Publications

April 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The Auction for Travelport (A)

By: Andrei Hagiu and Misha Sanwal

A senior Blackstone director is deciding how aggressively to bid for Travelport, a travel distribution business containing several key services and platforms. Travelport's most important properties were Galileo, one of the top 3 global distribution systems (GDSs),... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Product Positioning; Cost vs Benefits; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Competitive Advantage; Auctions; Industry Structures; Travel Industry

01 Dec 2003
What Do You Think?

Is This the Twilight Era for the Managed Mutual Fund?

investor, I feel powerless to control or even understand how my mutual funds operate." Anupam Bordia comments, "the mutual fund scandal will shift public trust towards index funds." There is also a suggestion that the job... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

13 Dec 2016
First Look

December 13, 2016

forthcoming Journal of Investment Consulting Cloaked Trading By: Cohen, Lauren, Dong Lou, and Christopher J. Malloy Abstract—Using a novel, proprietary database of micro-level trading activities by asset managers, we show strong evidence... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

31 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

The Dow at 20,000: What's That All About?

School finance professor Luis Viceira, an expert on investment management and capital markets, offered his views on how this happened, what it means, and how high the Dow may go in the future. Jim Aisner: Last week the Dow closed above... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

01 Jul 2009
Working Paper Summaries

File-Sharing and Copyright

Keywords: by Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Koleman Strumpf; Technology; Entertainment & Recreation

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

to predict rain and droughts.) “There is a huge public need here, which is potentially a great opportunity for business" —Rebecca M. Henderson "The next big revolution is going to have to happen in food production," said... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

29 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 29

effective is the method? Is funding programs with the highest BC ratios a good way to fight poverty? In three or five years' time, how will Robin Hood know if it is succeeding? Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

SAIF: May 2004

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

The Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund (SAIF) team has just learned that the price at which its portfolio company, the Chinese gaming firm Shanda, was planning to go public must be reduced. As a result, the partners think through the entire genesis of the deal and the... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Initial Public Offering; Price; China; United States

15 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

The Business of Free Software

vendors like IBM and Oracle on the open source community. Why are proprietary firms diving into open source? The answer (it's good for business) is hardly shocking. But the line from investing in OSS to... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer

2008
Book

On Competition

By: M. E. Porter

Competition is one of society's most powerful forces for making things better in many ﬁelds of human endeavor. The study of competition and the creation of value, in their full richness, have preoccupied me for several decades. Competition is pervasive, whether it... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Practice; Competitive Strategy; Theory; Value Creation

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Research Summary

Research Focus of Chris Gordon

Chris Gordon's main area of interest and expertise is the delivery of complex capital projects. These projects can take the form of government sponsored infrastructure projects such as highways and utilities, private real estate development such as commercial and... View Details

2013
Working Paper

Historical Origins of Environmental Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s-1980s

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski

This working paper examines the growth of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. German business has been regarded as pioneering corporate environmentalism after World War II. In contrast, this study reveals... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Green Business; Pollution; Environmental Sustainability; Business History; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

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January 31, 2019
Article

The Backlash to Larry Fink's Letter Shows How Far Business Has to Go on Social Responsibility

By: Mark R. Kramer

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor with $6 trillion under management, evoked heated controversy with his remarks last week that his company would change its hiring and potentially its compensation structure to advance diversity and ensure that... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose

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July 1991 (Revised August 1991)
Case

Philip Morris Companies, Inc. (B)

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

Looks at the company's plans for a new debt offering under the Rule 415 shelf underwriting provision--in this instance from the vantage point of the lead investment banker for the deal. The decision-maker must assess the risks of the issuer, the tone of the market, the... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Stocks; Initial Public Offering; Consumer Products Industry; United States

24 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 24, 2017

firms and shareholders. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51128 Harvard Business School Case 418-019 Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi Inspired by research linking happiness and productivity, Hitachi had View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

How Politics Drives Business Decisions in a Polarized Nation

executive suites, start-up firms, and even entire professions and industries. Within finance, in particular, decisionmakers’ political views influence investment returns, credit ratings, asset allocations, loan terms, and bond yields,... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

07 Apr 2003
What Do You Think?

Should Global Business Initiatives Be Devalued?

extent should they take responsibility for building the brands of several countries in which they do substantial amounts of business? And just how is this done most effectively? What do you think? Original Article Recently we've been witnessing a View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2011
Supplement

Matrix Capital Management (B)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Cash Flow; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Valuation; Partners and Partnerships; Markets; Performance Efficiency; Patents; Stock Shares; Decisions; Financial Services Industry

March 2018
Supplement

The Rise and Rise (?) of Walmart (B): Kmart Declares Bankruptcy

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case follows up on the competition between Kmart and Walmart as discussed in the A case. It summarizes the companies' positions in the early 2000s, and discusses events between 1990 and Kmart's declaration of bankruptcy in 2002. Walmart grew significantly,... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Walmart; Kmart; Controversy; Strategy; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Competition; Public Opinion; Retail Industry; United States