Publications

08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

Business Speaks English: Why You Need a Language Strategy Now Author:Tsedal Neeley Publication:Harvard Business Review 90, no. 5 (May 2012) Abstract An abstract is unavailable at this time. Book:... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

November 2019
Case

Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After losing market share to low-priced competitors such as Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club for several years, Gillette decided to fight back by launching new products and increasing advertising. When these efforts failed to stem the losses, Gillette decided to cut the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competition; Price; Public Equity; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

May 1997
Case

Donna Karan International Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Sarayu Srinivasan

Designer Donna Karan takes her firm public. After eager anticipation from Wall Street, the stock loses 60% of its value. This case addresses the questions: Is Karan's company ready to undertake responsibilities of being public? Is the company's strategy sustainable?... View Details

Keywords: Public Equity; Stock Shares; Financial Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Going Public; Business Strategy; Valuation; Fashion Industry

Find at Harvard

10 Jan 2022
News

The Secret Ingredient of Thriving Companies? Human Magic.

04 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

The Right Way to Restructure Conglomerates in Emerging Markets

Western corporate strategies have long been held up as role models for businesses in emerging markets. The reaction to recent financial crises in Asia and Latin America has only served to reinforce this... View Details

Keywords: by Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu

Research Summary

Overview

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Kaplan introduced time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) to provide the cost component in Michael Porter's Value Based Health Care framework of delivering superior patient outcomes at lower societal cost. TDABC is becoming the global standard for health care... View Details

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Look at Globalization Now

HBS professor Pankaj Ghemawat, a specialist in strategy and the dynamics of globalization, says that while market integration has made deep inroads in the last few decades, according to the evidence, it's still far short of what economic... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Program

Family Office Wealth Management—Virtual

investment decisions. This program will equip you with the tools to address these specific challenges and deepen your understanding of investment opportunities for high-net-worth families. You will emerge with the competence and confidence to design a wealth management... View Details

October 2000
Article

BanCrecen

By: S. Dario, E.L. Montiel and Tatiana Sandino

This case describes the aggressive entry of BanCrecen, an affiliate of the Mexican bank BanCrecer, in Costa Rica in 1994. Its strategy, like that of the Mexican home office, was to focus on personal banking, with the rapid expansion of neighborhood branches and strong... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Globalization; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Costa Rica; Mexico

Find at Harvard

March 2011
Supplement

Countrywide plc (CW)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

One of the world's leading investors in distressed companies, Oaktree Capital Management is contemplating a "loan to own" investment in the debt f Countrywide plc, a financially troubled residential real estate agent based in the U.K. Only sixteen months earlier,... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Assets; Borrowing and Debt; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment Portfolio; Crisis Management; Strategy; Valuation; Real Estate Industry; United Kingdom

2005
Other Unpublished Work

Corporate Financing Decisions When Investors Take the Path of Least Resistance

By: Malcolm Baker, Joshua Coval and Jeremy Stein

We explore the consequences for corporate financial policy that arise when investors exhibit inertial behavior. One implication of investor inertia is that, all else equal, a firm pursuing a strategy of equity-financed growth will prefer a stock-for-stock merger to... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Behavior; Stocks; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Investment; Financial Institutions; Equity; Corporate Finance

Read Now

May 2010
Case

CEIBS: A Global Business School Made in China

By: John A. Quelch

In 2009, just 15 years after it was founded, the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) has achieved the remarkable 8th position in the Financial Times Global MBA rankings. The case describes the short history of the school and the reasons for its success.... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Quality; Business History; Competitive Advantage; Business Education; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; China

January 2011
Case

Masdar and Tianjin: Eco-Cities

By: John D. Macomber

Compares Masdar City and Tianjin Eco-City, two high profile "sustainable cities." Each showcases technological and financial innovation. Is it real? Is it replicable and defensible? The case is intended to introduce main concepts and tradeoffs with respect to rapid... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Model; Development Economics; Urban Development; Cash Flow; Project Finance; Competitive Advantage; Environmental Sustainability; City; Infrastructure

2024
Working Paper

LASH Risk and Interest Rates

By: Laura Alfaro, Saleem Bahaj, Robert Czech, Jonathan Hazell and Ioana Neamtu

We introduce a framework to understand and quantify a form of liquidity risk that we dub Liquidity After Solvency Hedging or “LASH” risk. Financial institutions take LASH risk when they hedge against losses, using strategies that lead to liquidity needs when the value... View Details

Keywords: Liquidity; Monetary Policy; Non-bank Intermediaries; Hedging; Risk and Uncertainty; Investment Funds; Financial Condition; Interest Rates

Read Now

November 2010 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Oriflame S.A. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins, Karol Misztal and Daniela Beyersdorfer

A direct-selling cosmetics company involved in emerging markets exhibits significant foreign exchange risk exposure and profitability swings in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Students must review the company's use of derivative instruments and other hedging... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Crisis; Currency Exchange Rate; Financial Strategy; Investment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

October 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Cost of Capital at Ameritrade

By: Mark L. Mitchell and Erik Stafford

Ameritrade Holding Corp. is planning large marketing and technology investments to improve the company's competitive position in deep-discount brokerage by taking advantage of emerging economies of scale. In order to evaluate whether the strategy would generate... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Asset Pricing; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Investment; Marketing; Mathematical Methods; Competition; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Financial Services Industry

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

November 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

International Management Group (IMG)

By: Bharat N. Anand and Kate Attea

In 2001, International Management Group (IMG) is the dominant company in the sports management industry. Its founder and CEO, Mark McCormack, is credited with having created the industry of sports management in the early 1960s. Over the next 40 years, IMG's expansion... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Finance; Organizational Structure; Planning; Relationships; Conflict of Interests; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Sports Industry

2021
Working Paper

The Business of K-12 Education in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper examines the evolution of K-12 education in China, especially between 1985 and the present day, drawing extensive interviews with participants in the educational sector. China has been hugely successful in reaching almost 100 percent literacy,... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; China; Real Estate; Early Childhood Education; Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Nonprofit Organizations; Private Sector; Education Industry; Real Estate Industry; China