Publications

October 2008
Article

The Small World of Investing: Board Connections and Mutual Fund Returns

By: Lauren Cohen, Andrea Frazzini and Christopher J. Malloy

This paper uses social networks to identify information transfer in security markets. We focus on connections between mutual fund managers and corporate board members via shared education networks. We find that portfolio managers place larger bets on firms they are... View Details

Keywords: Financial Markets; Information Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Announcements; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Asset Pricing; Governing and Advisory Boards

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Impact Investments

Mission Statement The Project on Impact Investments is dedicated to studying the universe of impact investors and portfolio companies that seek to generate social benefits alongside financial returns as well as creating the infrastructure... View Details

22 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 22, 2006

of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok—a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique aspects of New Balance's strategy—focusing on fit and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

This article considers key issues relating to the organization and performance of large multinational firms in the post-Second World War period. Although foreign direct investment is defined by ownership and control, in practice the... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage; Manufacturing; Retail

Web

Topics - HBS Working Knowledge

Plants (2) Failure (19) Fairness (9) Family Business (26) Family Ownership (6) Family and Family Relationships (10) Film Entertainment (1) Finance (604) Financial Condition (18) Financial Crisis (19) View Details

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

study of a sponsorship collaboration between a global financial institution (UBS) and a multi-site museum (Guggenheim) evaluates critical aspects of resource integration between the partners with implications for the theory and practice... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

2017
Working Paper

Creating the Market for Organic Wine: Sulfites, Certification, and Green Values

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

This working paper examines the history of organic wine, which provides a case study of failed category creation. The modern organic wine industry emerged during the 1970s in the United States and Western Europe, but it struggled to gain traction compared to other... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Failure; Problems and Challenges; Complexity; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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01 Dec 2023
News

The Imposter Among Us

back home and was being sent to HBS by his bankers, who believed there was more he could learn about accounting. Gaines-Cooper was an astute financier but had never attended university. The Rolls, he confessed to Wallner, was all part of... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Value Maximization and Stakeholder Theory

choose among alternative policy options), what would it be? Or, even more simply, How do we want the firms in our economy to measure better versus worse?" It's tempting to consider value simply as a matter of maximizing the short-term View Details

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

January 2018
Technical Note

Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Understanding Impact and Impact Evaluations

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg

Unlike financial success, there is no clear consensus regarding how best to define and measure social impact. This HBS Technical Note written for students of the HBS MBA course Business at the Base of the Pyramid (BBOP), offers readers pragmatic perspectives on how the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Social Issues; Value Creation; Human Needs; Performance Evaluation

2010
Working Paper

Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank

By: Bradley R. Staats and Francesca Gino

Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Working Conditions; Service Delivery; Performance Productivity; Financial Services Industry; Japan

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July 2014
Article

Winners in the Spotlight: Media Coverage of Fund Holdings as a Driver of Flows

By: David H. Solomon, Eugene F. Soltes and Denis Sosyura

We show that media coverage of mutual fund holdings affects how investors allocate money across funds. Controlling for fund performance, fund holdings with high past returns attract extra flows only if these stocks were recently featured in major newspapers. In... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Media; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

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August 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (A)

By: Jonas Heese, Suraj Srinivasan, Francois Brochet and Christine Johnson

In May 2018, Berkshire Hathaway announced an unprecedented loss of more than $1 billion for the first quarter of 2018. Warren Buffett blamed this loss on the new accounting rules for equity securities which he criticized. In the case ‘Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire... View Details

Keywords: Equity Securities; FASB; Fair Value Accounting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Services Industry

07 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 7, 2009

the original proofs of Ehlers and Klaus (2003) using his stronger independence condition, here we offer a short proof that uses the established result of Theorem 1 for the restricted domain R0. Download the working paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-110.pdf Debt... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2019
Case

Teaming Up to Win the Rail Deal at GE (A)

By: Amy Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

In 2012, Nalin Jain, then head of GE aviation for South Asia, was given the added responsibility for GE’s transportation business in India, including bidding for a $2.5 billion contract to manufacture, service and maintain 1,000 diesel locomotives for state owned... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Groups and Teams; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; India

20 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 20, 2007

model to establish these interrelationships at a firm level. Using publicly available financial data we estimate the six causal effects among sales, inventory, and gross margin. Our results show that sales, inventory, and gross margin are... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 1984 (Revised September 1986)
Case

CML Group, Inc.: Going Public (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a series of decisions confronting Charles Leighton, co-founder and chairman of the CML Group. CML is a successful participant in the leisure time industry with two lines of business: specialty retailing and recreational consumer products. The key issues in... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Going Public; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Cost vs Benefits; SWOT Analysis; Investment Banking; Financing and Loans; Planning; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry