Publications

September 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Supplement

Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (B)

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan

As Acumen Fund, a global venture philanthropy firm, moves forward with an investment portfolio exceeding $22 million, it runs into two critical measurement problems. First, how should it track the performance of each investment when its interest is not just the bottom... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Standards; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Social Enterprise; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Kenya

January 2014
Case

Social Strategy at Cisco Systems

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Daniel Malter and Aaron Smith

In April 2013, Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager for Learning@Cisco Systems, was planning the future of the Cisco Learning Network, an online platform hosted at Cisco.com. Since its launch in 2008, the Cisco Learning Network provided content to... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Competency and Skills; Learning; Web Services Industry

04 Feb 2020
Cold Call Podcast

Why Backstage Capital Invests in ‘Underestimated’ Entrepreneurs

Keywords: Financial Services

October 1995 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Otis Elevator Company (A): China Strategy

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Thomas W. Malnight

Examines the evolution of Otis's joint venture in China, from inception to the political crisis in 1989. Raises the question of whether or not the company should make an additional investment in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square incident. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Decisions; Investment; Globalization; Government Administration; Business and Government Relations; Strategy; China

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10 Sep 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations

Keywords: by Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim; Financial Services

1 Jul 2013
Panel Discussion

Master Class Session on Business and Investing in Africa

By: Euvin Naidoo, Pravin Gordhan, Nkosana Moyo, Moe Shaik, Polo Radebe and Cassim Coovadia

Annual Master Class Evening Session on: 'Business and Investment in Africa' - from Strategy to Execution Keynote address by Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan Led by South African Euvin Naidoo, who serves in his personal capacity as visiting faculty member at Wits... View Details

September 2014 (Revised June 2016)
Case

edX: Strategies for Higher Education

By: David Collis, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In May 2012, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) founded edX, a new non-profit joint venture that would provide a platform for massive open online courses (MOOCs). edX did not produce original courses or instructional content—it made... View Details

Keywords: MOOCS; edX; Online Platforms; Online Education; Harvard University; MIT; Execution; Monetization; Brand Management; Higher Education; Information Technology; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Digital Platforms; Education Industry

June 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Sephora Direct: Investing in Social Media, Video, and Mobile

By: Elie Ofek and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Julie Bornstein, senior vice president of Sephora Direct, is seeking to double her budget for social media and other digital marketing initiatives for 2011. A number of digital efforts implemented in the past two years seem to be bearing fruit and there is a desire to... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Marketing; Emerging Markets; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Budgets and Budgeting

07 Dec 2016
HBS Case

Why Millennials Flock to Fintech for Personal Investing

the responsibility elsewhere so they have more time for their passions, whether that’s their careers, hobbies, or travel. Despite the big differences in operations, the investment strategy Wealthfront... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

13 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments

In the course of her work, Rebecca Henderson meets business executives who don't address the threat of climate change because they don't believe that it exists. Her recommendation: They should consider investments in environmental sustainability anyway, assuming that... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

2013
Chapter

The Welfare State as an Investment Strategy: Denmark’s Flexicurity Policies

By: Arthur Daemmrich and Thomas Bredgaard

This chapter examines how the welfare state can serve as a national strategy to invest in economic competitiveness and sustainable national prosperity, as well as the significant challenges associated with operating an open economy in a period of increased labor... View Details

Keywords: Open Economy; Welfare; Competitive Advantage; Economic Growth; Human Capital; Government and Politics; Denmark

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December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Fidelity Investments

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Fidelity Investment's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

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18 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Big Deals: Financing Large-Scale Investments

Disney, and Iridium, and Boston's Central Artery Project (the "Big Dig") in the public sector, are examples of some recent efforts that went bankrupt or had to be restructured. The managerial challenge is to figure out how to make sure that $150 billion or so... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

2011
Working Paper

The Cost of Capital for Alternative Investments

By: Jakub W. Jurek and Erik Stafford

This paper studies the cost of capital for alternative investments. We document that the risk profile of the aggregate hedge fund universe can be accurately matched by a simple index put option writing strategy that offers monthly liquidity and complete transparency... View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Investment Return; Mathematical Methods; Risk and Uncertainty

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August 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Sustainable Investing at J.P. Morgan Private Bank

By: Sara Fleiss and Luis Viceira

This case features Monica Issar, then Global Head of J.P. Morgan Endowments & Foundations Group in the Private Bank. In just five years, she and J.P. Morgan have grown the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) business from $5 billion in AUM from primarily family... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Investment; Management; Strategy; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Banking Industry

2019
Working Paper

Intelligent Design of Inclusive Growth Strategies

By: Robert S. Kaplan, George Serafeim and Eduardo Tugendhat

Improving corporate engagement with society, as advocated in the Business Roundtable’s 2019 statement, should not be viewed as a zero-sum proposition where attention to new stakeholders detracts from delivering shareholder value. Corporate programs for sustainable and... View Details

Keywords: Inclusion; Sustainability; Performance Measures; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Strategy; Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations

SSRN

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March 2021
Technical Note

Competitive Strategy in International Construction

By: John D. Macomber and Emrah Ergelen

Construction of buildings and infrastructure is one of the largest industries in the world in terms of volume. It is also one of the most physically risky, financially uncertain, and politically impacted. The industry is highly fragmented since there are few economies... View Details

Keywords: Construction; Infrastructure; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Strategic Planning; Global Range; Construction Industry

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

more akin to an Apple, a Tesla, or a Nest, or a GoPro—where it’s a consumer product that has the foundation of sexy hardware technology and sexy software technology,” he is quoted in a book published today, Competing in the Age of AI: View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

August 2021
Case

BYJU’S: EdTech Giant Investing in Brick and Mortar

By: John J-H Kim and Rachna Tahilyani

The founder and CEO of BYJU’S, India’s largest edtech firm and one of the world’s most valuable edtech companies, is considering acquiring Aakash Educational Services (Aakash), one of India’s largest brick-and-mortar test-prep firms, for $1 billion. Is this a good... View Details

Keywords: Edtech; Business Strategy; Diversification; Investment; Acquisition; Education Industry; Asia; India; United States