Publications

April 2002 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Malaysia: Capital and Control

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Laura Alfaro

On September 1, 1998, the government of Malaysia imposed currency and capital controls in response to the financial crisis that had swept Asia. The controls sparked an enormous controversy in the world of international finance. Some celebrated the controls for... View Details

Keywords: Capital Controls; Business and Government Relations; International Finance; Policy; Crisis Management; Balance and Stability; Globalized Economies and Regions; Malaysia

24 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Economic Uncertainty and Earnings Management

Keywords: by Luke C.D. Stein and Charles C.Y. Wang; Financial Services

March 2005 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Ocean & Oil Holdings and the Leveraged Buyout of Agip Nigeria (A)

In 2001, a Nigerian holding company was deciding how much to pay for a major Nigerian oil marketing firm. Explores the challenges facing a fast-growing, leveraged buyout firm operating in a global economy but constrained by imperfect local financial and legal... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Emerging Markets; Nigeria

29 Feb 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: JSW Steel and Cement and the Quest to Capture Carbon in Hard to Abate Sectors

across the country. How to juggle the challenge of developing a country of 1.4 billion people while being pressured to achieve a net zero target? As we explored India during our ten days for our Immersive Field Course, from its Financial... View Details

Video

What's Behind China's Wild Stock Ride?

September 2014 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Fresno's Social Impact Bond for Asthma

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In 2014, Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) were quickly gaining popularity as an investment vehicle which joined together private investors and nonprofits to tackle social issues. Although numerous SIB projects and proposals had cropped up across the U.S. following the launch... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Health Care; Marketing; Bonds; Financing; Asthma; Air Pollution; Air Quality; Chronic Disease; Public Health; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Finance; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

October 1991 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Hawkeye Bancorporation

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Hawkeye, a small bank holding company in Iowa, faces difficulties in the mid 1980s as the local Iowa farm economy is in recession. This case provides an opportunity for students to become familiar with bank financial statements, and introduces some issues in market... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Financial Crisis; Economic Growth; Market Participation; Banks and Banking; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Private Ownership; Banking Industry

Find at Harvard

2020
Working Paper

The Cost of Anonymous Lemons

By: Amar Bhidé

Rules that restrict information required in negotiated private transactions have spurred a vast increase in the scope of anonymous financial markets, particularly in the US. The subtle costs of the information restricting rules raise questions about the social value of... View Details

Keywords: Information Asymmetry; Securities; Securitization; Regulation; Liquidity; Information; Financial Markets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Liquidity

Read Now

August 1995 (Revised January 1997)
Exercise

Consumer Behavior Exercise (C)

By: John A. Deighton and Susan M. Fournier

Students are instructed to interview a recent purchaser of a high-involvement/ego-expressive product or service in depth about his/her buying decision. The exercise provides students with first-hand understanding of important concepts in consumer choice domain (e.g.,... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior

January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Exercise

Travelogo: Understanding Customer Journeys

By: Eva Ascarza, Nicolas Padilla and Oded Netzer

In late May 2023, Sarah Merino, the newly appointed manager of the Customer Insights group at Travelogo—an online travel booking platform—initiates a comprehensive analysis of clickstream data to understand the varied behaviors and needs of their users. In preparation... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Analysis; Analytics and Data Science; Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Consumer Behavior; Travel Industry; United States

December 2001 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Borealis

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Bjorn N. Jorgensen

When Borealis, a European producer of plastics, used a traditional, time-consuming budgeting process, the budget was quickly out of date in a competitive environment characterized by continually changing input and output prices and dynamic market conditions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment; Governance Controls; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry; Europe

13 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Employee Selection as a Control System

Keywords: by Dennis Campbell; Banking

TeachingInterests

Finance I

By: Archie L. Jones

This course examines the role of finance in supporting the functional areas of a firm, and fosters an understanding of how financial decisions themselves can create value.

Topics covered include:

Basic analytical skills and principles of... View Details

January 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Ctrip: Scientifically Managing Travel Services

By: David A. Garvin and Nancy Hua Dai

Ctrip is a $437 million Chinese on-line travel services company with a scientific, data driven approach to management. The case explores Ctrip's founding and early growth, its expansion into multiple market segments including hotel reservations, air ticketing, leisure... View Details

Keywords: Scientific Management; Data-driven Management; Management; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Market Entry and Exit; Mathematical Methods; Business Processes; Information Management; Travel Industry; China