Publications

Boris Vallée is an Associate Professor in the Finance Unit. He teaches Real Property in the MBA elective curriculum, and previously taught the Finance II course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor’s Vallée’s research traces the motives behind and the... View Details

27 Feb 2011
News

Moonlighting Within Microsoft, in Pursuit of New Apps

2009
Chapter

The Decline and Renewal of British Multinational Banking.

By: G. Jones and Lucy Newton

This chapter discusses the renaissance of British multinational banking from the 1990s. British commercial banks had pioneered multinational banking during the 19th century, but they were unable to build on this legacy during the new wave of global banking that began... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Commercial Banking; International Finance; Multinational Firms and Management; Strategy; Banking Industry; Great Britain

Jorge Tamayo is an assistant professor of business administration in the Strategy Unit. He teaches the Strategy course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Tamayo is an applied microeconomist primarily interested in industrial organization and... View Details

October 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

ATR KimEng Financial Corporation

By: Li Jin, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Dawn Lau

ATR KimEng is a Philippino asset management business. It is making an important decision on its own strategy going forward: should it stay independent, or be taken over by a large bank in the region. Through this case, we discuss the financial service industry in South... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Markets; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Philippines

15 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 15

for larger firms (which have access to bond markets), we confirm that this substitution has strong predictive power for lending volume by small and unrated firms. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-107.pdf Unfair Advantage'? Combining View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Career Coach

Liuna Fekravar

Liuna began her career in investment banking, working at Credit Suisse’s Houston and London offices. Post-banking, she spent three years with an Egyptian family office focusing on PE-style investment across... View Details

November 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Arcapita - 2002

In 2002, Arcapita Bank, B.S.C., then known as First Islamic Investment Bank, or FIIB, faced a liquidity crunch. Aracapita offered Islamic-compliant private equity, real estate, and venture capital products. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, however, Islamic... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Globalized Firms and Management; National Security; Religion; Financial Services Industry

31 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

The Dow at 20,000: What's That All About?

It took more than a century for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks thirty selected blue chip stocks, to hit 20,000, but it finally happened last Wednesday – a milestone marked by banner headlines and happy investors. In a... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

2003
Other Unpublished Work

The Cluster Initiative Greenbook

By: Örjan Sölvell, Göran Lindqvist and Christian H.M. Ketels

After Michael Porter's seminal work on clusters and competitiveness published around 1990, cluster initiatives (CIs) have become a central feature of microeconomic policy around the world. CIs add a new dimension to traditional policy areas such as industrial... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Policy; Investment; Industry Clusters; Innovation and Invention; Developing Countries and Economies; Transition; Partners and Partnerships; Science

Read Now

2008
Working Paper

A Darker Side to Decentralized Banks: Market Power and Credit Rationing in SME Lending

By: Rodrigo Canales and Ramana Nanda

We use loan-level data to study how the organizational structure of banks impacts small business lending. We find that decentralized banks—where branch managers have greater autonomy over lending decisions—give larger loans to small firms and those with "soft... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Financing and Loans; Industry Structures; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Mexico

Read Now

March 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Jeffrey Deitch: Art Entrepreneur

By: Henry McGee, Rohit Deshpandé and Sarah Gulick

Jeffrey Deitch is an influential gallery owner and art entrepreneur. An HBS alumnus generally credited with developing the field of bank art advisory and financing services, Deitch has had a storied career in both the commercial and non-profit art world. Wrestling with... View Details

Keywords: Cultural Entrepreneurship; Arts; Personal Development and Career; Fine Arts Industry; New York (city, NY); Los Angeles

August 2022 (Revised January 2025)
Case

NOW PT (A): Should We Invest?

By: George A Riedel, Amy Klopfenstein and Mel Martin

In fall 2021, a team of students from the HBS Impact Investing Fund considered Neurologic Optimal Wellness Physical Therapy (NOW PT) for a potential investment. Dr. Banks, the founder of NOW PT, drove to visit patients. She sought an investment from the fund to open a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Buildings and Facilities; Health Industry; Health Industry; North and Central America; United States; Massachusetts

January 1994
Case

China (B): Polaroid of Shanghai Ltd.

By: Debora L. Spar

Examines the experience of Polaroid of Shanghai Ltd. (PSL), a joint venture between the U.S.-based Polaroid Corp. and the Shanghai Motion Picture Industry Co., within the framework of China's foreign investment climate. Discusses the evolution of foreign investment in... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Foreign Direct Investment; China; United States

June 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

An Overview of Project Finance and Infrastructure Finance--2009 Update

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

Provides an introduction to the fields of project finance and infrastructure finance and gives a statistical overview of project-financed investments over the years from 2005 to 2009. Examples of project-financed investments include the $1.4 billion Mozal aluminum... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Infrastructure; Investment; Projects; Trends

21 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Missing the Wave in Ship Transport

"It's a contrarian strategy. When everyone is ordering ships is the time you should be selling." The shipping and real-estate industries are, unlike the stock market, quite similar in their long-term predictability, he says. High View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Transportation

February 1991
Case

Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (A)

By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan

Burlington Northern's decision whether to invest in ARES, an automated train control system, is a ($350 million) strategic investment in information technology. Although set in a service industry (railroad) the issues around this decision arise in many organizations... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Rail Transportation; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Performance Effectiveness; Cost vs Benefits; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Customers; Quality; Rail Industry

February 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Mibanco: Meeting the Mainstreaming of Microfinance

By: Michael Chu and Gustavo A. Herrero

Mibanco, Peru's leading microfinance bank, faces intense competition as the banking industry rushes into low income segments. Companion video clips bring into the classroom the contemporary reality of a world-class microfinance institution, where the unpaved streets... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Profit; Business History; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Service Operations; Performance; Competition; Banking Industry; Peru