Publications

May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Airbnb During the Pandemic: Stakeholder Capitalism Faces a Critical Test

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Allison Ciechanover

As the COVID pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the sudden... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Leadership; Digital Platforms; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Value Creation; Decision Making; Goals and Objectives; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Travel Industry; Tourism Industry; Service Industry; United States

March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Tribal Councils Investment Group of Manitoba Ltd.

By: David L. Ager

In the Fall of 2014, Heather Berthelette, the recently appointed COO of Tribal Councils Investment Group of Manitoba Ltd. (TCIG), was preparing a recommendation to the Board of Directors about whether to dissolve the company and return any remaining funds to the seven... View Details

Keywords: Indigenous Communities; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Social Enterprise; Economic Growth; Investment Banking; Canada

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities

advertising-supported television broadcasters. Movie studios, afraid of alienating theater owners and broadcasters, their largest customers, generally were unwilling to provide pay TV operators with programming. The Federal Communications... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Media & Broadcasting; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

02 Jul 2024
Book

Five Essential Elements to Build the Capital You Need to Lead

into the world of tools for leveraging your relationship capital in order to influence others to achieve goals. On your leadership capital journey, you want to communicate two... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

February 1997
Case

Advent of Venture Capital in Latin America, The

By: Debora L. Spar

Widely regarded as the leader in international private equity, Advent International is considering the establishment of a private equity fund in Latin America in 1996. Typically, Advent entered new private equity markets through the creation of multicountry regional... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Joint Ventures; Market Entry and Exit; Globalized Markets and Industries; Financial Services Industry; Boston; Latin America

28 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Investor Lawsuits Against Auditors Are Falling, and That's Bad News for Capital Markets

it will make investors more wary of engaging in the capital markets.” Two Supreme Court decisions, although not the only reasons, appear to have made a difference, according to the researchers. The rulings in Tellabs v. Makor (2007) and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Accounting

2022
White Paper

The Partnership Imperative: Community Colleges, Employers, & America's Chronic Skills Gap

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Manjari Raman

The nature of work has changed dramatically across industries in the last few decades due to rapid and repeated waves of automation. Nowhere is this more evident than in middle-skills positions—those that require less than a four-year college degree but more than... View Details

Keywords: Future Of Work; Human Capital; Competency and Skills; Training; Higher Education; United States

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April 2021
Teaching Note

Thingtesting: Launching a Brand Discovery and Testing Digital Community

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

Teaching Note for the "Thingtesting: Launching a Brand Discovery and Testing Digital Community" HBS Case No. 520-086. View Details

August 2000
Article

Discussion of 'Venture Capital Investment' by Gavin Reid

By: Josh Lerner

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Communication

March 2013
Article

Bridging the Gap? Government Subsidized Lending and Access to Capital

By: Josh Lerner and Kristle Romero-Cortes

The consequences of providing public funds to financial institutions remain controversial. We examine the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund's impact on credit union activity, using hitherto little studied U.S. Treasury data. The CDFI Fund grants... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Credit; Government and Politics; Financial Institutions; United States

27 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

IPO or M&A? How Venture Capital Shapes a Startup's Future

says, noting most VC investments don’t yield any return. “‘So, if we get an acquisition that returns any money, that's actually amazing.’ Maybe we don't talk about it as much, but that's really important. Often, that's a better outcome for a founder.” About the Author... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Article

Thin Political Markets: The Soft Underbelly of Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna

"Thin political markets" are the processes through which some of the most complex and critical institutions of our capitalist system are determined—e.g., our accounting-standards infrastructure. In thin political markets, corporate managers are largely... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Lobbying; Sustainability; Leadership; Economic Systems; Accounting; Business and Community Relations; Financial Institutions; Business and Government Relations

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November 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Innovating into Active ETFs: Factor Funds Capital Management LLC

By: Kenneth A. Froot, Lauren Cohen and Scott Waggoner

Kishore Karunakaran, President and COO of FFCM, faces a variety of challenges in launching an innovative investment management business in the rapidly evolving ETF space. View Details

Keywords: Investment Management; Institutional Investments; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Management; Innovation Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Capital Markets; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry; Boston

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Civil Society or Community; Japan; Tokyo

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Something Ventured, Something Gained: A European View of Venture Capital

Venture capital is a tale of two continents, HBS professor Josh Lerner (coauthor of the book The Venture Capital Cycle) explained in his opening remarks at a Global Alumni Conference panel titled... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Financial Services

08 Sep 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

Capitalism Works Better When I Can See What You're Doing

Transparency, the concept if not the reality, is all the rage in business circles. If you knew why a company charged a certain price for a product, would you be more willing to pay it? If your boss confessed her managerial screw-ups, would you feel more comfortable... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2013
Teaching Note

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Japan; Tokyo; Economic Systems; Corporate Accountability; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Crime and Corruption; Civil Society or Community; Corporate Governance; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Tokyo

January 2005 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Private Capital and Public Policy: Standard & Poor's Sovereign Credit Ratings

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Christopher Bruner

Describes Standard & Poor's sovereign credit ratings business. Provides background on the history of credit ratings agencies, the meaning of credit ratings, the expansion of the sovereign ratings business over recent decades, and the market for credit ratings. Also,... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; History; Policy; Business and Government Relations; International Finance; Country; Globalized Economies and Regions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital Markets; Debates; Financial Services Industry; United States