Publications

September 2017
Teaching Note

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro and Hayley Pallan

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

15 Sep 2016
News

US political system risks economic competitiveness, study finds

13 Dec 2022
Video

Santa Claus Debates Whether to Outsource Toy Production

12 Mar 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Inflation Bets or Deflation Hedges? The Changing Risks of Nominal Bonds

Keywords: by John Y. Campbell, Adi Sunderam & Luis M. Viceira

May 2012
Article

Global, Local, and Contagious Investor Sentiment

By: Malcolm Baker, Jeffrey Wurgler and Yu Yuan

We construct investor sentiment indices for six major stock markets and decompose them into one global and six local indices. In a validation test, we find that relative sentiment is correlated with the relative prices of dual-listed companies. Global sentiment is a... View Details

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations; Globalization; Stocks; Markets; Capital; Financial Services Industry

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October 2021
Article

Can European Electric Utilities Manage Asset Impairments Arising from Net Zero Targets?

By: Conor Hickey, John O'Brien, Ben Caldecott, Celine McInerney and Brian O' Gallachoir

This paper develops a framework to assess the ability of electric utilities to sustain the forced impairment of carbon emitting power plants and applies it to the European market. We present a new method to measure asset impairment, for both the company and the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Environmental Regulation; Transition; Utilities Industry; Europe

05 Oct 2009
News

The World Bank must fix its business model

November 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Miles Everson at PricewaterhouseCoopers

By: Robert G. Eccles and David Lane

Miles Everson, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), is the Global Engagement Partner (GEP) for a large U.S. financial institution and about to take over this role for a much larger global financial institution. The GEP role is a critical one at PwC. GEPs have... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Relationship Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Managerial Roles; Consulting Industry

May 2011
Article

Underdog Branding: Why Underdogs Win in Recessions

By: Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Jill Avery

Underdog stories about overcoming great odds through passion and determination are particularly resonant during difficult times as they inspire us and give us hope when the outlook we face is bleak. They promise that success is still possible, a much needed message in... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brand Building; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Brands and Branding; Economics; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Advertising Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

14 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 14

Publication:,em>Harvard Business Review 89, no. 6 (June 2011) Abstract The bottom of the economic pyramid is a risky place for business, but decent profits can be made there if companies link their financial success with their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2025
Case

Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Akiko Saito

In 2025, Kenichi Hori, President and CEO of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.—one of Japan’s most prominent Sogo Shosha (investment and trading companies with sprawling global footprints)—reflected on the company’s record-breaking profits. Its operations spanned multiple... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Management; Operations; Organizations; Japan

September 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (A)

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan

Acumen Fund is a global venture capital firm with a dual purpose: it looks for a return on its investments, and it also seeks entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty. This case examines Acumen's new projects in Kenya. The organization's investment committee and its... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Social Enterprise; Financial Services Industry; Kenya

June 2015
Article

The Capital Purchase Program and Subsequent Bank SEOs

By: Mozaffar N. Khan and Dushyantkumar Vyas

We find that in the aftermath of the recent financial crisis banks replenished only 12% of crisis-related losses through SEOs in 2009 and 2010. However, SEOs are disproportionately conducted by Capital Purchase Program (CPP) recipients, and this is not explained by CPP... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Capital; Equity; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; United States

May 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Investment Technology Group

By: Clayton S. Rose and David Lane

Investment Technology Group (ITG) CEO Robert Gasser wondered if the financial crisis had permanently affected the firm's business model. A leader in trade analytics and execution for institutional equity investors, ITG had grown since its establishment in 1987 in step... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Financial Crisis; Investment; Resignation and Termination; Crisis Management; Product Positioning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

July/September 2005
Article

Le consensus de Paris: la France et les règles de la finance mondiale

By: Rawi Abdelal

This article is about the institutional foundations of the globalization of finance. These institutional foundations are both informal and formal. Until the 1980s the formal rules of the international financial architecture – most consequentially in the European Union... View Details

Keywords: Policy; International Finance; Globalization; France; European Union

26 Jan 2015
Working Paper Summaries

The Rise and Fall of Demand for Securitizations

Keywords: by Sergey Chernenko, Samuel G. Hanson & Adi Sunderam

September 2024
Case

Navigating Digital Transformation at Carrefour

By: Sunil Gupta and Emilie Billaud

In 2023, Elodie Perthuisot, Carrefour’s Executive Director for e-commerce and digital transformation, met with CEO Alexandre Bompard to discuss strategies for the company’s digital initiatives. Carrefour, a global retail giant with over 14,300 stores across 40... View Details

June 2016
Article

Local Currency Sovereign Risk

By: Wenxin Du and Jesse Schreger

We introduce a new measure of emerging market sovereign credit risk: the local currency credit spread, defined as the spread of local currency bonds over the synthetic local currency risk-free rate constructed using cross-currency swaps. We find that local currency... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Sovereign Finance; Currency; Emerging Markets

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