Publications

April 2007 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Foreign Direct Investment and South Africa (A)

By: Eric Werker

Incoming and outgoing foreign direct investment in an environment of politics, geography, globalization, and history. Since the end of apartheid, South Africa had undertaken substantial economic reforms in order to attract more foreign direct investment, but it was... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Macroeconomics; Foreign Direct Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Africa; South Africa

January 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

eToro: Building the World's Largest Social Trading Network

By: Elie Ofek and Danielle Golan

Social trading platform eToro was preparing for the launch of its expanded offering in the U.S. The company faced critical decisions regarding product-market fit, go-to-market strategy, positioning and monetization. Moreover, it faced the challenge of how best to make... View Details

Keywords: Social Trading Platform; Investment; Social and Collaborative Networks; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Digital Platforms

August 1989 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Prospect Hill

By: William J. Poorvu and Katherine Sweetman

Bill Hassett, a partner in the Nelson Companies, has to make some important decisions regarding the expansion of Prospect Hill Executive Office Park in Waltham, Massachusetts. The pre-development issues concerning him about the Hillside Building include how to position... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Property; Decisions; Interest Rates; Urban Development; Organizational Structure; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts

26 Jul 2016
First Look

July 26, 2016

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Overcoming the Outcome Bias: Making Intentions Matter By: Sezer, Ovul, Ting Zhang, Francesca Gino, and Max Bazerman Abstract—People often make the well-documented mistake of paying too... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 May 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Lost in the Clouds: The Impact of Changing Property Rights on Investment in Cloud Computing Ventures

Keywords: by Josh Lerner & Greg Rafert; Technology

Winter 2016
Article

Analytics for an Online Retailer: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Bin Hong Alex Lee and David Simchi-Levi

We present our work with an online retailer, Rue La La, as an example of how a retailer can use its wealth of data to optimize pricing decisions on a daily basis. Rue La La is in the online fashion sample sales industry, where they offer extremely limited-time... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Price; Forecasting and Prediction; Revenue; Sales; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

September 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund

In 2001, Bank Leu, a Swiss private bank, is considering creating the world's first public fund for catastrophe bonds. Cat bonds are securities whose payments depend on the probability of a catastrophe occurring, such as an earthquake or hurricane. Cat bonds are... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Bonds; Natural Disasters; Insurance; Capital Markets; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Insurance Industry; Switzerland

15 Apr 2020
News

Will Fintech ‘Save the Day’ as USA Struggles with Corona Stimulus?

Web

Strategy - Faculty & Research

surfaced key challenges, including regulatory pressures, leadership development, and the need to balance centralization with local market adaptation. Facing shifting investor demands for profitability over growth, Ualá confronted critical View Details

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI). Mark has worked in carbon markets and climate finance for nearly three decades, with experience at organizations like WWF, The Climate Group, and Fundación Natura in Ecuador.... View Details

June 1991
Case

Continental Carriers, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester

A U.S. trucking company is considering using debt for the first time to acquire another company. The directors of the company are divided in their opinion of the likely impact of leverage on Continental Carriers' performance. Their differences must be reconciled and a... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Transportation Industry; United States

April 1982 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Hart Schaffner & Marx: The Market for Separately Ticketed Suits

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Calls for a decision on whether Hart Schaffner & Marx, the nation's leading manufacturer of high quality, branded suits, should expand its product line by marketing suits that are separately ticketed (i.e., the coat, vest, and slacks are sold from individual hangers... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Decisions; Price; Markets; Distribution Channels; Production; Mathematical Methods; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry

January 1976 (Revised December 1988)
Case

Webster Industries (A)

The manufacturing manager of Webster's largest division is told to cut his managerial payroll by 15%. Provides company background data and a description of the manufacturing manager's reactions to the proposed reduction. Provides the students with an opportunity to... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Cost Management

2014
Working Paper

The Cost of Friendship

By: Paul A. Gompers, Vladimir Mukharlyamov and Yuhai Xuan

We investigate how personal characteristics affect people's desire to collaborate and whether this attraction enhances or detracts from performance in venture capital. We find that venture capitalists who share the same ethnic, educational, or career background are... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Making; Identity

Read Now

November 2012
Case

Edison Schools, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Conflict of Interests; Initial Public Offering; For-Profit Firms; Public Sector; Market Entry and Exit; Education; Business Startups; Education Industry

Web

Entrepreneurship - Faculty & Research

financing gaps in emerging markets and to explore the strategic and organizational decisions required to scale a mission-driven business operating at the intersection of View Details

March 1999 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Steady Earner, Inc.

By: Henry B. Reiling and Mark Pollard

An employee is permitted to choose any one of three stock option plans. The first involves options that are in the money and must be exercised within 10 years. The second involves options that are at the money and must be exercised within 10 years. The third involves... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Taxation; Stock Options