Publications

11 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

The Success of Reverse Leveraged Buyouts

decline, according to the firm, is that private-equity firms may be selling a higher percentage of their acquisitions to other private-equity firms, rather than facing the uncertainties of an IPO. View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Banking; Financial Services

Web

The Founder Mindset - Course Catalog

the face of great uncertainty and massively imperfect information. How does one, often with relatively little experience, develop and exercise the judgement to make these decisions? This course will lead a discussion around The Founder... View Details

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

(1990, 1991) argument that it is top management's view of a firm's key strategic uncertainties that motivates their choice of control systems to be used interactively. Combining the process perspective of a longitudinal field study with... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

'Clarín Lies!': Bias, Post-Truth, and Populism in Argentina's Media War

By: Rafael Di Tella, Jose Liberti and Sarah McAra

In 2012, Argentine media conglomerate Grupo Clarín and President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were embroiled in what some called “the mother of all battles.” Grupo Clarín was one of the preeminent media companies in Argentina, with leading newspapers, cable... View Details

Keywords: Media Regulation; Media; Government and Politics; Policy; Newspapers; Government Legislation; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Monopoly; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Argentina

October 1991 (Revised October 2004)
Case

Hilton Manufacturing Company

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A professional manager is hired by a small manufacturing company after the president discovers he made poor decisions. One product appears to be unprofitable, whereas the product sold in highest volume is under competitive price pressure. A crude cost accounting system... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Asset Pricing; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Governance Controls; Performance Effectiveness; Business Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Fair Value Accounting; Manufacturing Industry

December 2003
Case

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (C) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

Manville Corp.'s senior managers are surprised when Japanese government officials advise them not to go forward with their plan to add a cancer warning label to diatomaceous earth (DE) products sold in Japan. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has ruled... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Moral Sensibility; Safety; Government Administration; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Announcements; Industrial Products Industry; Japan

June 2015 (Revised August 2018)
Case

American Electric Power: Facing the Challenges of Distributed Generation

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Hilary White

American Electric Power, like most utilities in the USA, is currently exposed to distributed generation and the problem of net-metering. Solar installations in particular have been heavily subsidized, by the state and by regulation, which does not allow grid operators... View Details

April 2025
Teaching Note

ZEISS: Commercializing Science

By: Maria P. Roche

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 725-359. View Details

July 2024
Case

ZEISS: Commercializing Science

By: Maria P. Roche, Carlota Moniz and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Karl Lamprecht, President and CEO of the ZEISS AG Group, mused on how far ZEISS had come in 175 years of being a pioneer in optics, and how the course he had charted since taking the helm of the company could keep it on track. In his role, he oversaw the four core... View Details

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

what’s a manager to do given the uncertainty of both predictions and prophets? Here’s some advice to CEOs, CFOs, sales managers, and others who allocate the major resources in most firms. Whatever else you do in thinking about the future... View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

01 Apr 2019
What Do You Think?

Does Our Bias Against Federal Deficits Need Rethinking?

a deficit limit although a very high one.” Tony E opined, “The US is unique globally in providing a stable currency (that allows) the rest of the world to eliminate uncertainty in asset/commodity valuation." This confidence , he... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

April 2012
Article

Coming Through When It Matters Most

By: Heidi K. Gardner

All teams would like to think they do their best work when the stakes are highest-when the company's future or their own rests on the outcome of their projects. But too often something else happens. In extensive studies of teams at professional service firms, I have... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Projects; Performance Expectations; Failure; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Experience and Expertise; Knowledge Sharing

Read Now

June 2011
Article

Segmenting the Base of the Pyramid

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael Chu and Djorjiji Petkoski

The bottom of the economic pyramid is a risky place for business, but decent profits can be made there if companies link their financial success with their constituencies' well-being. To do that effectively, you must understand the nuances of people's daily lives, say... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Risk and Uncertainty; Value Creation; Human Needs; Income; Poverty; Profit; Relationships; Economics; Segmentation

Find at Harvard

2009
Working Paper

Endowments, Fiscal Federalism, and the Cost of Capital for States: Evidence from Brazil, 1891-1930

By: Andre C. Martinez Fritscher and Aldo Musacchio

There is a large amount of literature that aims to explain what determines country risk (defined as the difference between the yield of a sovereign's bonds and the risk free rate). In this paper, we contribute to the discussion by arguing that an important explanatory... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Cost of Capital; Revenue; Sovereign Finance; Goods and Commodities; Taxation; Business History; Risk and Uncertainty; Brazil