Publications

November 2017
Comment

Discussion: Do Common Inherited Beliefs and Values Influence CEO Pay?

By: Lauren Cohen

The origin of preferences is something we know strikingly little about in economics. Given the central importance of preferences, we have not invested nearly the time we should into this concept. And so, as an overarching research direction, I am heartened by the push... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Values and Beliefs; Ethnicity

Find at Harvard

February 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Equity Bank: Challenging a Giant

By: Lauren H. Cohen, Michael Chitavi and Spencer C. N. Hagist

Equity Bank and CEO Dr. James Mwangi must find a way to advance from their hard-fought ascension to second largest bank in Kenya by toppling financial giant Safaricom. Doing so means developing a new strategy and tackling technological frontiers no institution in the... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Finance; Strategy; Information Technology; Banks and Banking; Kenya

May 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Ashar Group: Brokers and Co-opetition in the Life Settlement Industry

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Jiahua Xu

Connecting life insurance policyholders with potential investors (called Life Settlement Providers), Ashar Group plays a pivotal role in the industry. Its current position is, however, increasingly being challenged by consumer-direct models, led by major providers... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Investment; Markets; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Financial Services Industry

July 2024
Article

Buying the Verdict

By: Lauren Cohen and Umit Gurun

We document evidence that firms systematically increase specialized, locally targeted advertising following the firm being taken to trial in that given location, precisely following initiation of the suit. In particular, we use legal actions brought against publicly... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Advertising; Marketing Strategy

Web

Events - Private Capital Project

Director and Head of New Ventures at Locust Walk), Rekha Hemrajani (CEO & Director of Jiya Acquisition Corp.), and Sanjay H. Patel (Chairman International and Senior Partner of Private Equity of Apollo Management), moderated View Details

01 Sep 2023
News

Global Outposts Expand HBS’s Intellectual Footprint

Since taking over as CEO of Tata Steel in 2013, T. V. Narendran had sought to transform India’s oldest steel manufacturing firm to ready it for a rapidly evolving business world. He instilled financial discipline, acquired new businesses, and launched digital... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

01 Dec 2015
News

Complements to the Case Method

Learning by Doing: Stock Pitching When it comes to getting an edge in a stock trade, HBS finance professors Lauren Cohen and Christopher Malloy urge students to go straight to... View Details

01 Dec 2016
News

The US Patent System’s Uncertain Fate

(Illustration by Peter Arkle) What is really at stake when we talk about patents? Lauren Cohen: Innovation is the future of the US economy. Given that the value of firms is shifting toward intellectual... View Details

Keywords: April White

24 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 24, 2008

log variance of income per worker. This figure should be compared to the 42% success rate of the usual model. Download the paper from SSRN ($5): http://papers.nber.org/papers/w14060 Bounded Decision Making: From Description to Improvement Authors: Dolly Chugh,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 17

Introduction to Short Selling Lauren H. Cohen and Christopher MalloyHarvard Business School Note 212-079 We provide a primer on the market for securities' lending of equities... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

2024
Chapter

Managing, Preserving, and Unlocking Wealth through FinTech

By: Grace Headinger, Lauren Cohen and Zhaoheng Gong

In nearly every generation, a sentiment like Einstein’s has been expressed as a cautionary tale to constrain the development and application of technology. In spite of these calls, technology has time and again proven its utility and ability to improve across and upon... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Technological Innovation; Finance

2013
Chapter

Who Chooses Board Members?

By: Ali Akyol and Lauren Cohen

We exploit a recent regulation passed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explore the nomination of board members to US publicly traded firms. In particular, we focus on firms’ use of executive search firms versus allowing internal members (often... View Details

Keywords: Boards; Boards Of Directors; Executive Search Firms; Governance; SEC Regulation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Executive Compensation

March 2018
Case

Lufax: FinTech and the Transformation of Wealth Management in China

By: Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Anthony K. Woo

This case examines the rise and competitive positioning of Lufax, an online marketplace headquartered in Shanghai, China, and a pioneer in the origination and trading of financial assets. The company had grown at a remarkable rate, and was awarded “Trading Platform of... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Internet and the Web; Competitive Strategy; Situation or Environment; Product Positioning; Financial Services Industry; China

Forthcoming
Article

The Political Economy of Anti-Bribery Enforcement

By: Lauren Cohen and Bo Li

Using exogenous variation in the timing and geographic location of U.S. Congressional elections, we find that the probability of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions against foreign firms increases significantly preceding senatorial elections,... View Details

Keywords: Bribery; Regulatory Enforcement; Crime and Corruption; Political Elections; Power and Influence; Public Opinion; Geographic Location

March 2022 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Reclaiming the Land of Purple: Purpl’s Mission to Unlock Finance in Lebanon

By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger

Karl Naim, Co-Founder and CEO of Purpl, embarked on a venture to lower remittance costs for his native Lebanon. Since October 2019, the Lebanese economy had entered a free fall as its banking sector collapsed and large swathes of its population were plunged into... View Details

Keywords: Business Startup; Fintech; Inflation; Deflation; Cross-border Frictions; Remittances; Business Startups; Diasporas; Financial Crisis; Money; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Poverty; Financial Institutions; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; Lebanon