Publications

November 1990 (Revised September 1991)
Case

First Chicago Corp.: Corporate Strategy

Lays out the business challenges facing First Chicago Corp. in 1986: the banking industry has been deregulated, many corporations are bypassing banks in their search for capital, and foreign competition has increased. Their traditional market--corporate banking--has... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Investment Banking; Corporate Strategy; Emerging Markets; Commercial Banking; Banking Industry; United States

January 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Case

China Mobile's Rural Communications Strategy

By: William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, G.A. Donovan and Tracy Manty

China Mobile was the world's leading mobile communications service provider with over 400 million customers. In some cities, its penetration rate was over 100%. With such huge successes, Chairman Wang Jianzhou was exploring ways to expand its customer base. Nearly... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Investment; Rural Scope; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Telecommunications Industry; China

26 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

The Office of Strategy Management

typical organization the budgeting process is partitioned from the strategy development process. The result is that key strategic investments often get lost in the pressures of daily operational management,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

14 Oct 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Cost of Capital for Alternative Investments

Keywords: by Jakub W. Jurek & Erik Stafford

January 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

TotalEnergies’ Investment in Hyzon Motors

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and David Lane

In November 2021, Girish Nadkarni, the head of TotalEnergies’ corporate venture capital arm (TEV) was considering whether, and on what terms, to exit an investment in Hyzon Motors, a start-up supplier of hydrogen-powered trucks. TEV had invested $4 million in Hyzon,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Communication Intention and Meaning; Renewable Energy; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Design; Standards; Commercialization; Investment Portfolio; Market Transactions; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Transportation Industry; Europe; New York (city, NY)

Research Summary

Formulating technology commercialization strategies

Even if young organizations succeed in acquiring the specialized talent necessary to further develop a recently-discovered technology, they may face an uncertain path in commercializing the original invention. Initial conceptions of what might constitute a useful... View Details

Teaching Interest

Strategy and Technology (Elective Curriculum)

By: David B. Yoffie

This course explores the unique aspects of creating effective management and investment strategies for technology-intensive businesses. What strategies can win in markets with strong network effects? How can firms leverage technology to build multi-sided platforms?... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Information Technology; Technology Platform; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States; China; Israel; Taiwan

March 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Identifying and Realizing Investments in Eastern Europe (A)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Robert E. Kennedy and Laure Mougeot Strook

A Greek milling firm wants to invest in Eastern Europe. The case explores the firm's search strategy and its due diligence process after a potential investment, and considers how the company should structure its bid. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe

Find at Harvard

November 2009 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund

By: Arthur I Segel and Justin Seth Ginsburgh

The Jonathan Rose Companies must decide how to design and launch an innovative new real estate fund focused on green and transit oriented properties. JRC seeks to show through the fund that smart growth and green buildings provide superior economic returns to sprawl... View Details

Keywords: Property; Buildings and Facilities; Transition; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Investment; Marketing; Energy Conservation; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Finance; Real Estate Industry

2010
Working Paper

Investment Taxation and Portfolio Performance

By: Daniel B. Bergstresser and Jeffrey Pontiff

Taxes have a first-order impact on portfolio returns. Most research mistakenly assumes that portfolios command similar tax burdens, or that tax burdens are proportional to dividend yields. Portfolio strategies differ in the pace of capital gains realization. We use the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Taxation; Performance Evaluation

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25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

It's a much believed assumption in the retail world: If you're going to compete on the basis of low cost, then you can't afford to invest in your employees. Extensive training—who has the time to give? Regularly scheduled hours?—way too... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

The Hard Numbers on Social Investments

used the actual initial and current or exit valuation data of the companies, but constructed two hypothetical investment strategies. In scenario one, the team used a strategy that assumed an initial View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

23 Aug 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Waves in Ship Prices and Investment

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood & Samuel Hanson

December 2010
Compilation

VCPE Strategy Vignettes II

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Ann Leamon and Lisa Strope

These three vignettes present various issues around the strategy and management of venture capital and private equity firms. In one, a senior partner must decide how to manage an over-extended colleague and how to reduce the risk of the firm's portfolio; the second... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Cost vs Benefits; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment Portfolio; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships; Risk Management; Stocks; Problems and Challenges; United States

January 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Altoona State Investment Board: December 2008

By: Josh Lerner

Rod Calhoun, the head of the Altoona State Investment Board's private equity investment program, considered the communication he had just received. It was from Permira, the leading European buyout fund, and concerned its fourth fund, to which Altoona had made a £ 100... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships

March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

WallStreetBets: Democratizing Retail Investing

By: Joseph Pacelli and Alexis Lefort

In summer 2024, Jaime Rogozinski anticipated the launch of a day-trading eSports event, a vision he had nurtured for years. Rogozinski, the founder of the influential subreddit WallStreetBets (WSB), created the forum in 2012 as a space for retail traders to explore... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Emerging Markets; Market Participation; Financial Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Financial Services Industry; United States

January 2007 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Yale University Investments Office: August 2006

By: Josh Lerner

The Yale Investments Office must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments--hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and so forth. Considers the risks and benefits of a different asset allocation strategy.... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Asset Management; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Risk Management