Publications

28 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Payout Policy

Keywords: by Joan Farre-Mensa, Roni Michaely & Martin C. Schmalz

October 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Weight Watchers Mexico

By: David J. Arnold, Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

Weight Watchers must decide how to react to the Mexican financial crisis. Options include exiting, reducing investment, or continuing previous operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Restructuring; Volatility; Economy; Investment; Marketing; Problems and Challenges; Mexico

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13 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Global Investments Are Still a Good Bet

sectors that are booming. However, as markets in different countries have increasingly moved in tandem or correlated, from 50 or 60 percent in the 1990s to more than 90 percent after the financial crisis of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

2022
Working Paper

High-Yield Debt Covenants and Their Real Effects

By: Falk Bräuning, Victoria Ivashina and Ali Ozdagli

High-yield debt including leveraged loans is characterized by incurrence financial covenants, or “cov-lite” provisions. A traditional loan agreement includes maintenance covenants, which require continuous compliance with the covenant threshold, and their violation... View Details

Keywords: Debt Covenants; Incurrence Covenants; Borrowing and Debt; Banks and Banking

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January 2014
Supplement

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (B): Out with the New, In with the Old

By: Elie Ofek, Jill Avery and Jose B. Alvarez

In his August 2012 earnings call, CEO Ron Johnson urged investors to be patient and stay the course with the revised JC Penney marketing strategy despite mounting negative financial indicators. The heart of the strategy was the "Fair and Square" approach to pricing.... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry

12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

trust. Why is One Report important now? "The capital markets and our planet have simultaneously reached a fork in the road. One path continues the status quo. The other and new path is a commitment to a better society, stronger View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

November 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rebuilding Puerto Rico

By: Laura Alfaro, Laura Phillips Sawyer and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria swept over Puerto Rico, devastating the island’s infrastructure and agriculture. The natural disaster was layered atop years of mounting financial distress. Before the hurricane, Puerto Rico had accumulated $74 billion in debt and... View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Financial Crisis; Infrastructure; Borrowing and Debt; Economy; Strategic Planning; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Puerto Rico

2025
Working Paper

The Invention of Corporate Governance

By: Yueran Ma and Andrei Shleifer

The analysis of corporate governance begins with a central feature of modern capitalism—the separation of ownership and control in large corporations—first empirically documented by Berle and Means (1932). Such separation entails several agency problems reflecting... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Law; Business and Shareholder Relations

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9 AM – 9 AM EDT, 12 Sep 2018
HBS Online

HBX Leading with Finance

Gain a deep understanding of the principles of finance - a toolkit for making smart financial decisions and the confidence to communicate those decisions to key stakeholders. Program Dates: September 12, 2018 - October 24, 2018 View Details

December 2017 (Revised January 2018)
Case

NatureSweet

By: Jose Alvarez, Forest Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

This case describes the business model and workplace philosophy of NatureSweet, a privately owned, vertically integrated greenhouse grower and marketer of fresh tomatoes with sales across the United States and $329 million in 2016 revenues. CEO Bryant Ambelang treated... View Details

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris and David Allen

In September 2021, the sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management (Generation) considered whether to add Schneider Electric to the focus list of companies in which it was prepared to invest. Dedicated to promoting a sustainable world through its... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Investing; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Private Equity; Public Equity; Financial Markets; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Institutional Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

August 2000 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Dell's Working Capital

By: Richard S. Ruback and Aldo Sesia

Dell Computer Corp. manufactures, sells, and services personal computers. The company markets its computers directly to its customers and builds computers after receiving a customer order. This build-to-order model enables Dell to have much smaller investment in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Working Capital; Manufacturing Industry; Computer Industry