Publications

June 1995 (Revised June 1996)
Case

White Nights and Polar Lights: Investing in the Russian Oil Industry

By: Debora L. Spar

In the latter half of the 1980s, the collapse of the Soviet empire created an unprecedented opportunity for Western businesses. Among those most attracted were the oil firms, who rushed to investigate Russia's vast petroleum reserves. But, as they soon discovered,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Market Entry and Exit; Foreign Direct Investment; Energy Sources; Energy Industry; Russia

November 2010 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas

By: Benjamin C. Esty and David Lane

This case analyzes Dow Chemical Company's proposed acquisition of Rohm and Haas in 2008. The $18.8 billion acquisition was part of Dow's strategic transformation from a slow-growth, low-margin, and cyclical producer of basic chemicals into a higher-growth,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Capital Structure; Financial Condition; Financial Management; Contracts; Lawsuits and Litigation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Chemical Industry

01 Jun 2017
News

Why Finance Needs More Humanity, and Why Humanity Needs Finance

Research Summary

Experience and description-based decision making.

Prof. Barron and his co-authors study the effect of the economic environment on decision making. One example involves the effect of rare (low probability) events. People behave as if they overweight these events in some settings (e.g., when buying insurance and... View Details

15 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Women Leaders and Organizational Change

powerful who are resistant to change. Most people resist change, even when change might be in their interest, because change is threatening; it involves taking risks and experimenting, not knowing the... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

September 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

The United Kingdom and the Means to Prosperity

By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Hilary White

After struggling through the country's longest recession since 2008, the U.K. was expected to grow faster than any other G7 nation in 2014. Analysts wondered whether the return to growth was because, or in spite of, Prime Minister David Cameron's controversial £113... View Details

Article

Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors, and Data Are Revolutionizing Business

By: Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

When Google bought Nest, a maker of digital thermostats, for $3.2 billion just a few months ago, it was a clear indication that digital transformation and connection are spreading across even the most traditional industrial segments and creating a staggering array of... View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Digitization; Industrial Internet; Technological Innovation; Production; Competitive Strategy; Engineering; Aerospace Industry

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08 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Platform Systems vs. Step Processes—The Value of Options and the Power of Modularity

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin

Research Summary

Male Circumcision and HIV/AIDS: The Macroeconomic Effects of a Health Crises (with Eric Werker and Brian Wendell)

Theories abound on the possible impact of AIDS on economic growth and savings in Africa; yet there have been surprisingly few empirical studies to test the mixed theoretical predictions. In this paper, we examine the impact of the AIDS epidemic on African nations... View Details

October 2024
Article

Founder-CEO Compensation and Selection into Venture Capital-Backed Entrepreneurship

By: Michael Ewens, Ramana Nanda and Christopher Stanton

We show theoretically that a critical determinant of the attractiveness of VC-backed entrepreneurship for high-earning potential founders is the expected time to develop a startup’s initial product. This is because founder-CEOs’ cash compensation increases... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Executive Compensation

April 2012
Article

Local R&D Strategies and Multi-location Firms: The Role of Internal Linkages

By: Juan Alcacer and Minyuan Zhao

This study looks at the role of firms' internal linkages in highly competitive technology clusters, where much of the world's R&D takes place. The leading players in these clusters are multilocation firms that organize and integrate knowledge across sites worldwide.... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Research and Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Technology

December 2020
Article

Sovereign Debt Portfolios, Bond Risks, and the Credibility of Monetary Policy

By: Wenxin Du, Carolin Pflueger and Jesse Schreger

We document that governments whose local currency debt provides them with greater hedging benefits actually borrow more in foreign currency. We introduce two features into a government's debt portfolio choice problem to explain this finding: risk-averse lenders and... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Currency; Policy; Risk and Uncertainty

September 2012 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Intel: Strategic Decisions in Locating a New Assembly and Test Plant (A)

By: Juan Alcacer and Kerry Herman

In mid-2005, Intel is examining its options for where to locate its next assembly and test plant. On its short list of potential sites include locations in China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. Each country has its own unique benefits and risks related to... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Positioning; Location Choices; Location Strategies; Technology; Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Information Technology; Strategy; Technology Industry; United States; China; India; Thailand; Viet Nam

22 Aug 2024
Research & Ideas

Reading the Financial Crisis Warning Signs: Credit Markets and the 'Red-Zone'

A year ago, most experts thought the US economy was thundering headlong toward recession, as the Federal Reserve moved at a historic pace to slow inflation by bridling interest rates. Yet, despite recent tremors in the stock market, no recession has materialized. Part... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Banking

2003
Article

Confirming Management Earnings Forecasts, Earnings Uncertainty, and Stock Returns

By: Michael B. Clement, Richard Frankel and Jeffrey Miller

In this study we examine the association among confirming management forecasts, stock prices, and analyst expectations. Confirming management forecasts are voluntary disclosures by management that corroborate existing market expectations about future earnings. This... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Corporate Disclosure; Price; Stocks; Investment Return

July 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Shell’s Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition (Abridged)

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Renewables; Forecasting Demand; Strategy; Energy; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Activism; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Energy Industry

February 2006
Article

Risk, Uncertainty, and Doubt

By: Nitin Nohria and Thomas A. Stewart

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty