Publications

Read Now

13 May 2019
News

Reading the Market

September–October 2022
Article

The Essential Link Between ESG Targets and Financial Performance

By: Mark R. Kramer and Marc W. Pfitzer

Despite heightened attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, surprisingly few companies are making meaningful progress in delivering on their commitments. Most firms are not integrating ESG factors into internal strategy and operational decisions... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Governance; Financial Strategy; Decision Making; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Organizational Structure

04 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Making the Numbers? ‘Short Termism’ & the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disaster

Keywords: by Hazhir Rahmandad, Nelson P. Repenning & Rebecca Henderson

2010
Chapter

The Financing of R&D and Innovation

By: Bronwyn H. Hall and Josh Lerner

Evidence on the “funding gap” for investment innovation is surveyed. The focus is on financial market reasons for underinvestment that exist even when externality-induced underinvestment is absent. We conclude that while small and new innovative firms experience high... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Venture Capital; Corporate Finance

22 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

The Hedge Fund as Activist

removal of a poison pill (a device that makes it difficult for a firm to be acquired), ask for a share repurchase or dividend increase, or, in extreme cases, ask for the removal of View Details

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood; Financial Services

March 2012
Article

The Influence of Prior Industry Affiliation on Framing in Nascent Industries: The Evolution of Digital Cameras

By: Mary J. Benner and Mary Tripsas

New industries sparked by technological change are characterized by high technological, market, and competitive uncertainty. In this paper we explore how a firm's conceptualization of products in this context, reflected in its introduction of product features, is... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Transformation; Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Product; Values and Beliefs; Mathematical Methods; Power and Influence; Behavior; Experience and Expertise; Design; Market Entry and Exit; Employment Industry; Computer Industry

Read Now

Article

The Effect of Institutional Factors on the Value of Corporate Diversification

By: Venkat Kuppuswamy, George Serafeim and Belen Villalonga

Using a large sample of diversified firms from 38 countries we investigate the influence of several national-level institutional factors or 'institutional voids' on the value of corporate diversification. Specifically, we explore whether the presence of frictions in a... View Details

Keywords: Diversification Discount; Institutions; Labor Market; Competition; Human Capital; Diversification; Value; Capital Markets

SSRN

01 Mar 2019
News

The Burden Legacy

1953, MBA 1955). William A.M. Burden Sr. made a mark at Harvard as First Marshal of his graduating class and captain of the football team. Returning to his native New York, he launched a career on Wall Street with View Details

Keywords: Linda Kush

04 Dec 2006
Research & Ideas

The Money Connection—Understanding VC Networks

from a distance because they have reliable, local partners to advise and monitor the new venture." In their paper, Stuart and Sorenson posit that these ties are more likely to form between VC firms in... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services

2013
Working Paper

The Operational Consequences of Private Equity Buyouts: Evidence from the Restaurant Industry

By: Albert W. Sheen and Shai Bernstein

What, if anything, do private equity firms do with businesses they acquire? We find evidence of significant operational changes in 101 restaurant chain buyouts between 2002 and 2012. Analysis of health inspections conducted for over 50,000 stores in Florida shows that... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Quality; Private Equity; Food; Management Practices and Processes; Leveraged Buyouts; Performance Efficiency; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Florida

Read Now

08 May 2019
Blog Post

In the Business of Flexibility

As founder of Prokanga, the innovative recruiting firm that connects companies with experienced, flexible marketing and finance expertise, Jamie Cheney (MBA 2007) understands View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit / Government

August 2019 (Revised August 2024)
Case

The Walt Disney Company: Theme Parks

By: Rory McDonald, Allison Mnookin and Iuliana Mogosanu

As he seeks to place the division he leads on a firm footing for the future, Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, is considering a range of investments designed either to upgrade the guest experience in the company’s existing parks or to expand access... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Investment; Expansion; Decision Making; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Educators

26 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Where is Home for the Global Firm?

Not so long ago, multinational firms were associated with a specific national identity. Caterpillar was a prototypical U.S. company. Honda was a classic Japanese company. The location of headquarters of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

The Challenge of Shared Prosperity

In the 2015 survey on U.S. competitiveness, HBS alumni weigh in on the current state and future trajectory of U.S. competitiveness as well as the structural strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. business environment. In addition, alumni delve deeper into two aspects... View Details

05 Jan 2021
Working Paper Summaries

The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun, and Quoc H. Nguyen

June 2023
Case

Barton Malow: Building From the Top-Down

By: Hise O. Gibson and Alicia Dadlani

In 2023, Detroit-based Barton Malow completed the first high-rise building in the U.S. built from the top-down using LIFTbuild, a patented methodology that aimed to make construction safer and more efficient. By completing building work at ground level and then... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Construction Industry

Educators

August 2023 (Revised January 2025)
Case

The Gift Card Swap

By: David G. Fubini, William Fubini, Patrick Sanguineti and Amy Chambers

In this short vignette on ethics in consulting, Brenda Thompson, a new Associate at a prestigious consulting firm, learns that a fellow Associate is using the firm's meal expense benefits to pocket the difference between the maximum daily allowance and his actual... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Decisions; Consulting Industry

Educators