Publications

20 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

Thanks to technology and instant global communication, it has never been easier for companies to seek solutions to problems or find new ideas from sources outside their own corporate walls. But the art of managing these external... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

July 2016 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Hamilton: An American Musical

By: Anita Elberse and Jennifer Schoppe

In July 2013, composer, writer, actor and rapper Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Tommy Kail, and producer Jeffrey Seller met to discuss how to launch Hamilton, a new musical based on the life of the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, Alexander Hamilton.... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Creative Industries; Performing Arts; (General) Management; Blockbusters; Non-profit; Theater Entertainment; Strategy; Risk Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Arts; Creativity; Product Launch; Product Development; Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

July 2015 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Horst Dassler, Adidas, and the Commercialization of Sport

By: Geoffrey Jones, Michael Norris and Sophi Kim

The case focuses on the career of Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of the German-based sports shoe manufacturer Adidas. The origins of the firm were in the interwar years, and it rose to public prominence after it provided spikes for Jesse Owens, the famous... View Details

April 2019
Case

American Ballet Theatre

By: Anita Elberse, Tsubasa Nakajima and Melissa Rodman

Kara Medoff Barnett, executive director of American Ballet Theatre (ABT), widely regarded as one of the world’s premier ballet companies, faces several challenges. It is June 2018. Despite its prestige, the company’s $45 million annual budget and $22 million endowment... View Details

Keywords: Performing Arts; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; Non-profit; Contracts; Labor Economics; General Management; Arts; Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Marketing; Strategy

2007
Book

An Experiment in Fair Value Accounting? The State of the Art in Research and Thought Leadership on Accounting for Life Assurance in the UK and Continental Europe

By: Joanne G Horton, Richard H. Macve and George Serafeim

"Fair value" is currently the central topic of debate in the development of accounting standards. While it has now been defined to mean an exit price in US GAAP, the IASB is still considering its own definition, and some commentators are arguing for versions of entry... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Financial Instruments; Framework; Market Entry and Exit; Insurance; Revenue Recognition; Fair Value Accounting; Standards; United Kingdom

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2013
Book

Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment

By: Anita Elberse

What's behind the phenomenal success of entertainment businesses such as Warner Bros., Marvel Enterprises, and the NFL—along with such stars as Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and LeBron James? Which strategies give leaders in film, television, music, publishing, and sports an edge... View Details

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January 2015 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Mauboussin

By: Anat Keinan, Sandrine Crener and Audrey Azoulay

Mauboussin is a French jewelry brand founded in 1827 in Paris. In the 1920s, the company earned a huge notoriety for capturing the aesthetic and emotional dimension of the Art Deco movement in its design and gained a worldwide reputation for innovation and expertise in... View Details

Shira Li

Shira Li is a doctoral student in the Business Economics program. Her research interests include finance, industrial organization, and market design. She graduated from Harvard College in 2019 with an A.B. in Math and Computer Science and a... View Details

Teaching

Overview

By: Rohit Deshpande

Leadership and Corporate Accountability
Business of the Arts
Marketing
View Details

November 1992 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Fischer Francis Trees & Watts

By: Erik R. Sirri

Fisher Francis Trees & Watts is a New York fixed-income investment management firm. A portfolio manager needs to purchase $375 million of 5-year notes at the Treasury auction. Unlike previous auctions, however, this is the first time the Treasury will auction the notes... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Auctions; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry

19 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 19, 2009

Working PapersDon't Just Survive—Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad (revised) Authors:Lynda M. Applegate and Bruce Harreld Abstract Battered by contracting markets and frozen credit, many businesses today are fighting for... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2019
Book

Problem Solving: HBS Alumni Making a Difference in the World

By: Howard H. Stevenson, Russ Banham and Shirley Spence

Problem Solving is the culmination of four years of research conducted by a small project team from 2015 through 2018 in collaboration with HBS alumni, students, faculty, and staff. Its broad and deep knowledge base is derived from a survey of 13 MBA classes... View Details

Keywords: Harvard Business School; Alumni; Influence; Social Responsibility; Humanitarianism

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16 May 2017
Video

Getting to Know Student Class Day Speaker: Andrew Cone, MBA 2017

Research Summary

Attention Arousal Through Price Partitioning

Existing evidence suggests that preferences are affected by whether a price is presented as one all-inclusive expense or partitioned into a set of mandatory charges. To explain this phenomenon, we introduce a new mechanism whereby price partitioning affects a consumers... View Details

Rohit Deshpande

Rohit Deshpandé is a Baker Foundation Professor and Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing, Emeritus at Harvard Business School, where he has been teaching in the Advanced Management Program,... View Details

Keywords: marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry

December 2010
Article

Implications for GAAP from an Analysis of Positive Research in Accounting

By: S.P. Kothari, Karthik Ramanna and Douglas J. Skinner

Based on extant literature, we review the positive theory of GAAP. The theory predicts that GAAP's principal focus is on control (performance measurement and stewardship) and that verifiability and conservatism are critical features of a GAAP shaped by market forces.... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Standards; International Accounting; Financial Markets; Financial Reporting

SSRN

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June 2018
Background Note

Introduction to Life Settlements

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Jiahua Xu

Life insurance is an asset owned by the majority of American adults (61%). Note that this 61% penetration rate is essentially at parity with home ownership (64%) and higher than that of 401(k) retirement account ownership (53%). Life settlements, or life insurance... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Assets; Value; Markets; Investment Return

November 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

SecondMarket—Providing Liquidity for Shareholders of Privately Held iContact

By: William A. Sahlman, Ramana Nanda and James McQuade

In 2011, SecondMarket was an online platform that facilitated secondary transactions of illiquid assets, including private company stock. This case explores reasons for the decline in small-cap IPOs in the United States from the 1990s to the 2000s and how the emergence... View Details

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations