Publications

February 2009 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Publicis Groupe 2009: Toward a Digital Transformation

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

After a series of acquisitions, Maurice Levy, the Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, had created the fourth largest marketing and communications company in the world. His next major challenge was managing the firm's digital transformation. In December 2006, the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; Financial Crisis; Globalized Firms and Management; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Information Technology; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry

September 2010
Case

Aaron's: Household Goods for the U.S. Base of the Pyramid

By: Michael Chu and Charles Augustus Smithgall IV

With $2.5 billion system-wide revenues, Aaron's, a major rent-to-own supplier to the U.S. base of the pyramid, continues to grow in the recession, but CEO R.C. Loudermilk, Jr. wonders how long the company can sustain the fast growth rate of its past. Founded in 1955,... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; For-Profit Firms; Renting or Rental; Financial Crisis; Demand and Consumers; Social Enterprise; Income; Goods and Commodities; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; United States

01 Jun 2008
News

Greed, Gullibility, and Optimism

reasonable view of home ownership will return, Retsinas predicts, but if the pendulum swings too far, he is concerned that worthy borrowers with modest incomes could be shut out of the market. Could you place the U.S. mortgage crisis in... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Finance; Management; Real Estate

01 Jun 2020
News

Meal Plan

second-largest private employer in the United States. Will the current crisis drive improvements in pay and benefits? CC: In terms of numbers, it’s hard to see an environment where there will be meaningfully more people working in... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; restaurants; COVID-19; pandemic; recovery; Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

01 Apr 2002
News

Urban Evolution - HBS Research on the Inner City

indifference. Whether they are helping inner cities capitalize on their inherent competitive advantages, working to make assetbuilding financial services available to low-income families, analyzing the benefits of welfare-to-work... View Details

Keywords: Paul Grogan; Peter Tufano; David Crockett; Diana Barrett; Real Estate

20 Nov 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, November 20, 2018

forthcoming Review of Financial Studies Private Equity and Financial Fragility During the Crisis By: Bernstein, Shai, Josh Lerner, and Filippo Mezzanotti Abstract—Do private... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

20 Oct 2022
News

Lebanon Alumni Host US Ambassador for Dinner and Discussion

explored a number of economic, political, and business issues the country is facing. “Lebanon is at a crucial stage in its history,” says Ingea. “We have presidential elections this month, we have an economic crisis like we’ve never seen... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

01 Mar 2017
News

In My Humble Opinion: Arunma Oteh (MBA 1990)

the underserved. “I’ve been blessed, and I believe very strongly in the importance of giving.” Smart money: The Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, a new World Bank financial program that provides surge funding to prevent a disease... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

02 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Good Deeds Invite Bad Publicity

There is next to no evidence that CSR positively adds to a company's bottom line, according to Felix Oberholzer-Gee, the Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. "You cannot find a robust direct link between CSR and View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

18 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 18

Download working paper: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/15-033_d218ec59-b694-4f4f-ba4e-0e64b54e4c34.pdf Financial Development and Technology Diffusion By: Comin, Diego, and Ramana Nanda Abstract—We examine the extent to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 20

existence of free trade in labor and capital as well as goods and services between the two countries. Thus, Canada had no financial crisis in 2007-08. Capitalism is a system of governance because it embodies... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Sep 2020
Blog Post

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

to contagious presenteeism: Remove financial incentives for it by providing paid sick leave, audit work designs for features that evoke undue pressure for attendance, and champion an organizational culture that fosters pro-health... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

January 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Abelli and Saviotti at Banca Commerciale Italiana (A)

By: Tiziana E. Casciaro, Kathleen L. McGinn and Massimiliano Belingheri

In 1999, a powerful struggle amidst complex corporate and interpersonal networks led to the failed merger between Banca Commerciale Italiana and Unicredito Italiano--two of Italy's largest banking groups. This case analyzes the actions of Abelli and Saviotti, co-CEOs... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Networks; Banks and Banking; Business Strategy; Power and Influence; Crisis Management; Government and Politics; International Finance; Failure; Banking Industry; Italy