Publications

22 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 22

and overly restricting access to credit and consumer choice. Nicolas Retsinas, Eric Belsky, and their colleagues aim to stimulate debate based on analysis of the opportunities and challenges presented by the various components of global... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2011 (Revised April 2018)
Case

1366 Technologies: Scaling the Venture

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Ramana Nanda, David Kiron and Evan Richardson

For some time, 1366's co-founders, Frank van Mierlo and Ely Sachs, had faced a choice, which was now made all the more stark: 1366 could expand to produce silicon wafers itself, raising the required capital from "friendly" investors and building shipment volume slowly,... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Innovation Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Intellectual Property; Management Teams; Renewable Energy; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Finance; Energy Industry; Technology Industry; United States

November 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Selling on Amazon at Tower Paddle Boards

By: Thales S. Teixeira and David Lopez-Lengowski

By June 2012, Stephan Aarstol felt that he had successfully passed the first critical stage of his ecommerce business. As the founder and CEO of a standup paddleboard (SUP) business, he had built a strong relationship with Asian manufacturers, built a small warehouse... View Details

Keywords: Tower Paddle Boards; Amazon; E-commerce; Online Shopping; Distribution; Internet and the Web; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

March 2015
Case

Unilever: Combatting Global Food Waste

By: David F. Drake, Janice H. Hammond and Matthew G. Preble

The global consumer goods company Unilever was on pace to hit a number of aggressive targets by 2020 as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Project, including a goal to halve the waste associated with the disposal of its products. Unilever's chief supply chain... View Details

Article

Does Front-Loading Taxation Increase Savings?: Evidence from Roth 401(k) Introductions

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

Can governments increase private savings by taxing savings up front instead of in retirement? Roth 401(k) contributions are not tax-deductible in the contribution year, but withdrawals in retirement are untaxed. The more common before-tax 401(k) contribution is... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Retirement; Taxation

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Web

Global Business Course | HBS Online

the world, develop innovative strategies and technologies, and more vibrant partnerships toward collective action to solve some of today’s complex global challenges. David Luna U.S. Diplomat and National Security Official What You Earn... View Details

August 2024
Case

Keurig: A Return to Growth

By: David Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti

By the early 2010s, Keurig Green Mountain (KGM) had lost the momentum that had made it the name in at-home coffee brewing in North America. Following a series of product missteps, negative media scrutiny, and ongoing challenges to its partner relationships, in late... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decisions; Initial Public Offering; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Going Public; Diversification; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry

28 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 28

by examining the association between top executive turnovers and guidance. Although firm and industry characteristics are important determinants of guidance, we conclude that CEOs participate in firm-level policy decisions, whereas CFOs... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Agents of Change: The Founding of the AASU - The Value of Business Education

Building on the Legacy Thought Leadership Andrew F. Brimmer James I. Cash Jr. Linda A. Hill David A. Thomas HBS Faculty Members HBS Doctoral Students Alumni Profiles Research Links Essay on HBS Thought Leadership Early AASU documents... View Details

March 1995 (Revised April 1995)
Background Note

Scope of the Corporation, The

By: David J. Collis

Describes analyses that determine the appropriate limit to the scope of the firm. Examines both the production cost justification for firm diversification--economies of scope and shared resources, and the governance cost justification for including transactions inside... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Agency Theory; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion

April 2011
Article

Behavioral Economics Perspectives on Public Sector Pension Plans

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

We describe the pension plan features of the states and the largest cities and counties in the U.S. Unlike in the private sector, defined benefit (DB) pensions are still the norm in the public sector. However, a few jurisdictions have shifted towards defined... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Public Sector; Retirement; Private Sector; Compensation and Benefits; United States

February 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Bidding for Finansbank

By: David Scharfstein and Esel Çekin

Because of the deepening Greek crisis, in October 2015, National Bank of Greece (NBG) was required to sell one of its most valuable assets, Finansbank, the eighth largest Turkish bank. There were three potential buyers: Garanti Bank, Turkey's second largest private... View Details

Keywords: Banking; Acquisitions; International Acquisition; Cross-border Investment; Bidding; Bidders; Regulations; ROE; Cost Synergies; Regional Growth; Emerging Market; Sales Process; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Banking Industry; Turkey; Europe

03 Jan 2014
News

When CEOs Face a Board With a Past

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Less Is More: Will Aldi's Expansion Plans Pay Off in a Crowded U.S. Grocery Market?

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In 2024, the discount grocery retailer Aldi announced bold U.S. expansion plans. Within five years, the German company would increase its store count by 30% to reach 3,200+ stores across the United States and approach becoming the fifth largest grocery retailer in the... View Details

Keywords: Scope; Grocery; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

advantage of a natural experiment involving two offsetting court rulings, separated by several weeks, that affected the antitakeover force of staggered boards for a subset of Delaware firms. We find evidence consistent with the hypothesis... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2013 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Endeavor: Miami Heats Up

By: William A. Sahlman, Ramana Nanda, David Lane and Lisa Mazzanti

Endeavor Global was a nonprofit that for 15 years had worked to nurture entrepreneurship in emerging markets by selecting local high-impact entrepreneurs for mentoring and aid in scaling up their businesses from committed local business leaders. In summer 2012,... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Entrepreneurs; Scaling; Emerging Market Entrepreneurship; Not For Profit; Entrepreneurial Finance; Mentoring; Business Networks; Hybrid Nonprofit Funding; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Finance; Miami

December 2007
Case

Envisioning "Free Banking" in Antebellum New York (A)

By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton

Banks throughout New York State suspended specie payments (i.e., payments in gold and silver) in May 1837 following the collapse of several state banks and the onset of a nationwide financial panic. Amid the chaos, the upstart Whigs were able to depose the longstanding... View Details

Keywords: History; Government Legislation; Capital; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; New York (state, US)

December 2007 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Wall Street's First Panic (A)

By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton

In the early 1790s, a flood of newly issued public and private securities sparked an investment boom in the nascent United States. In New York, the bustling commercial district along Wall Street emerged as the center of the city's securities trade. One of the many... View Details

Keywords: History; Financial Instruments; Auctions; Financial Crisis; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry