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- All HBS Web (968)
- Faculty Publications (277)
- 2016
- Working Paper
Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues
By: Jody Grewal, George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon
Shareholder activism on sustainability issues has become increasingly prevalent over the years, with the number of proposals filed doubling from 1999 to 2013. We use recent innovations in accounting standard setting to classify 2,665 shareholder proposals that address... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Activism; Activist Investors; Activist Shareholder; Corporate Social Responsibility; Environment; Corporate Performance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Investment Activism
Grewal, Jody, George Serafeim, and Aaron Yoon. "Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-003, July 2016.
- November 2021 (Revised October 2024)
- Background Note
Legal Analysis: Fiduciary Duties for Managers
By: J.S. Nelson and Trevor Fetter
This note describes the essential legal responsibilities of managers and company directors toward investors and other parties. These include basic fiduciary duties of loyalty, obedience, good faith and care, as well as duties that relate to... View Details
Nelson, J.S., and Trevor Fetter. "Legal Analysis: Fiduciary Duties for Managers." Harvard Business School Background Note 322-073, November 2021. (Revised October 2024.)
- 2015
- Working Paper
What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?
By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov
We survey 79 private equity investors with combined assets under management (AUM) of over $750 billion about their practices in firm valuation, capital structure, governance, and value creation. Investors rely primarily on internal rate of return (IRR) and multiples to... View Details
Keywords: Governance; Value Creation; Private Equity; Capital Structure; Valuation; Management Practices and Processes
Gompers, Paul A., Steven N. Kaplan, and Vladimir Mukharlyamov. "What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-081, April 2015.
- Career Coach
Zoe Sun
Zoe wants to help students, particularly international students who require visa sponsorship, understand opportunities available in the private equity industry and in finance industry more broadly. Having worked in Asia-focused private equity fund and having recruited... View Details
- September 2005 (Revised January 2006)
- Case
Restating Revenues and Earnings at INVESTools, Inc. (A)
By: Michael D. Kimbrough and F. Warren McFarlan
Relates the events leading up to the announcement in February 2005 that INVESTools, a Utah-based provider of investor education services, would be restating prior-year financial statements due to inappropriate revenue recognition. View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Accounting Audits; Financial Statements; Capital Markets; Currency Exchange Rate; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry; Utah
Kimbrough, Michael D., and F. Warren McFarlan. "Restating Revenues and Earnings at INVESTools, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 106-009, September 2005. (Revised January 2006.)
- November 2005 (Revised August 2006)
- Background Note
When Investing and Social Objectives Meet
By: Gregory S. Miller, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman
Introduces students to a group of investors and stakeholders who evaluate firms at least partially on factors other than eventual investment payoff. Focuses on investors who evaluate and attempt to impact firms' ethical, corporate governance, or other "societal"... View Details
Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Investment; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations
Miller, Gregory S., Vincent Marie Dessain, and Anders Sjoman. "When Investing and Social Objectives Meet." Harvard Business School Background Note 106-043, November 2005. (Revised August 2006.)
- June 2006
- Case
Vignette: Bombay Tyre Manufacturing Ltd.
By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon
Presents a U.S.-based investor who had taken a minority position in a publicly owned manufacturer in India. The company's controller is not performing and the stock price is suffering because of delayed and disappointing results. Removing the controller, however, is... View Details
Keywords: Investment; Equity; Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Management; Investment Activism; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy
Hardymon, G. Felda, and Ann Leamon. "Vignette: Bombay Tyre Manufacturing Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 806-207, June 2006.
- October 1996 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
Schroder Ventures: Launch of the Euro Fund
By: Josh Lerner, Kate Bringham and Nick Ferguson
Schroder Ventures is considering launching a pan-European fund in response to investor demand. This will lead to changes in the interactions between the parent organization and the national affiliates. A related question is the extent to which the private equity model... View Details
Keywords: Change; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Multinational Firms and Management; Product Launch; Europe
Lerner, Josh, Kate Bringham, and Nick Ferguson. "Schroder Ventures: Launch of the Euro Fund." Harvard Business School Case 297-026, October 1996. (Revised March 1998.)
- September 2024
- Article
Networking Frictions in Venture Capital, and the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship
By: Sabrina T. Howell and Ramana Nanda
We find that male participants in Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition who were randomly exposed to more VC investors on their panel were substantially more likely to start a VC-backed startup post-graduation, indicating that access to investors impacts... View Details
Keywords: Networks; Information Frictions; Venture Capital; Gender; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship
Howell, Sabrina T., and Ramana Nanda. "Networking Frictions in Venture Capital, and the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship." Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 59, no. 6 (September 2024): 2733–2761.
- February 2010
- Article
Global Currency Hedging
By: John Y. Campbell, Karine Serfaty-de Medeiros and Luis M. Viceira
Over the period 1975 to 2005, the US dollar (particularly in relation to the Canadian dollar) and the euro and Swiss franc (particularly in the second half of the period) have moved against world equity markets. Thus these currencies should be attractive to... View Details
Keywords: Currency; Equity; Financial Markets; International Finance; Investment Return; Globalized Markets and Industries; Risk Management
Campbell, John Y., Karine Serfaty-de Medeiros, and Luis M. Viceira. "Global Currency Hedging." Journal of Finance 65, no. 1 (February 2010): 87–121.
