Publications

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Begenau’s research agenda is directed at better understanding how financial markets work and how they affect the real economy. She uses quantitative analysis to build both prescriptive and descriptive models concerning financial risk in banking, and she also... View Details

Article

Surviving Radical Technological Change through Dynamic Capability: Evidence from the Typesetter Industry

Recent work in the field of management has focused on "dynamic capability," the ability of a firm to develop new capabilities in response to shifts in its external environment, as a significant source of competitive advantage. This paper enhances our understanding of... View Details

Keywords: Management; Technology; History; Competition; Competency and Skills; Investment; Technological Innovation; Business Ventures; Geographic Location; Knowledge Acquisition; Competitive Advantage; Change

Find at Harvard

2008
Working Paper

International Financial Integration and Entrepreneurial Firm Activity

By: Laura Alfaro and Andrew Charlton

We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. We use a unique firm-level data set in a broad sample of developed and developing countries, which enables us to present both cross-country and... View Details

Keywords: International Financial Integration; Capital Mobility; Firm Entry; Capital Controls; Finance; Integration; Global Range; Capital; Entrepreneurship; Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies

June 2000
Case

Intel Capital: The Berkeley Networks Investment

By: Henry W. Chesbrough and David Lane

Discusses how Intel Corp. uses corporate venture capital to explore new technologies in new markets. Intel combines external investments with internal research and development. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Venture Capital; Investment; Research and Development; Semiconductor Industry

2004
Working Paper

Are Perks Purely Managerial Excess?

By: Raghuram G. Rajan and Julie Wulf

Why do some firms tend to offer executives a variety of perks while others offer none at all? A widespread view in the corporate finance literature is that executive perks are a form of agency or private benefit and a way for managers to misappropriate some of the... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Performance Productivity; Executive Compensation; Corporate Finance

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Justice-as-a-Service at RightNow

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Amir Reza Rezvani

The case examines the focus of an early stage company, and how an unexpected external incidence can threaten or void the business model. It encompasses issues such as minimal viable product, defining and pivoting a business model, organizational requirements for a... View Details

Keywords: Legacy Business; Teams; Startup; Business Models; Pivot; Entrepreneurship; Law; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Legal Services Industry; Germany

March 2014
Article

Information Environment and the Investment Decisions of Multinational Corporations

By: Nemit O. Shroff, Rodrigo S. Verdi and Gwen Yu

This paper examines how the external information environment in which foreign subsidiaries operate affects the investment decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs). We hypothesize and find that the investment decisions of foreign subsidiaries in country-industries... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Multinational Firms; Cross-border Frictions; Agency Frictions; Transparency; Financial Reporting Quality; Information Quality; Information; Multinational Firms and Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment

SSRN

Find at Harvard

September 1992 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Germany in the 1990s: Managing Reunification

By: George C. Lodge and James W. Ragsdale

In October 1990, eastern Germany was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany. The German people rewarded the architect of these changes, Helmut Kohl, with an enhanced majority in national elections. But only two years later it was hard to remember these heady... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Inflation and Deflation; Central Banking; Interest Rates; Political Elections; Situation or Environment; Integration; Europe; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom

William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business... View Details

29 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 29, 2008

renegotiations. Our results indicate that institutional managers that participate in loan renegotiations consequently trade in stock of the same company and outperform other managers by approximately 8.8% in annualized terms in the month following loan renegotiation.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Nov 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Sovereign Risk, Currency Risk, and Corporate Balance Sheets

Keywords: by Wenxin Du and Jesse Schreger

September 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Spyder Active Sports - 2004

By: Belen Villalonga, Dwight B. Crane and James Quinn

David Jacobs founded a high-end ski apparel company in 1978. He successfully built and grew the company, establishing a major international brand that appealed to ski racers and other active skiers. In 1995, he sought external financing to support further growth of the... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Valuation; Brands and Branding; Wealth; Family Business; Financing and Loans; Globalization; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Colorado

March 2024
Case

East Rock Capital: 'Talent Is the Best Asset Class'

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Izzy Yeoh

Adam Shapiro and Graham Duncan launched East Rock Capital, LLC in 2006 with a seed investment from Stuart Miller, executive chairman of Lennar Corporation. East Rock managed long-term assets for high-net-worth families, primarily working with external managers who had... View Details

Keywords: Alternative Assets; Hiring; HNW Products And Services; Recruiting; Hedge Funds; Wealth Management; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Institutions; Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry; United States

30 Sep 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Real Effects of Capital Controls: Financial Constraints, Exporters, and Firm Investment

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Anusha Chari & Fabio Kanczuk

21 May 2015
Blog Post

3 Ways to Fund Your HBS MBA

Trying to figure out how you’re going to afford your Harvard MBA can feel very scary – I definitely remember the sticker shock I felt when I read the expected student budget for the first time. Luckily, there are a lot of ways for you to get support as you decide how... View Details

23 Sep 2016
Working Paper Summaries

How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers, William Gornall, Steven N. Kaplan, and Ilya A. Strebulaev; Financial Services

spring 2004
Article

Multinationals and Linkages: An Empirical Investigation

By: Laura Alfaro and Andres Rodriguez-Clare

Several recent papers have used plant-level data and panel econometric techniques to carefully explore the existence FDI externalities. One conclusion that emerges from this literature is that it is difficult to find evidence of positive externalities from... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Relationships; Multinational Firms and Management; Brazil; Chile; Venezuela; Mexico

Find at Harvard

September 2010 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Gone Rural

By: Andre F. Perold

Gone Rural employs 750 women in rural communities across Swaziland to produce handwoven baskets and other hand-crafted items. The women are mostly grandmothers caring for children orphaned as a result of the country's high AIDS-related death rate. The company has a... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Growth and Development; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Corporate Finance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Swaziland