Publications

June 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

New Business Investment Company: October 1997

By: Josh Lerner, Lee Branstetter and Takeshi Nakabayashi

A quasi-government organization seeks to stimulate entrepreneurship in Japan by making venture capital investments. The organization of the fund, identification of transactions, and oversight of portfolio firms pose considerable challenges. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry; Japan

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December 1999 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Charles Schwab: A Category of One

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Thomas H. Esperson

Examines Charles Schwab's on-line discount brokerage firm and questions whether or not Schwab has effectively balanced the old and new world of stock trading, and has remained a leader between giants like Merrill Lynch and Internet pure plays like E-Trade. Also looks... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; Technological Innovation; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Where Main Street Meets Wall Street

compete now as a full-service investment firm without charging the hefty commissions that 'full service' usually implies. Our online presence is just part of a larger operation designed to help customers achieve their long-term View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Financial Services

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ethan C. Rouen

Relying on empirical archival methodologies—as well as techniques in data science—to develop and structure new sources of data by which to approach questions of looming disclosure changes, Professor Rouen has focused on one of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s... View Details

November 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Woodland Partners: Field of Dreams?

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Theodore D. Seides

Elizabeth Lilly, Richard Rinkett, and Richard Jensen are pondering whether to launch a new investment management firm and, if so, what growth strategy to chart for the potential firm. View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Business Processes; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry

June 2006 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Teena Lerner: Dividing the Pie at Rx Capital (A)

By: Boris Groysberg, Victoria Winston and Robin Abrahams

Teena Lerner started her own hedge fund firm in 2001 after nearly 20 years as a star biotechnology analyst and hedge fund manager. After the start-up phase, her firm became highly profitable. In 2004, however, one of her four analysts lost a lot of money for the firm.... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Investment Funds; Performance; Business Startups; Compensation and Benefits; Corporate Finance; Financial Services Industry

14 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 14

increased during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Diversification gave firms both financing and investment advantages. First, conglomerates became significantly more leveraged relative to comparable focused... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Barbarians at the Gate or Turnaround Gurus? Private Equity and the Rise of the LBO

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

During the 1980s, leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and the private equity (PE) firms responsible for carrying them out revolutionized both investment and management in the U.S. Between 1980 and 1989, buyout activity in the U.S. surged from $1 billion per year to $60 billion.... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Private Equity; Bonds; Investment Return; Institutional Investing; Profit Sharing; Business History; Management Style; Private Ownership; Performance Effectiveness; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; United States

22 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

The Hedge Fund as Activist

Managers of public corporations sometimes need to be reminded that they work for shareholders. Without proper monitoring, managers may receive excess compensation or perks, or misuse free cash flow. Historically, poorly performing managers have had little to fear. If a... View Details

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood; Financial Services

21 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 21

customs and port authority data on the international shipments of all U.S. publicly-traded firms, we show that firms are significantly more likely to trade with countries that have a strong resident population near their View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Placement - Doctoral

Angeles, Marshall School of Business, Accounting Department Dissertation: Essays on Financial Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Advisors: Suraj Srinivasan (Co-Chair), Charles C.Y. Wang , and Joseph Pacelli 2024 Yaxuan Chen... View Details

08 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 8

Product Market Competition Lead Firms to Decentralize? Authors:Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen Publication:American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 100, no. 2 (May 2010) Abstract There is a widespread sense... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2016
Supplement

Financing Curtis LLP

By: Nikolaos Trichakis

This is a follow-up to "Curtis LLP: A Case on Cases," HBS case No. 616-049. It explores the challenges facing debtors when dealing with borrowing firms that have operational flexibility. View Details

Keywords: Management; Operations; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Services Industry

Web

Browse All Articles, Research, & Case Studies - HBS Working Knowledge

financially sound enterprise as it scales. Harvard Business School professor Rick Ruback and one of the case’s co-developers Joe Higgins discuss the business case for hiring employees with disabilities, “Lucky Ones Coffee: Employing... View Details

November 1994
Case

Electrical Distributors, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

The owner of a small electrical supply firm has grown beyond his ability to fund growth with internally generated funds. He seeks a bank loan, which falls short of his needs. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Apparel and Accessories Industry

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14 Aug 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Insider Trading Preceding Goodwill Impairments

Keywords: by Karl A. Muller III, Monica Neamtiu & Edward J. Riedl

October 2007
Case

Blue River Capital

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Richard Bullock

Examines the strategy and experience of Indian private equity firm Blue River Capital. Blue River was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India