- August 2008
- Article
Economic Links and Predictable Returns
By: Lauren Cohen and Andrea Frazzini
This paper finds evidence of return predictability across economically linked firms. We test the hypothesis that in the presence of investors subject to attention constraints, stock prices do not promptly incorporate news about economically related firms, generating... View Details
Keywords: Economics; Price; Assets; Analytics and Data Science; Customers; Stocks; Equity; Strategy; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction
Cohen, Lauren, and Andrea Frazzini. "Economic Links and Predictable Returns." Journal of Finance 63, no. 4 (August 2008). (Winner of Smith Breeden Prize for the Best Paper Published in the Journal of Finance in Asset Pricing (Distinguished Paper) 2008. Winner of Chicago Quantitative Alliance Academic Paper Competition. First Prize presented by Chicago Quantitative Alliance. Winner of BSI Gamma Foundation Research Grant presented by BSI Gamma Foundation.)
- March 2021 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
Wirecard: The Downfall of a German Fintech Star
By: Jonas Heese, Charles C.Y. Wang and Tonia Labruyere
Wirecard was a German fintech company, member of the DAX30, that provided payment processing and related services. Wirecard had enjoyed large growth rates over the years and most investors and analysts were enthusiastic about the company's prospects. Wirecard's... View Details
Keywords: Accounting Fraud; Scandal; Accounting Audits; Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; Financial Services Industry; Germany; Singapore; Dubai
Heese, Jonas, Charles C.Y. Wang, and Tonia Labruyere. "Wirecard: The Downfall of a German Fintech Star." Harvard Business School Case 121-058, March 2021. (Revised April 2021.)
- Article
What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?
By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov
We survey 79 private equity investors with combined assets under management (AUM) of over $750 billion about their practices in firm valuation, capital structure, governance, and value creation. Investors rely primarily on internal rate of return (IRR) and multiples to... View Details
Gompers, Paul A., Steven N. Kaplan, and Vladimir Mukharlyamov. "What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?" Journal of Financial Economics 121, no. 3 (September 2016): 449–476.
‘Passive’ Index Fund Leaders Push for Shareholder Reforms
The evolving power relationship between index fund managers and investors focused on management change. Index funds are the major shareholders in many large- and medium-sized public companies, but their passive investment nature offers few checks on... View Details
- October 2013
- Background Note
Multi-Sided Platforms: Foundations and Strategy
By: Andrei Hagiu
This note offers an analysis of four fundamental strategic decisions and associated tradeoffs that set MSPs apart from other types of businesses (e.g. product firms) and that every MSP entrepreneur and investor should carefully consider. In the last section I also... View Details
Hagiu, Andrei. "Multi-Sided Platforms: Foundations and Strategy." Harvard Business School Background Note 714-436, October 2013.
- 2025
- Working Paper
With a Little Help from My Family: Informal Startup Financing
By: Brian K. Baik, Johan Ludvig S. Karlsen and Katja Kisseleva
Using Norwegian administrative data, we identify family equity investments in startups
and examine their effects on investor returns and firm behavior. Informal investors
earn lower returns than external individuals, and the firms they back are less
likely to secure... View Details
Keywords: Early Stage Finance; Informal Investment; Household Finance; Risk Taking; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Personal Finance; Family and Family Relationships; Business Startups; Investment; Norway
Baik, Brian K., Johan Ludvig S. Karlsen, and Katja Kisseleva. "With a Little Help from My Family: Informal Startup Financing." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-053, April 2025.
- March 2019 (Revised July 2020)
- Case
MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher
In August 2017, MoviePass dramatically lowered its subscription price from $50 per month to just $10 for up to one movie per day. The idea was to rapidly scale the business to the point where they could generate incremental revenue streams from related businesses... View Details
Keywords: Market Entry; Growth Strategy; Profit Vs. Growth; Subscription Business; Cash Burn; Data Analytics; Get-big-fast; Buyer Power; Strategy Implementation; Movie Industry; Racing; Entrepreneurship; Market Entry and Exit; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Disruption; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States
Esty, Benjamin C., and Daniel W. Fisher. "MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 719-455, March 2019. (Revised July 2020.)
- June 2004
- Article
A Catering Theory of Dividends
By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler
We propose that the decision to pay dividends is driven by prevailing investor demand for dividend payers. Managers cater to investors by paying dividends when investors put a stock price premium on payers, and by not paying when investors prefer nonpayers. To test... View Details
Keywords: Dividends; Catering; Financial Instruments; Investment Return; Business and Shareholder Relations
Baker, Malcolm, and Jeffrey Wurgler. "A Catering Theory of Dividends." Journal of Finance 59, no. 3 (June 2004): 1125–1165.
- March 2005
- Article
Short- and Long-term Demand Curves for Stocks: Theory and Evidence on the Dynamics of Arbitrage
By: Robin Greenwood
I develop a framework to analyze demand curves for multiple risky securities at extended horizons in a setting with limits-to-arbitrage. Following an unexpected change in uninformed investor demand for several assets, I predict returns of each security to be... View Details
Keywords: Limits To Arbitrage; Event Studies; Demand Curves; Portfolio Choice; Framework; Demand and Consumers; Change; Risk and Uncertainty; Debt Securities; Forecasting and Prediction; Stocks; Assets; Investment Portfolio; System Shocks; Price; Japan
Greenwood, Robin. "Short- and Long-term Demand Curves for Stocks: Theory and Evidence on the Dynamics of Arbitrage." Journal of Financial Economics 75, no. 3 (March 2005): 607–649.
- 27 Oct 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Stock Price Fragility
Keywords: by Robin Greenwood & David Thesmar