Publications

January 2009
Case

Xi'an International University: The Growth of Private Universities in China

By: William C. Kirby, Michael Shih-ta Chen, Keith Chi-ho Wong and Tracy Manty

Huang Teng founded Xi'an International University (XAIU) as a private institute of higher education in 1992. Throughout its ensuing years, the school filled a niche and met the demand of students who did not test into one of China's public institutions. In 2008, it was... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Growth and Development Strategy; Private Ownership; Expansion; Education Industry; China

January 1996
Case

Transportation Displays Incorporated (C): The Case for a Preemptive Restructuring

By: Stuart C. Gilson, Joel T. Schwartz, Steve Silver and David Stemerman

A company nears the end of a long multiyear turnaround and now must consider how to "cash out" so its management can realize a financial return on investment. The privately held company has several options, including a leveraged ESOP and a leveraged recapitalization. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Capital; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Private Ownership

June 2012
Article

Reality versus Propaganda in the Formation of Beliefs about Privatization

By: Rafael Di Tella, Sebastian Galiani and Ernesto Schargrodsky

Argentina privatized most public utilities during the 1990s but re-nationalized the main water company in 2006. We study beliefs about the benefits of the privatization of water services amongst low- and middle-income groups immediately after the 2006 nationalization.... View Details

Keywords: Privatization; Business and Community Relations; Household; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Public Ownership; Utilities Industry; Argentina

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04 Aug 2014
Op-Ed

Why Small-Business Lending Is Not Recovering

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles based on a Harvard Business School working paper by Karen Mills that analyzes the current state of availability of bank capital for small business. During the 2008 financial crisis, small businesses were... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Financial Services

13 May 2014
Op-Ed

The Alibaba Effect

Alibaba is about to make history with the first genuine mega-IPO of a Chinese entrepreneur-founded company in the United States. The numbers are historic as well—an anticipated market capitalization of some $200 billion. It comes to the US rather than Hong Kong for the... View Details

Keywords: by Bill Kirby & Warren McFarlan; Retail

20 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Financing Risk and Bubbles of Innovation

Keywords: by Ramana Nanda & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf; Financial Services

05 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

VCs Survey Post-Bubble Opportunities

Venture investing has picked up from the post-dot-bomb era of a few years ago—but does the comeback signal good times ahead or a mini bubble of misguided exuberance? To provoke discussion, HBS professor Bill Sahlman threw down the gauntlet at a discussion on technology... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Hanna; Financial Services

26 Jan 2004
Research & Ideas

How Women Can Get More Venture Capital

Women-owned businesses are just as financially strong and creditworthy as the average U.S. firm, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Women's Business Research. Yet women struggle more than men to acquire equity capital. Why? According to a 1999 survey,... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark & Martha Lagace

01 Jan 2000
Conference Presentation

Privatization of Infrastructure

By: Louis T Wells Jr

Keywords: Privatization; Infrastructure

July 2002
Supplement

Discount & Hawkins Openings: Video Highlights

By: Michael A. Wheeler

This case shows the interactions between two quite different pairs of negotiators, both engaged in working through the final leasing clause between a mall developer and its anchor tenant. It highlights the importance of openings to frame and shape the entire course of... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Negotiation; Leasing; Renting or Rental; Competition

01 Sep 2004
News

American Dream

Standing in a swirl of tourists that includes a gaggle of teenage girls, clusters of road-weary families, and a nun in full habit, Ted Hustead (OPM 30, 2001) appraises a mechanized Tyrannosaurus rex as it raises its enormous head, roars, and blows clouds of smoke from... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Accommodation; Hospitality

18 Jul 2016
Research & Ideas

Is Greed Ruining Private Equity Firms?

ownership and carried interest—or profit share. The average founding partner grabbed a much larger share of the carried interest than the average non-founder: 19.2 percent compared with 11.3 percent. Similarly, a founding partner had an... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Banking; Financial Services

05 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

International Financial Integration and Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro & Andrew Charlton

11 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

The Success of Reverse Leveraged Buyouts

As Hertz approaches what is expected to be a $1 billion "quick flip" IPO just ten months after being acquired, critics are again taking aim at reverse leveraged buyouts and wondering whether investors are being set up for a fall. RLBOs have come under... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Banking; Financial Services

26 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Women Entrepreneurs Use Springboard for Funding

What do a health food manufacturer, an infectious-diseases specialist and a content-management expert have in common? Answer: All are women, all are entrepreneurs. And by virtue of being women and entrepreneurs they share one disheartening statistic: According to the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 1992 (Revised May 2004)
Background Note

Introduction to Owners' Equity

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

An introduction to accounting for owners' equity and leveraged buyouts. Covers classes of shareholders, treasury stock, stock distributions, and dividend accounting. View Details

Keywords: Ownership; Equity; Accounting

August 2007 (Revised April 2012)
Technical Note

Technical Note on Financial Leverage in Real Estate

By: Charles F. Wu and Arthur I Segel

Demonstrates the accelerating impact of leverage on returns under differing scenarios of property performance. The performance scenarios represent two points in time: the inception of the investment and the liquidation. View Details

Keywords: Property; Investment; Real Estate Industry

01 Sep 2004
News

The Wisdom of Crowds

The judgments of many people regarding the merits of a restaurant, hotel, or bar trump a single reviewer’s opinion. That’s the philosophy behind the Zagat Survey leisure guides, and Ted Zagat (MBA 2004) has literally grown up with that concept: His parents founded the... View Details

Keywords: Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

October 2023
Technical Note

Governance for the Family Enterprise

By: Christina R. Wing and Vicki Morton

Governance stands as the backbone of any successful organization, providing the structure, transparency, and accountability necessary to guide decisions, ensure efficiency and foster sustainable growth. Its significance takes on a heightened dimension within family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Family Ownership; Business Growth and Maturation