Publications

17 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 17

individuals or firms and open collaborative innovation projects. We analyze the design costs and architectures and communication costs associated with each model. We conclude that innovation by individual users and also open collaborative... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

22 May 2020
Blog Post

Remembering Well and Making Meaning of Memorial Day

pure well-wishing – “hope alone is not a course of action,” one of my commanders loved to say. I believe remembering well means both taking stock of where we’ve been, and taking action – in service – going forward. One of the greatest... View Details

Web

Resumes & Cover Letters - Alumni

at the top of the page. No need to include it on additional pages. Professional history - Start with your most recent role and list in descending chronology. For each role, provide a sentence or two that describes the scope of your... View Details

October 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Lehman Brothers and Repo 105

By: Anette Mikes, Gwen Yu and Dominique Hamel

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was the largest bankruptcy in US history. The case examines the economics of the off-balance sheet transactions Lehman undertook prior to the collapse, and highlights the corporate governance challenges in situations where firms... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Policy; Accounting Audits; Corporate Governance; Financial Instruments; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry

August 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Background Note

Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging

By: Willy Shih

Some technology transitions are exceedingly difficult for incumbent firms to execute. The bankruptcy filing by the Eastman Kodak Company highlighted the difficulty companies faced when their core business transitioned from an analog to a digital world. Kodak's business... View Details

30 Jun 2016
Working Paper Summaries

The Dyadic Ties of Managers and Financial Analysts and Their Externality on a Firm's Information Environment

Keywords: by Zengquan Li, T.J. Wong, and Gwen Yu; Financial Services

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

wealth management and financial services firms support the workings of the market. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815042-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 816-052 El Sistema... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

October 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

BlackRock (A): Selling the Systems?

By: Ranjay Gulati, Jan W. Rivkin and Kelly McNamara

As the case opens in 1999, several key leaders at BlackRock, Inc., then a relatively small asset management firm, are trying to convince CEO Larry Fink and others that the firm should begin to offer Aladdin—its proprietary analytics and trading platform—to other asset... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Asset Management; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

In this paper, I develop and empirically test the proposition that performance pressure acts as a double-edged sword for teams, providing positive effects by enhancing the team’s motivation to achieve good results while simultaneously triggering process losses. I... View Details

November 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

WL Ross & Co. and INVESCO

Wilbur Ross has built a successful private equity firm focused on distressed investing, WL Ross & Co. In 2006, INVESCO, an asset management company, approaches him about acquiring his firm. INVESCO has had weak performance in recent years and is looking to increase its... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Acquisition; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

2009
Book

Merchants to Multinationals

By: G. Jones

Merchants to Multinationals examines the evolution of multinational trading companies from the eighteenth century to the present day. During the Industrial Revolution, British merchants established overseas branches which became major trade intermediaries and... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Alliances; Groups and Teams; Distribution Industry; Africa; Asia; Great Britain; Latin America

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

incentives to invest in the face of potential holdup problems and also with the proposition that exclusive arrangements lead firms to seek contingent control rights to avoid lock-in when environmental uncertainty is high. Private Equity... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July 2013 (Revised August 2017)
Case

TaKaDu

By: Elie Ofek and Matthew Preble

In December 2012, Amir Peleg, founder and CEO of TaKaDu, reflected on how to position his young firm for the next fiscal year and beyond. The small Israeli startup had developed an innovative software system that used patented algorithms and statistical analysis to... View Details

Program

Real Estate Management Program

value through healthy, sustainable, and climate-friendly design Deliver projects on time and on budget Build and contract with industry talent Expand your personal and professional network Extend your network by living and working with... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Real Estate

2025
Working Paper

Who Ends Up at Jobs in Impact Investing?

By: Shawn Cole, Marcus Sander and Jonah Zahnd

As the impact investing industry has grown, so too has students’ desire to find employment in jobs tasked with the dual mandate of creating financial and social or environmental returns. There is to date relatively little information available on employment in the... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Education; Job Search; Employment; Financial Services Industry

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January 2024
Supplement

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting—and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Consulting Industry