Publications

This paper evaluates the role of mobile phone-based advice in improving managerial practices of small-scale cotton farmers in Gujarat, India. Demand for the service, “Avaaj Otalo,” is strong, even among farmers with very low levels of education. The service... View Details

February 1989 (Revised November 1991)
Case

Science Technology Co.--1985

By: Thomas R. Piper

The CEO of a U.S. electronics firm is assessing the financial forecasts and the financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Given the cyclicality of the industry and the volatility of the firm's performance, the CEO is unsure as to the usefulness of... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Change Management; Industry Growth; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Strategy; Volatility; Electronics Industry

December 2023
Article

Looking Forward – To Better Strategy-Sales Coordination

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Business decisions are about tomorrow, not yesterday. A key to looking forward in most firms is the annual strategy meeting, where linking sales efforts with strategy is vital for implementation and profitable growth. But according to surveys, less than half of... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Strategy

Read Now

Fourth Quarter 2017
Article

Optimal Tilts: Combining Persistent Characteristic Portfolios

By: Malcolm Baker, Ryan Taliaferro and Terry Burnham

We examine the optimal weighting of four tilts in U.S. equity markets from 1968 through 2014. We define a “tilt” as a characteristic-based portfolio strategy that requires relatively low annual turnover. This is a continuum, with small size (a very persistent... View Details

Keywords: Risk Anomaly; Beta; Capital Asset Pricing Model; Factor Investing

February 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Poles Apart on PZU (A)

By: Francesca Gino, Vincent Dessain, Karol Misztal and Michael Khayyat

In October 2008, Andrzej Klesyk, CEO of Poland's largest insurer PZU, reflected on possible ways of resolving a decade-long cross-border shareholder conflict at his company. Owned 55% by the Polish State Treasury and 33% by the Dutch insurer Eureko as of October 2008,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Trust; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Shareholder Relations; Poland

June 2008
Case

From xiaonei to hainei: The Quest for the Social Networking Service Market in China

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Wang Xing, the founder of Hainei.com, one of the fastest growing social networking service (SNS) providers in China, was preparing to raise funds from venture capitalists. Since late 2003, Wang had established several Internet startups in China. Xiaonei.com, which he... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Internet; China

Find at Harvard

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

hit to profit margins? A new working paper, To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts, sets out to help small businesses decide whether offering large discount vouchers is a View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

March 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Teaching Note

OpenInvest

By: Boris Vallee and Caitlin Reimers Brumme

Founded by a team of hedge fund and NGO alumni, OpenInvest launched its platform in 2015 to enable retail investors to tailor their portfolio to their personal values in an automated way, for instance by screening out weapon manufacturers stocks or overweighting LGBTQ... View Details

Keywords: Socially Responsible Investing; Investing For Impact; Robo-advisors; Investment; Values and Beliefs; Customization and Personalization; Technology; Financial Services Industry

Program

Launching New Ventures

strategies for transforming disruptive innovation into competitive advantage and a profitable business. Key Benefits Bringing you together with other entrepreneurial executives, this program examines the unique challenges that confront... View Details

15 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

A New Model for Business: The Museum

pay a fair or even premium price for products and services that really suit them. If companies are smart about this, the increases in profits from new and more satisfied customers can more than offset losses from helping some customers... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Web

Value-Based Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

(CareMeasurement.com) enables providers to apply concepts from the research to improve quality and profitability across the care continuum. Derek and Avant-garde Health were recently featured in a book by Professor Howard Stevenson,... View Details

Srikant M. Datar

Srikant M. Datar became the eleventh dean of Harvard Business School on 1 January 2021. During his tenure as a faculty member, he served as Senior Associate Dean for University Affairs (including Faculty Chair of the Harvard Innovation Lab), for Research, for... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; airline; automobiles; banking; biotechnology; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; health care; high technology; investment banking industry; management consulting; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals; venture capital industry

July 2019
Article

Using Behavioral Science to Inform the Design of Sugary Drink Portion Limit Policies: Reply to Wilson and Stolarz-Fantino (2018)

By: Leslie John, Grant E. Donnelly and Christina A. Roberto

In their commentary, Wilson & Stolarz-Fantino argue that specific design features of our research mean that it cannot have policy implications and that researchers “need to consider profit maximization in menu design or studies are likely to suggest ill-informed... View Details

Keywords: Policy Implementation; Food; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy

Find at Harvard

Read Now

April 2011
Article

Private Equity and Long-Run Investment: The Case of Innovation

By: Josh Lerner, Morten Sorensen and Per Stromberg

A long-standing controversy is whether LBOs relieve managers from short-term pressures of dispersed shareholders, or whether LBO funds themselves are driven by short-term profit motives and sacrifice long-term growth to boost short-term performance. We investigate 495... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Investment; Innovation and Invention

Find at Harvard

September 2002 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Istituto Clinico Humanitas (A)

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Gary P. Pisano and Ning Tang

Istituto Clinico Humanitas is a newly built private hospital, south of Milan, Italy, that has attained unusual profitability while treating public system patients. The hospital was built and is managed by Techosp, a subsidiary of Techint, a global engineering and... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Systems; Infrastructure; Managerial Roles; Integration; Performance; Health Industry; Milan

31 Dec 2013
News

Feeling Nervous? Don't Try to Calm Down—Get Excited

13 May 2021
News

Investment Management for the Carbon Potential Of Forests: David Brand, New Forests

April 1993 (Revised October 1995)
Case

ALZA and Bio-Electro Systems (A): Technological and Financial Innovation

By: Josh Lerner and Peter Tufano

To develop the next generation of risky products, ALZA, a mature and profitable biotechnology firm specializing in drug delivery systems, must raise $40 million. Organizational constraints and competitive concerns demand that the work be done inside the firm. However,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Business Subsidiaries; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Finance; Biotechnology Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Accounting Red Flags or Red Herrings at Catalent? (A)

By: Joseph Pacelli, ZeSean Ali and Tom Quinn

Fund manager Janet Curie asked for a recommendation about the pharmaceutical company Catalent. The company seemed like a solid investment. However, a pair of research reports issued over the previous two months complicated this narrative. GlassHouse Research, a short... View Details