Publications

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February 2002 (Revised May 2004)
Case

U.S. Labs

By: Michael J. Roberts and Robert F. Higgins

Describes the evolution of a start-up venture in the pathology lab segment of the clinical lab business. U.S. Labs tries a series of business models before running out of cash. The company is in dire need of financing, as its venture capital backers are refusing to put... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Business Model; Business or Company Management; Planning; Business Strategy; Health Industry

18 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Big Deals: Financing Large-Scale Investments

good projects and good returns. Esty's interest in project finance evolved out of his doctoral thesis on risk-taking in the savings and loan (S&L) industry during the 1980s. "I have been intrigued with high leverage and its... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

08 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 8

instead of growing by 11% as forecasted. Also, disruptions in financial and insurance markets created a cash shortfall. In the summer of 2009, Penn was facing the likelihood of default and possible foreclosure under its loan agreements.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

Political Turmoil and Mexico’s Economy

businesses. They also distributed shares of the bank to the state governor or made a loan to the local state government—with the understanding that it most likely would not be repaid. A number of countries have experienced political... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

03 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 3

from its existing term loan lender that includes some aggressive and unusual features. This includes the requirement that, immediately upon filing for Chapter 11, School Specialty undertake to sell its assets under Section 363 of the U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

DEC - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

1957, Olsen and Anderson submitted a four-page, typewritten business proposal to ARD, followed in May by a nine-page proposal. 43 ARD offered the two entrepreneurs $70,000 in equity financing for a 70 percent share and an additional loan... View Details

01 Mar 2005
News

One-on-One with Edwin Reed

is that the majority of local residents have come to share our objectives. How did you raise the money to build the cathedral? In 1995, my HBS education and corporate financial experience were central to persuading commercial lenders that it was a good business... View Details

Keywords: Mary Ellen Gardner; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

10 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 10

tool to alleviate capital constraints in scarce credit markets and unlock productive investments, others see those banks as conduits of cheap loans to politically connected firms that could obtain capital elsewhere. We test these... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Kendle International Inc.

By: Dwight B. Crane, Paul W. Marshall and Indra Reinbergs

Candace Kendle and Christopher Bergen, the CEO and COO of Kendle International, Inc., are reviewing ways to finance the growth of their privately-owned company. Kendle is a contract research organization that conducts clinical drug trials for pharmaceutical and... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Stock Options; Banks and Banking; Debt Securities; International Finance; Financial Strategy; Management Skills; Private Ownership; Initial Public Offering; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

2017
Working Paper

The Decline of Big-Bank Lending to Small Business: Dynamic Impacts on Local Credit and Labor Markets

By: Brian S. Chen, Samuel G. Hanson and Jeremy C. Stein

Small business lending by the four largest banks fell sharply relative to others in 2008 and remained depressed through 2014. We explore the dynamic adjustment process following this credit supply shock. In counties where the largest banks had a high market share, the... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Financing and Loans; Banks and Banking; System Shocks; Credit; Labor; United States

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January 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Case

H&R Block 2006

By: Peter Tufano

Mark Ernst, the Chairman, CEO and President of H&R Block, has to decide how to respond to a competitive threat posed by a competitor's refund-lending product. Block is the largest U.S. tax preparation firm, which competes not only on its tax preparation services, but... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Taxation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competition; Financial Services Industry

February 2020
Case

Seso Global: Building a Blockchain-enabled Property Marketplace in Nigeria

By: Boris Vallee and Yang (Dolly) Yu

The mutual aspiration of addressing the housing shortage and improving real estate market efficiency led Daniel and Phillip to co-found Seso Global in 2017. Seso Global developed a unique integrated platform to streamline and rationalize the process of acquiring and... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Blockchain; Developing Markets; Entrepreneurial Management; Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Property; Growth and Development Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Real Estate Industry; Africa; Nigeria

January 2014
Article

The Consequences of Entrepreneurial Finance: Evidence from Angel Financings

By: William R. Kerr, Josh Lerner and Antoinette Schoar

This paper documents that ventures that are funded by two successful angel groups experience superior outcomes to rejected ventures: they have improved survival, exits, employment, patenting, web traffic, and financing. We use strong discontinuities in angel funding... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Financing and Loans; Interests; Employment; Patents; Internet and the Web; Operations; Entrepreneurship; Business Exit or Shutdown

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2009
Working Paper

Corporate Misgovernance at the World Bank

By: Ashwin Kaja and Eric D. Werker

We test for evidence of corporate misgovernance at the World Bank. Most major decisions at the World Bank are made by its Board of Executive Directors. However, in any given year the majority of the Bank's member countries do not get a chance to serve on this powerful... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards

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April 1990
Case

Philip Morris Companies' ""Bill of Rights"" Sponsorship Program

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Describes the new policy of the National Archives of inviting corporate cosponsorship of historic exhibits and commemorations. In November 1989, Philip Morris Companies (PM) became the first cosponsor of the bicentennial commemoration of the Bill of Rights, and used... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Brands and Branding; Decisions; Advertising; Marketing Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Reputation; Nonprofit Organizations

May 2007 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Bankinter: Deploying the Mortgage Simulator to the Branches

Describes how Bankinter, a mid-sized Spanish bank, altered the information set available to its customer-facing employees. In the spring of 2003, Bankinter introduced an Excel-based program called the Mortgage Simulator that helped branch managers calculate the price... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Banks and Banking; Mortgages; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Spain