Publications

September 1980 (Revised January 1981)
Case

Bay Financial Corp.

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Keywords: Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

December 1987
Case

John Hancock Financial Services: Sports Sponsorship

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Senior corporate communications executives of a major financial services firm are reviewing the company's sports sponsorship program and are considering expanding it. Hancock already is the corporate sponsor of the Boston Marathon and has the opportunity to sponsor the... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Performance Evaluation

March 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Supplement

Ant Financial (D)

By: Feng Zhu, Krishna G. Palepu, Kerry Herman and Susie Ma

The (D) case updates the case series from the time of Ant’s planned IPO, and the Chinese government’s regulatory shifts. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Information Technology; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; China; Beijing

03 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The State of Customer Service Leadership

service organization, and comfort with a team-based organization. Aisner: What are some examples of organizations that do all this right? Heskett: Organizations that have benefited from this kind of leadership are those that are... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Retail

February 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Financial Reporting in the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is a large and complex international organization with several layers of management spread across a diverse range of services and geographical areas. Creating a coherent and manageable communication strategy for is a challenging task that requires... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Disclosure; Religion; Financial Reporting; Organizational Culture; Communication Strategy

Find at Harvard

February 1996 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Indianapolis: Activity-Based Costing of City Services (A)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

A new administration in the City of Indianapolis is initially determined to privatize many municipal services. Before taking this action, however, the city managers want to know the current cost of performing these services with the municipal workers. Existing... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Public Sector; Activity Based Costing and Management; Service Delivery; Privatization; City; Indianapolis

January 2014
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

Steven Carpenter reflects on the successes and failures of his recent venture, Cake Financial. Carpenter had just sold the four-year-old startup and was at work on a new business plan. But first, he wanted to understand why Cake Financial, a service that allowed users... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

Web

HBS - Financials | From the Chief Financial Officer

2023 Annual Report From The Dean Key Metrics Financials PDF Downloads Financials From the CFO Financial Highlights Statement of Activity & Cash Flows Consolidated Balance Sheet... View Details

January 2009
Case

Sue Whitman at MBB Financial

By: William A. Sahlman

This case describes some issues confronting the leader of a major investment bank. She is pleased with the financial performance of her firm but concerned about signs of a bubble in the market. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Investment Banking; Financial Condition; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

February 2001
Supplement

Olympic Financial Ltd.

By: David F. Hawkins

To be used with (197-081). View Details

Keywords: Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

Awards

Outstanding Service National Meeting Co-Coordinator

By: George Serafeim

Recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Service-National Meeting Co-coordinator Award from the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section (FARS) of the American Accounting Association with Lian Fen Lee. View Details

14 Jan 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Smart Money: The Effect of Education, Cognitive Ability, and Financial Literacy on Financial Market Participation

Keywords: by Shawn Cole & Gauri Kartini Shastry; Financial Services; Financial Services

01 Dec 2010
News

Three Recognized for Service

is chairman of E.D. Bullard Company in Lexington, Kentucky, and has served as a volunteer for twenty years. Corbett, COO of New York–based EMI Music Publishing, one of the world’s leading music companies, has volunteered for sixteen years. Stumm, principal of Stumm... View Details

Keywords: awards

December 2010 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

After investing $9 million of venture capital, Cake Financial had failed to reach critical mass. In early 2010 Cake's assets were sold and the company was dissolved. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco-based Internet company allowed users to monitor their investments... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

Web

HBS - Financials | From the Chief Financial Officer

2022 Annual Report From The Dean Key Metrics Financials PDF Downloads Financials From the CFO Financial Highlights Statement of Activity & Cash Flows Consolidated Balance Sheet... View Details

22 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

New Challenges in Leading Professional Services

Professional service firms—law firms, financial services firms, money management firms, private equity firms, hedge funds, management consultants, advertising agencies—are the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services; Legal Services; Legal Services

July 2025
Teaching Note

Greenwood Online: A Fin-Tech Service for Culture and Community

By: James Riley and Bernal Cortés

In 2020, Ryan Glover and Paul Judge launched Greenwood, a fintech startup designed to counter systemic racial discrimination in the American banking ecosystem by offering accessible financial services tailored to Black and Brown communities, but available to all.... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Identity; Cultural Branding; Impression Management; Organization Behavior; Strategic Alignment; Start-up; Mission and Purpose; Decision Making; Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Structure; Banking Industry; United States

April 2000 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Capital One Financial Corporation

By: Bharat N. Anand, Michael G. Rukstad and Christopher Paige

Designed to explore the structure, implementation, and sustainability of an information-based strategy (IBS) undertaken by Capital One during the 1990s. Particular issues of interest are the impact of mass customization on industry structure, the ability to transfer... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Industry Structures; Internet and the Web; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Financial Services Industry; United States