Publications

(With Emilie Feldman and Belen Villalonga) This article investigates how securities analysts help investors understand the value of diversification. By studying the research that analysts produce about companies that have announced corporate spin-offs, we gain... View Details

December 2013
Article

Leviathan as a Minority Shareholder: Firm-level Implications of State Equity Purchases

By: Carlos F. K. V. Inoue, Sergio G. Lazzarini and Aldo Musacchio

In many countries, firms face institutional voids that raise the costs of doing business and thwart entrepreneurial activity. We examine a particular mechanism to address those voids: minority state ownership. Due to their minority nature, such stakes are less affected... View Details

Keywords: Business Groups; Development Banks; State Capitalism; Performance; State Ownership; Brazil

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29 Apr 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Use Personal Experience to Pick Winning Stocks

Let's face it: in most cases, the stock market knows what it's doing. With millions of people performing their homework and investing money in stocks they hope will pay off, it's hard for any one person to beat the market in a big way.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

January 2008
Background Note

Index Options

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

The goal of this simulation is to understand the patterns in index option prices that are not predicted by the Black-Scholes model. In particular, the simulation focuses on two properties of options prices. First, at-the-money implied volatilities from index options... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Stock Options; Investment; Price; Profit; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods

10 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Rethink the Value of Joint Ventures

multinationals are most likely to overlook in global expansion? A: I'm quite interested in how multinationals view investments in emerging markets. My sense is that firms vary greatly in their appetite for risk in these settings and that... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

October 2018
Case

Fairview Capital

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Collins

JoAnn Price and Dr. Larry Morse were the first African-Americans to launch a fund of funds in the private equity industry. Their fund, Fairview capital, was created in response to the dearth of capital invested in private equity funds managed by black and other... View Details

Keywords: Alternative Assets; Fund Of Funds; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Decision Making; Strategy; United States

04 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Start to Measure Your E-commerce Success

payoffs of e-commerce operational and capital investments are necessary to demonstrate the value creation of e-commerce initiatives and to obtain additional resources for critical e-commerce projects. The measures are essential to monitor... View Details

Keywords: by Marc J. Epstein

April 2023
Supplement

Fresh Food Generation

By: Brian Trelstad

Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

This case highlights one of five BIPOC entrepreneuers in the Boston area as part of the HBS Impact Investment Fund. In fall 2021, a team of... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Race; Food and Beverage Industry

Career Coach

Pamela Harder

architect behind the Amazon HQ2 $1.1B tech talent investment program. Prior to that, Pam ran Strategy & Business Operations at Clever, a K12 edtech startup in San Francisco. Under her leadership, she... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing

January 1985
Case

Business Research Corp. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting an entrepreneur: which of two investment proposals should he accept to fund the creation and marketing of a database that comprises the full text of research reports produced by Wall Street investment banking firms? The... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Cost vs Benefits; Valuation; Investment Banking; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Deal; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Service Industry

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Web

Employment Data

3% Entertainment / Media 3% Health Care 6% Investment Banking 5% Investment Management / Hedge Fund 6% Manufacturing 5% Nonprofit / Government 5% Other Financial Services 4% Private Equity 19% Retail 2%... View Details

September 2013 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Antoine Leboyer and GSX

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Antoine Leboyer (HBS '92) acquired the Swiss-based software company GSX in February 2008. He managed through the recession of 2008–2009, dealt with a tumultuous separation from the founder/owner, rebuilt the management team, and upgraded the company's software... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Finance; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; France; Switzerland

March 2008
Supplement

Patel Food and Chemicals Private Limited (B)

By: Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Alok Patel, the founder and chairman of a Gujarat-based, privately held edible oils processor, has hired a CFO and the company is doing extremely well. He wants to add a new plant to process oilive oil, but estimates he will need $20 million. He must decide among... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Financing and Loans; Investment; Financial Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Chemical Industry; Gujarat

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20 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 20

Market Governments—Qualitative Evidence from a Biotechnology Multinational Authors:Prithwiraj Choudhury, James Geraghty, and Tarun Khanna Publication:Global Strategy Journal 2, no. 1 (February 2012) Abstract We build on the emerging... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2017 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Floodgate: On the Hunt for Thunder Lizards

By: Rory McDonald, Alix Burke, Emma Franking and Nicole Tempest

Founded in 2008, Floodgate pioneered the “micro-VC” category, a new type of investment firm that raised smaller funds and made earlier, smaller investments in technology startups than traditional venture-capital firms. By 2015, Floodgate had raised three funds totaling... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Business Models; Angel Investors; Crowdfunding; Incubators; Accelerators; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Information Technology; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy

11 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Riding the Internet Fast Track

a single quarter last year, invested $3.8 billion in Internet start-ups. But, is the get-big-fast strategy right for everyone? To what extent is its payoff dependent on speculative excess in the capital... View Details

Keywords: by Peter Jacobs

November 2017
Teaching Note

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 718-426. Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking... View Details

Keywords: Tencent; Tencent Holdings; WeChat; Social Networking; Social Networks; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Video Games; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Portals; Payments; Mobile Payments; O2O; Online-to-offline; E-commerce; Messaging; Subscription Model; Freemium; Mobile App Industry; Smartphone; PC; Monetization Strategy; Antitrust; Streaming; Cloud Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Alibaba; Facebook; JD.com; Tesla; Bundling; Synergies; Digital Strategy; Imitation; Licensing; Agility; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Communication Technology; Blogs; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Price; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Industry Growth; Monopoly; Media; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Opportunities; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Value Creation; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Segmentation; Business Units; Communication; Profit; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; China; Canton (province, China)

November 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Hygeia Group: Delivering Quality Care in Nigeria

By: Robert F. Higgins and Ifedayo O. Kuye

Fola Laoye is the Group Managing Director of Hygeia Group, a Nigerian healthcare insurer and provider, and she is deciding on the optimal strategy to grow the provider arm of her business. Hygeia Group was founded in the 1980s by her physician parents, and although... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Healthcare Industry; Hospitals; Nigeria; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; Nigeria

June 2014
Teaching Note

Steve Carpenter at Cake Financial

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

After investing $9 million of venture capital, Cake Financial had failed to reach critical mass. In early 2010 Cake's assets were sold and the company was dissolved. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco-based Internet company allowed users to monitor their investments... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry