Publications

August 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Oaktree: Pierre Foods Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina and Mike Harmon

This case is a setting to discuss “loan to own” investment strategy that is often pursued by distressed investors. The aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis left many companies with poor liquidity and limited ability to obtain credit. One of these companies was Pierre... View Details

Keywords: Distress Investing; Investment; Debt Securities; Strategy; Restructuring

November 1999
Case

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (A)

By: Andre F. Perold

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (LTCM) was in the business of engaging in trading strategies to exploit market pricing discrepancies. Because the firm employed strategies designed to make money over long horizons--from six months to two years or more--it adopted a... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Management; Risk Management; Marketing; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry

October 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Case

Compound: Lending on the Blockchain

By: Marco Di Maggio, George Gonzalez and Richard Dulude

This case critically examines Compound, an innovative decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. Focusing on Compound’s blockchain-based borrowing and lending protocol, the case explores its automated, intermediary-free system using Ethereum smart contracts. This system... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Cryptocurrency; Disruptive Innovation; Borrowing and Debt; Financing and Loans; Organizational Design; Technological Innovation

August 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Compania de Telefonos de Chile

By: W. Carl Kester, Enrique Ostale and Charles McHugh La Follette

The newly privatized Chilean telephone company, Compania de Telefonos de Chile (CTC) must raise substantial new funds externally in order to finance its expansion program. This task is complicated by Chile's small, illiquid capital markets and the skeptical view of... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Financing and Loans; Managerial Roles; Privatization; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; South America; Chile

March 2005 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Capital Controls in Chile in the 1990s (A)

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

In 1991, Chile adopted a framework of capital controls focused on reducing the massive flows of foreign investment coming into the country as international interest rates remained low. Capital inflows threatened the Central Bank's ability to manage the exchange rate... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Capital; Governance Controls; Business and Government Relations; Chile

17 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Why Global Brands Work

bureaucracy in which regional managers exaggerate the need for local adaptations to defend their turf; and a deteriorating market share, financial performance, and stock price. Fords worldwide should have a... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Auto

August 2000 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Cox Communications, Inc., 1999

This case focuses on how much external financing a firm needs and what securities the firm should issue to raise this financing. Cox Communications is a major player in the cable industry, which is consolidating due to technological changes/capabilities brought about... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Telecommunications Industry

2020
Chapter

Foreign Direct Investment, Finance and Economic Development

By: Laura Alfaro and Jasmina Chauvin

Research has sought to understand how foreign direct investment affects host economies. This paper reviews the empirical literature, specifically addressing the question: How does FDI affect economic development of host countries and what is the role of local financial... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Condition; Development Economics

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December 2023
Article

Intermediary Balance Sheets and the Treasury Yield Curve

By: Wenxin Du, Benjamin Hebert and Wenhao Li

We document a regime change in the Treasury market post-Global Financial Crisis (GFC): dealers switched from net short to net long Treasury bonds. We construct “net-long” and “net-short” curves that account for balance sheet and financing costs, and show that actual... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Financial Markets; Financial Crisis; Asset Pricing

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March 2014
Teaching Note

Barclays Bank and Contingent Capital Notes, 2012

By: Lucy White

In 2012, regulatory changes following the financial crisis mean that Barclays Bank is faced with the need to raise large amounts of capital in order to comply with increased capital requirements, tightening rules as to the "quality of capital," and increased risk... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

February 1994 (Revised September 1995)
Case

Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, Inc.: Portfolio Insurance

By: Peter Tufano

Leland O'Brien Rubinstein Associates, a small financial advisory firm founded in 1980, has created a successful business by selling a product commonly known as portfolio insurance. Portfolio insurance is a trading strategy that institutional investors use to establish... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Insurance; Product; Financial Services Industry

Research Summary

Overview

I am a doctoral candidate in the strategy unit at Harvard Business School. My main areas of interest are organizational economics, public policy, and technology. My research is published at PNAS and forthcoming at the Journal of Financial Economics. My work has been... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Communication Technology; Wages; Policy; Brazil

March 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

State Street Corporation

By: William E. Fruhan

To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color. State Street Corp. reports a 13% gain in EPS in 2008 amidst a global financial crisis. The stock price declines 59% on the day of the earnings report. This one day decline was exceeded in the... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Crisis Management; Financial Services Industry

August 2022 (Revised June 2024)
Exercise

How Should Netflix Add an Ad-Supported Tier?

By: Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia

In the summer of 2022, it became clear that Netflix would introduce an ad-supported tier alongside its existing subscription plans in the near future. Speculation abounded as to the details of the new tier: How many minutes of advertising would it include? What picture... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Television Industry; Price; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Customer Value and Value Chain; Competitive Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

06 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

FIN Around the World: The Contribution of Financing Activity to Profitability

Keywords: by Russell Lundholm, George Serafeim & Gwen Yu

June 1994 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Safeway, Inc.'s Leveraged Buyout (A)

After years of deteriorating financial performance and eroding market position, Safeway, Inc., the largest public grocery store chain in the United States, found itself the target of a hostile takeover offer. Management decided to take the company private in a $4.3... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Retail Industry; United States

January 1998 (Revised February 2006)
Background Note

Creating Competitive Advantage

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Jan W. Rivkin

A firm such as Schering-Plough that earns superior, long-run financial returns within its industry is said to enjoy a competitive advantage over its rivals. This note examines the logic of how firms create competitive advantage. It emphasizes two themes: First, to... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Management; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Value Creation; Pharmaceutical Industry