Publications

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09 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Moving From Bean Counter to Game Changer

"it's a bigger story," Mikes says over tea recently in her immaculate office. "We believe it's not just risk managers who fight these issues but also human resources managers, accountants, finance professionals, internal auditors,... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Banking

January 2012 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Pioneers in Colombia

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Lisa Strope

In 2011, Equity International made a $75 million equity investment in Bogota-based real estate company, Terranum Development and became the first institutional real estate investor in Colombia. View Details

Keywords: International Investment; Real Estate; International Finance; Private Equity; Emerging Markets; Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Real Estate Industry; Colombia

2018
Article

Threat of Platform-Owner Entry and Complementor Responses: Evidence from the Mobile App Market

By: Wen Wen and Feng Zhu

We examine how app developers on the Android mobile platform adjust their innovation efforts (rate and direction) and value-capture strategies in response to Google’s entry threat and actual entry into their markets. We find that, after Google’s entry threat increases,... View Details

Keywords: Platform-owner Entry; Entry Threat; Innovation; Complementors; Mobile App Industry; Digital Platforms; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Price; Innovation and Invention; Applications and Software

Find at Harvard

2012
Working Paper

The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures

By: Thomas F. Hellmann and Noam Wasserman

This paper examines the division of founder shares in entrepreneurial ventures, focusing on the decision of whether or not to divide the shares equally among all founders. To motivate the empirical analysis we develop a simple theory of costly bargaining, where... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Equity

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09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

is taught in every fundamental course in finance and economics. That is, in evaluating alternative investments, we should ignore sunk and fixed costs, and instead base decisions on the marginal costs and revenues that each alternative... View Details

February 2018 (Revised February 2018)
Supplement

HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics (B)

By: William C. Kirby and Yuanzhuo Wang

This case provides a brief overview of the success and challenges of the HNA Group between 2015 and late 2017 when it grew rapidly through global acquisitions to become 170 on the 2017 Fortune 500 list. A firm that had begun as a provincial airline in China was now a... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Scrutiny; Growth; China; Philanthropy; One Belt One Road; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development; Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Air Transportation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Tourism Industry; China; United States; Europe; Asia; South America; Southeast Asia

September 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Tesla in 2023: 'Electrified' Competition

By: Eric Van den Steen, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

Over its 17 years in existence, Tesla had redefined people’s view of electric cars, and in 2020, the company saw its stock rise by more than 700% to became the most valuable carmaker in the world. In December 2020, Tesla celebrated its fifth consecutive quarter of... View Details

Keywords: Barrier To Entry; Competitive Advantage; Innovation; Tesla; Automotive Industry; Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Values; Vision; Learning By Doing; Economies Of Scale; Electric Vehicle; Scenario Planning; Batteries; Competitive Strategy; Product Positioning; Profit; Competition; Industry Growth; Auto Industry

April 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Protege Partners: The Capacity Challenge

By: Randolph B. Cohen

In February 2005, Jeffrey Tarrant (HBS '85) and Ted Seides (HBS '99) considered their strategy for Protege Partners, founded in July 2002 as a fund of hedge funds (FOHF) specializing in small hedge funds. Protege's assets under management had grown to $1.1 billion, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Growth and Maturation; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

2008
Simulation

Pricing Simulation: Universal Car Rental

By: John T. Gourville

This web-based simulation presents an engaging context in which students develop their knowledge of pricing by managing a rental car operation (Universal) in Florida and improve regional performance by developing a pricing strategy. The simulation involves three... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Consumer Behavior; Price; Profit; Renting or Rental; Auto Industry; Service Industry; Miami; Orlando; Tampa

17 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 17, 2009

Working PapersFemale Empowerment: Impact of a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines Authors:Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan, and Wesley Yin Abstract Female 'empowerment' has increasingly become a policy goal, both as an end to itself and as a means to achieving... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Resourcery, Ltd.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Feyi A. Boroffice

Recounts the story of how a successful Nigerian entrepreneur has expanded his systems integration/networking business. He now faces the problem of raising growth capital in a developing country. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Growth Management; Expansion; Race; Entrepreneurship; Developing Countries and Economies

August 2001 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Doral Costa

By: William J. Poorvu, John H. Vogel Jr., Arthur I. Segel and Amy Silverstein

Doral Costa is a proposed 277,803 square foot Class A office park development in Miami, FL. Trammell Crow Co. would like to develop this office park in joint venture with a partner. Samantha Spar, the acquisitions partner at Titan Associates, a large real estate... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Joint Ventures; Acquisition; Investment; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Fair Value Accounting; Construction; Property; Real Estate Industry; Consulting Industry; Miami

12 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

The New Real Estate

diversification and reduce risk. This is the new world of real estate finance which, as my friend Harvard Business School professor Andre Perold will argue, is just catching up with everyone else. Sustainable View Details

Keywords: by Arthur I. Segel; Construction; Real Estate

August 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Tailor Brands: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Branding

By: Jill Avery

Using proprietary artificial intelligence technology, startup Tailor Brands set out to democratize branding by allowing small businesses to create their brand identities by automatically generating logos in just minutes at minimal cost with no branding or design skills... View Details

14 Mar 2013
Working Paper Summaries

No Taxation without Information: Deterrence and Self-Enforcement in the Value Added Tax

Keywords: by Dina Pomeranz

May 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Humana Commits to Value-Based Care

By: V.G. Narayanan, Henry Eyring and David Lane

In late 2023, CEO Bruce Broussard reviewed health insurer Humana’s transformation into a value-based care ecosystem. Under its CenterWell brand, the several millions of members in Humana Medicare Advantage plans now had access to Humana-provided primary care, home... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Units; Financing and Loans; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Partners and Partnerships; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

January 2000
Case

Measurement and Management at CitySoft

By: V.G. Narayanan and Sanjay Pothen

CitySoft is a very small software developer that is grappling with issues of cost measurement and management. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Applications and Software; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry