Publications

March 2006
Module Note

Exchange Rates and Global Markets

By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs

Describes the first module of the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. This introductory module focuses on the concepts and skills that students need throughout a course on international finance: a familiarity with exchange rates and associated... View Details

Keywords: Asset Pricing; Currency Exchange Rate; Globalized Markets and Industries; International Finance; Teaching; Innovation and Invention; Education Industry

01 Jan 2002
News

Andy Zelleke

Andy Zelleke is the MBA Class of 1962 Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. A member of the General Management unit, he is the Faculty Chair of HBS’ Middle East & North Africa Research Center.

Since Spring 2021, Dr. Zelleke has taught “Unpacking... View Details

Keywords: federal government; professional services; defense; financial services

15 Aug 2014
News

Getting a handle on inversion

Career Coach

Cici Xie

Cici wants to help students explore opportunities in the investment management industry at both hedge funds and long-only asset management firms. Having gone through the extensive recruiting process of both hedge funds and long-only asset management firms and convinced... View Details

May 2005 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Inniskillin and the Globalization of Icewine

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Jillian Hirasawa

Deals with the growth of the icewine industry and follows Vincor International as it creates an international market for its Inniskillin Icewine--a luxury alcoholic beverage consumed as a dessert wine. Gives the history of the alcoholic beverage industry in Canada and... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Luxury; Food and Beverage Industry; Canada

Clubs

Global Business Club

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

Debt collectors aren’t perceived as providing great service to debtors.Source: BrianAJackson On the list of industries known for great customer service, debt collection is far from the top—and may not even be on the list at all. “It’s usually a business that is very... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

October 1996 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (D): Gasoline Marketing

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Mobil US Marketing & Refining has shifted from a centralized staff-driven organization to decentralized business-units. Staff functions now must negotiate service agreements with a buyer's committee consisting of representatives from the profit-center business units.... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Management Teams; Human Resources; Agreements and Arrangements; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customers; Situation or Environment; Business Units; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

January 1991 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Robert Boxwell

Focuses on the three-way interaction among internal controls, employee behavior, and incentives. Salesmen are illegally providing kickbacks to customers of this beer-distribution firm. In turn, salesmen are reimbursing themselves by filing fraudulent expense reports.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Salesforce Management; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Distribution Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Maria Roche is an Assistant Professor in the Strategy Unit. She teaches the MBA elective Innovating at Scale and contributes to teaching in executive education programs. Her research examines how specialized knowledge is commercialized and how... View Details

Keywords: education industry; biotechnology; high technology

November 2002 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Tax-Motivated Film Financing at Rexford Studios

By: Mihir A. Desai, Gabriel J. Loeb and Mark Veblen

The head of production for Rexford Studios must analyze the terms and value consequences of an international financing involving a German film fund. The financing involves a sale-leaseback structure where international tax rules give rise to a sizable economic pie that... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Financing and Loans; Taxation; Cash Flow; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Competition; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Germany

September 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Silic (A): Choosing Cost or Fair Value on Adoption of IFRS

By: David F. Hawkins, Vincent Marie Dessain and Andrew Barron

A French real estate firm must choose to report its primary asset (investment property) using either cost or fair-value accounting methods upon adoption of international accounting standards (IAS) in 2005. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Investment; Standards; Real Estate Industry; France

2023
Book

The State and Capitalism in China

By: Meg Rithmire, Margaret M. Pearson and Kellee S. Tsai

This element explains China's political economic evolution from state socialist economy to a reform era state capitalism model to a more politicized, risk management approach we call "party-state capitalism." We emphasize the internal and external sources of perceived... View Details

Keywords: China's Political Economy; State Capitalism; State-business Relations; State Ownership; Economic Systems; Government and Politics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; China

Read Now

May 2022
Case

Maestro Pizza: Coming in Hot!

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro Pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

2015
Working Paper

What Do Private Equity Firms Say They Do?

By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

We survey 79 private equity investors with combined assets under management (AUM) of over $750 billion about their practices in firm valuation, capital structure, governance, and value creation. Investors rely primarily on internal rate of return (IRR) and multiples to... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Value Creation; Private Equity; Capital Structure; Valuation; Management Practices and Processes