Publications

May 2011
Article

Higher Risk, Lower Returns: What Hedge Fund Investors Really Earn

By: Ilia Dichev and Gwen Yu

The returns of hedge fund investors depend not only on the returns of the hedge funds they hold but also on the timing and magnitude of their capital flows in and out of the funds. We use dollar-weighted returns (a form of IRR) to assess the properties of actual... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Investment Return; Capital Markets; Market Timing; Currency

March 2020 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Performance Management at Afreximbank (A)

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Siko Sikochi and Josh Steimle

Based in Cairo, Afreximbank was founded in October 1993 as a specialized continental financial institution designed to address the low level of intra-African trade, the decline in financial flows to Africa, the worsening external debt situation of many African... View Details

Keywords: Performance Management; Balanced Scorecard; Performance Expectations; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Banking Industry; Africa; Egypt

Educators

Purchase

Malcolm Baker is the Robert G. Kirby Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches the required course in finance and a short immersive program on investing in life sciences.

His research is in the... View Details

Keywords: asset management; biotechnology; financial services; high technology; investment banking industry; pharmaceuticals; private equity (LBO funds); shipping; transportation

Why Criticism Is Good for Creativity

One of the most popular mantras for innovation is “avoid criticism.” The underlying assumption is that criticism kills the flow of creativity and the enthusiasm of a team. Aversion to criticism has significantly spread in the last 20 years, especially through the... View Details

November 1994 (Revised September 1996)
Case

RiceSelect

By: Alvin J. Silk and Mary Shelman

In August 1994, Robin Andrews, President of RiceTec, Inc., faces a critical decision that will affect his firm's future: what policy should RiceTec follow for supplying grocery retailers with private label merchandise? RiceTec, a small privately owned firm engaged in... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Private Ownership; Research and Development; Conflict Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry

2023
Working Paper

Mapping Organizational-Level Networks Using Individual-Level Connections: Evidence from Online Professional Networks

By: Shelley Xin Li, Frank Nagle and Aner Zhou

Organization-level networks facilitate the flow of information and business activities in the economy. Prior research relies solely on high-level connections to measure these networks. Therefore, to understand the role of employee connections at all job levels in... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Value; Social and Collaborative Networks; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Sharing; Employees; Social Media

October 2014
Article

Good Cop, Bad Cop: Complementarities Between Debt and Equity in Disciplining Management

By: Alexander Guembel and Lucy White

In this paper we examine how the quantity of information generated about firm prospects can be improved by splitting a firm's cash flow into a "safe" claim (debt) and a "risky" claim (equity). The former, being relatively insensitive to upside risk, provides a... View Details

Keywords: Information; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Corporate Finance

2020
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 3 Transaction Free Zones

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

In Chapter 2 we saw that the most economical locations for transactions in a task network are the so-called thin crossing points—places where transfers are easy to define, count and pay for. However, in many places in the task network, transfers of material, energy,... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; Information Technology; Organizations

June 2007
Article

Does Employment Protection Reduce Productivity? Evidence from U.S. States

By: David H Autor, William R. Kerr and Adriana D. Kugler

Theory predicts that mandated employment protections may reduce productivity by distorting production choices. Firms facing (non-Coasean) worker dismissal costs will curtail hiring below efficient levels and retain unproductive workers, both of which should affect... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Production; Selection and Staffing; Cost; Employment; Capital; Performance Productivity; United States

Article

A Framework for Research on Corporate Accountability Reporting

By: Karthik Ramanna

This paper provides an accounting-based conceptual framing of the phenomenon of corporate accountability reporting. Such reporting is seen as arising from a delegator's (e.g., a citizenry) demand to hold a delegate (e.g., shareholders) to account. When effective,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Value; Financial Reporting; Business and Shareholder Relations

May 2011
Case

Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt

Baria Planning Solutions (BPS) is a consulting firm that specializes in using spend analysis to help companies identify savings through reduced procurement costs and improved supplier performance. Management is concerned about the disappointing performance of the sales... View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Supply Chain Management; Salesforce Management; Planning; Consulting Industry; North and Central America

Educators

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2008
Book

Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes for Better Democracy

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine E. Jocz

Marketing has a greater purpose, and marketers, a higher calling, than simply selling more widgets, according to John Quelch and Katherine Jocz. In "Greater Good", the authors contend that marketing performs an essential societal function—and does so democratically.... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; Marketing; Practice; Welfare

16 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 16, 2007

Working Papers"Don'ts" And "Do's": Insights from Experience In Mitigating Risks Of Western Investors In Post-Communist Countries Authors:Charalambos A. Vlachoutsicos and Paul R. Lawrence Abstract No abstract... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Payout Policy

Keywords: by Joan Farre-Mensa, Roni Michaely & Martin C. Schmalz

24 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 24, 2017

evidence that “short-termism" and “quarterly capitalism” are impairing firms' ability to invest, innovate, and provide good wages. We explain why S&P 500 shareholder-payout figures provide a misleadingly incomplete picture of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2009
Working Paper

Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?

By: Karthik Ramanna and Ewa Sletten

In a sample of 102 non-European Union countries, we study variations in the decision to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). There is evidence that more powerful countries are less likely to adopt IFRS, consistent with more powerful countries being... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Globalized Economies and Regions; Network Effects; Standards; Adoption

Research Summary

Good cop, Bad Cop: Complementarities between Debt and Equity in Disciplining Management

Joint work with Alexander Gümbel, Saïd Business School and Lincoln College Oxford

In this paper we examine how the quantity of information generated about firm... View Details

2016
Conference Paper

The Pressing Game: Optimal Defensive Disruption in Soccer

By: Iavor I. Bojinov and Luke Bornn

Soccer, the most watched sport in the world, is a dynamic game where a team’s success relies on both team strategy and individual player contributions. Passing is a cardinal soccer skill and a key factor in strategy development; it helps the team to keep the ball... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Strategy; Disruption

2025
Working Paper

Precautionary Debt Capacity

By: Deniz Aydin and Olivia S. Kim

The determinants of debt capacity are a central theme in finance and macroeconomics, yet it remains unclear why firms leave some of their debt capacity unused and whether this affects investment and growth. Textbook theory suggests that firms should not leave their... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Financing and Loans