Publications

SSRN

Forthcoming
Article

The Stock Market and Bank Risk-Taking

By: David S. Scharfstein and Antonio Falato

We argue that stock market pressure to generate earnings encourages banks to increase risk. We measure risk using confidential supervisory ratings as well as financial information released in regulatory filings. We document that there is an increase in the risk-taking... View Details

Keywords: Stock Market; Financial Markets; Business Earnings; Banks and Banking; Risk and Uncertainty

2022
Working Paper

Heterogeneous Investors and Stock Market Fluctuations

By: Odhrain McCarthy and Sebastian Hillenbrand

We introduce a heterogeneous agent model which features extrapolative beliefs and time-varying risk aversion. The model leads to an empirical framework which we estimate with stock prices, survey data and risk aversion measures. We find that extrapolative beliefs and... View Details

Keywords: Stock Market; Investment Decisions; Asset Pricing; Investment; Behavioral Finance; Stocks

SSRN

12 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Crashes and Collateralized Lending

Keywords: by Jakub W. Jurek & Erik Stafford; Banking; Financial Services

August 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

Note on Duration and Convexity

This case explores two measures of price sensitivity: duration and convexity. These measures are normally used to gauge how sensitive a bond's price is to a change in interest-rate levels. However, as concepts, both duration and convexity have wider application:... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Price; Financial Instruments

12 Sep 2013
News

Mobility and Organizational Culture

January 2017 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Turkey and Russia: Dangerous Liaisons

By: Rawi Abdelal, Esel Çekin, Eren Kuzucu and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in November 2015, after the Turkish military’s shooting down of a Russian military airplane over the Turkish-Syrian border. The incident threatened to undermine the countries’ political and economic ties, and starting from late 2015, the dialogue between... View Details

Keywords: Business ＆ Government Relations; Politics; Natural Gas; Natural Resources; Nuclear Power; Business and Government Relations; Energy Policy; Infrastructure; Energy; Strategy; International Relations; Russia; Turkey

March 2008
Background Note

Marketing Input and Innovation Strategy

By: Elie Ofek

This note develops a framework for considering the challenges of incorporating marketing input when setting innovation strategy. The framework lays out the possible innovation opportunities a firm can entertain and describes how the customer knowledge gained from... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing; Research; Competition

November 2016 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in Motion

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Evan Siddall, newly appointed CEO of Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, a governmental organization focused on the residential housing market, is charged with leading change at the organization. The case follows this process of change step by step and looks at the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership, Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Government Organizations; Performance Management; Organizational Change And Transformation; Culture; Leading Change; Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Government Administration; Risk Management; Restructuring; Leadership; Performance; Change Management; Financial Services Industry; Canada

March 2018
Case

Lufax: FinTech and the Transformation of Wealth Management in China

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Anthony K. Woo

This case examines the rise and competitive positioning of Lufax, an online marketplace headquartered in Shanghai, China, and a pioneer in the origination and trading of financial assets. The company had grown at a remarkable rate, and was awarded “Trading Platform of... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Internet and the Web; Competitive Strategy; Situation or Environment; Product Positioning; Financial Services Industry; China

1999
Chapter

The Limited Financing of Catastrophe Risk: An Overview

By: K. Froot

Keywords: Catastrophe Risk; Corporate Finance; Cost Of Capital; Banking And Insurance; Asset Pricing; Hedging; Banking; Natural Disasters; Insurance; Risk Management; Financial Markets; Policy; Insurance Industry

20 Jul 2020
Op-Ed

It's Time for a Bipartisan Health Plan for Employers and Employees

trillions of unfunded liabilities, our version of the Public Option would be pay-as-you-go. It would also broaden the risk pool and thus reduce Medicare’s expenses because non-seniors are healthier View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard J. Boxer; Health; Insurance

February 2016 (Revised June 2016)
Case

Curtis LLP: A Case on Cases

By: Nikolaos Trichakis

A product market firm faces an inventory investment decision in the face of demand uncertainty. To hedge against some of the uncertainty, the firm contemplates an additional fixed investment that would offer the flexibility of diverting inventory in case of weak sales.... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Decision Making Under Uncertainty; Operations Management; Inventory Management; Real Options; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Operations

13 Mar 2015
News

If Greece Embraces Uncertainty, Innovation Will Follow

Keywords: Greece; innovation; risk tolerance; bureaucracy; entrepreneurship; Government

27 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Corporate Values and Employee Cynicism

Business School, have studied the risks and rewards of organizational values in depth using a young, ambitious advertising agency for a field study. What they learned about positive values surprised them,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 20 Oct 2016
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Developing and Delivering Strong Pitches

Entrepreneurs--whether building and launching their own venture or launching new ventures in established businesses--are called on daily to explain the business opportunity they are pursuing to potential customers, partners, suppliers, advisers, investors, and... View Details

June 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Individual FoodService, Kelso, and Ken Sweder

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

When and how much risk to take? In October 2020, Ken Sweder, CEO of Individual FoodService (“IFS”), contemplated this question as he evaluated a proposal to acquire Brady Industries, a distributor of janitorial and sanitation products. Sweder and his private equity... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Risk Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Value Creation; Business Divisions

2016
Working Paper

Signaling without Certification: The Critical Role of Civil Society Scrutiny

By: Susan A. Kayser, John W. Maxwell and Michael W. Toffel

In response to stakeholders' growing concerns, companies are joining voluntary environmental programs to signal their superior environmental management capabilities. In contrast to the literature's focus on certification programs that require a third-party audit, we... View Details

Keywords: United Nations; Labor Standards; Supplier Relationship; Procurement; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Quality And Safety; Risk; Globalization; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Working Conditions; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Quality; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Reputation