Publications

Find at Harvard

August 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform (Abridged)

By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi

Lexoo, a UK-based online marketplace for legal services, was facing the strategic choice of how to grow from early start-up to mature platform. Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo's CEO, and web developer Chris O'Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo to help Small and Medium-Sized... View Details

Keywords: Legal Services; Marketplaces; Pivot; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Small Business; Service Operations; Decision Making; Legal Services Industry

June 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

World Vision International's AIDS Initiative: Challenging a Global Partnership

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Daniel F. Curran

After 25 years of building a network of interdependent, national organizations delivering relief and development that are responsive to local needs, World Vision's International office is planning to implement a major global HIV/AIDS initiative that challenges the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Systems; Networks; Partners and Partnerships; Welfare; Adaptation

30 Mar 2022
Blog Post

How I Spent My HBS 2+2 Deferral: Adrian Obleton

and 2+2 would give me more flexibility in my decision making before then. How long did you defer your 2+2 admission? I deferred for 4 years. What job(s) did you have during your deferral? I spent 2 years at... View Details

16 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Kids of Working Moms Grow into Happy Adults

important.” “As we gradually understand that our children aren’t suffering, I hope the guilt will go away” This isn’t about raising happier kids, she continues. “When women choose to work, it’s a financial and personal choice. Women... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Program

Managing Turbulence

superb leadership skills are of little value when businesses lack strategic moves that cut through the fog of competition. Through this blended, three-module program, you will prepare to identify strategic opportunities and challenges—and... View Details

February 2002 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Roundabout Theatre Company, The (A)

Todd Haimes is the artistic director of the Roundabout, a nonprofit theatre. He must decide if he is willing to accept a large sponsorship from American Airlines and, in doing so, allow the airline to the name the Roundabout's new Broadway theatre. In making this... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Decision Making; Financing and Loans; Theater Entertainment; Fine Arts Industry

30 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 30

decisions and ultimately impact observers' willingness to be influenced by them. Three studies suggest that observing others make more (versus less) thoughtful decisions... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

February 2021
Case

Digital Manufacturing at Amgen

By: Shane Greenstein, Kyle R. Myers and Sarah Mehta

This case discusses efforts made by biotechnology (biotech) company Amgen to introduce digital technologies into its manufacturing processes. Doing so is complicated by the fact that the process for manufacturing biologics—or therapeutics made from living cells—is... View Details

September 2018 (Revised October 2018)
Supplement

Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform

By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi

Lexoo, a UK-based online marketplace for legal services, was facing the strategic choice of how to grow from early start-up to mature platform. Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo's CEO, and web developer Chris O'Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo to help Small and Medium-Sized... View Details

Keywords: Marketplaces; Legal Services; Growth Strategy; Technology Ventures; Pivot; Service Operations; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Small Business; Decision Making; Legal Services Industry

2008
Working Paper

Liquidity Needs in Economies with Interconnected Financial Obligations

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

A model is developed where firms in a financial system have to settle their debts to each other by using a liquid asset. The question that is studied is how many firms must obtain how much of this asset from outside the financial system to make sure that all debts... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Liquidity; Networks

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February 2003 (Revised January 2006)
Case

AIT Group Plc

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

A U.S. venture capital firm has just learned that the deal structure for purchasing an illiquid U.K. software firm is unacceptable to institutional investors. The group must decide if it still wants to go through with the deal. This decision hinges on whether the... View Details

Keywords: Price; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Venture Capital; Financial Condition; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; United States; United Kingdom

21 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 21, 2010

channels are more likely to use decision-making authority in the granting and structuring of consumer loans than those who are not. Conditional on using decision-making authority, their View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2008
Working Paper

Where Does It Go? Spending by the Financially Constrained

By: Shawn A. Cole, John Thompson and Peter Tufano

In this paper, we analyze the spending decisions of over 1.5 million Americans who vary in their degree of revealed credit constraints. Specifically, we analyze how these Americans spend their income tax refunds, using transaction-level data from a stored-value card... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Credit; Personal Finance; Spending; Taxation; Consumer Behavior; United States

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2011
Working Paper

The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures

By: Thomas F. Hellmann and Noam Wasserman

This paper examines the division of founder shares in entrepreneurial ventures, focusing on the decision of whether or not to divide the shares equally among all founders. To motivate the empirical analysis we develop a simple theory of costly bargaining, where... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Equity; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Deal; Ownership Stake; Value

Read Now

24 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 24, 2009

conditions in which an advertising principal can set its payment delay to deter rogue agents and to attract solely or primarily good-type agents. Through the savings from excluding rogue agents, the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2022
Supplement

Atlanta Ransomware Attack (B)

By: Amit Goldenberg and Julian Zlatev

This case describes the March 2018 Ransomware attack on the information technology (IT) systems of the city of Atlanta and the response by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and her administration. The case includes a brief background on Bottoms and her young administration at... View Details

April 2018 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Impact Investing for Cancer

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew G. Preble

It is early 2018, and Emily Park, managing director of impact for the Abreu Family Office, is meeting the next day with Tomás and Maria Abreu to discuss the various ways in which the Abreus can allocate a planned $100 million to make a meaningful difference in cancer... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Investment; Health Disorders; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Decision Choices and Conditions