Publications

June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

The Vanguard Group, Inc. in 2006 and Target Retirement Funds

By: Luis M. Viceira

The Vanguard Group is one of the largest asset managers in the U.S., with over $1 trillion in assets, ninety percent of which are mutual fund assets, and more than 12,000 employees at year-end 2006. Vanguard has built a strong reputation as the manager of reference for... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment Funds; Personal Finance; Brands and Branding; Retirement; Trust; Financial Services Industry; United States

12 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Corporate Innovation Increasingly Benefits from Government Research

spending. “If more inventions are building on federal grants, it suggests that support is becoming more important to research generally.” Since then, corporate spending has continued to rise, while government funding has leveled off. By 2016, businesses View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

March 2024
Teaching Note

CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

By: Frank Nagle and Maria P. Roche

This teaching note is the companion to case N9-624-010 CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub, which takes place in late 2021. The case briefly describes the history of both GitHub and Microsoft with a particular focus on open source software (OSS)—software... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Open Source Distribution; Product Development; Commercialization; Competition; Resource Allocation; Technology Industry

November 2013 (Revised February 2016)
Case

A Long, Bumpy and Unfinished Road: Education Reform in Memphis, Tennessee

By: Allen Grossman, J. Puckett and Nithya Vaduganathan

In 2010 the Memphis City School District merged with the neighboring Shelby County School system under the supervision of a single board of education and superintendent. It promised much more than just administrative synergies—it was an opportunity to change a... View Details

Keywords: Education Reform; Public Education; Business Engagement; Public Sector; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; Tennessee

2025
Working Paper

Quality-Adjusted-Power: How to Decide Where to Site Renewables

By: Vishrut Rana, Christian Kaps and Serguei Netessine

Problem definition: Investments in renewable energy have surged worldwide in recent years, with over $2 trillion spent globally on clean energy. This surge was driven by growing policy support, concerns about energy security, and, most importantly, the cost... View Details

Keywords: Wind Power; Electricity Distribution; Renewable Energy; Profit; Investment Return; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Geographic Location; Revenue; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry

SSRN

24 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Boards and Corporate Governance: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

accounting scandals, companies have engaged in "earnings games," evidenced by widespread earnings restatements: Over the past five years there have been more than 1,000 restatements, reflecting a lack of board oversight. Many... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert S. Kaplan & Krishna G. Palepu

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

should they balance operational activities and advocacy efforts? How can they better measure performance against their missions and improve accountability to stakeholders?" The authors discuss their book in the following Q&A.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

Article

Individuals' Decision to Co-Donate or Donate Alone: An Archival Study of Married Whole Body Donors in Hawaii

By: Michel Anteby, Filiz Garip, Paul V. Martorana and Scott Lozanoff

Background: Human cadavers are crucial to numerous aspects of health care, including initial and continuing training of medical doctors and advancement of medical research. Concerns have periodically been raised about the limited number of whole body... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Health Care and Treatment; Personal Characteristics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health Industry; Hawaii

Read Now

28 Jun 2022
Book

The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose

How can government and business work together in this fractious political moment, when finding solutions to pressing problems like inequality and climate change are more urgent than ever? Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University’s John and Natty McArthur University... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

August 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Luckin Coffee (A): Caffeine-fueled Growth?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the founding of Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee in 2017 and its path to surpassing Starbucks as the largest coffee chain in China (by number of stores) in 2019. Unlike Starbucks stores, which were designed to be welcoming “third places” for... View Details

19 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Fed Up Workers and Supply Woes: What's Next for Dollar Stores?

stores,” which now outnumber all of the Starbucks and McDonald’s in the United States combined. They will account for 40 percent of all new store openings this year, according to a Coresight Research report. Willy Shih, the Robert and... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Retail

24 Feb 2020
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Vulnerabilities of Open Source Software

accounts were less likely to employ the same level of security measures (such as multifactor authentication) common among organizational accounts. According to the study, “changes to code under the control of these individual developer... View Details

Keywords: by Frank Nagle and Jenny Hoffman; Computer

18 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?

requirement that’s expected to go into effect next year. How is this wave of regulation going to affect the market? Kominers: Some regulation is probably good for the industry because in order for crypto to reach mainstream adoption and... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Financial Services; Technology

Web

Finance Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Fiduciary Duty: Evidence from Variable Annuities” ( The Review of Financial Studies , 2022) with Shan Ge and Johnny Tang. Benjamin C. Esty : Winner of the 2023 Case Centre Award in the Finance, Accounting and Control category for “Valuing... View Details

May 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Biopure Corp.

By: John T. Gourville

It is early 1998 and Biopure Corp., a small biopharmaceutical firm with no sales revenues in its ten-year history, has just received government approval to release Oxyglobin, a revolutionary new "blood substitute" designed to replace the need for donated animal blood... View Details

Keywords: Segmentation; Marketing Strategy; Engineering; Budgets and Budgeting; Sales; Transformation; Markets; Debates; Product Launch; Pharmaceutical Industry