

Stakeholder Analysis Tool

By: Lynda M. Applegate

This exercise enables users to: identify stakeholders and analyze their interests and expectations; categorize interests and expectations based on importance; and develop an action plan. View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Planning; Interests; Segmentation

March 2004
Tutorial

Variance Analysis Tutorial

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

An interactive tutorial on variance analysis, flexible budgets, and overhead allocation. View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods

December 2022
Technical Note

Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework

By: George Serafeim

The transition to a low carbon economy introduces many risks and opportunities for businesses. Risks emerge from regulatory actions, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, technological innovation that develop alternatives for customers making existing... View Details

Keywords: Risk Assessment; Opportunities; Environmental Sustainability; Carbon Footprint; Risk Management; Competitive Dynamics; Business Analysis; Climate Change; Accounting; Finance; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technological Innovation; Transition; Product Positioning; Renewable Energy; Analysis

Educators

December 1971 (Revised November 1975)
Background Note

Note on Decision Analysis

By: Paul W. Marshall

Keywords: Decision Making; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

April 1986 (Revised July 1996)
Background Note

Contingent Claims Analysis (CCA)

January 1959
Background Note

Analysis of Capital Expenditures

August 1996
Exercise

Exercises in Negotiation Analysis

Two exercises designed to illustrate the relationship between BATNAs (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) and reservation prices and three exercises that illustrate the central ideas of Pareto efficiency are presented. The BATNA exercises involve multiple... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation