Publications

15 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 15, 2008

the technology bubble to examine the hypothesis that inexperienced investors play a role in the formation of asset price bubbles. Using age as a proxy for managers' investment experience, we find that around... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Making the Numbers? ‘Short Termism’ & the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disaster

Keywords: by Hazhir Rahmandad, Nelson P. Repenning & Rebecca Henderson

January 2002 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Corporate Renewal in America

By: Bruce R. Scott and Thomas S. Mondschean

Discusses various macroeconomic, regulatory, technological, and financial forces that led to increased corporate restructuring in the United States beginning in the mid-1980s. The U.S. financial system is often viewed as the most developed in the world and a model for... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Economic Systems; Restructuring; Markets; Private Sector; Corporate Finance; Germany; Japan; United States

June 2010 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Vereinigung Hamburger Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten e.V. (VHSS): Valuing Ships

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Albert Sheen

After booming for more than five years, the global shipping (maritime) industry experienced a dramatic crash in late 2008 as the global financial system froze and the global economy slid into recession. Ship charter rates (revenue) fell by as much as 90% causing prices... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Crisis; Capital Markets; Financial Liquidity; International Finance; Globalized Markets and Industries; Valuation; Banking Industry; Shipping Industry; Germany

February 1986 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Travelers Mortgage Securities CMO

Describes a series of collateralized mortgage obligations offered by Travelers Insurance. Provides a general description of the life insurance business and the role of life insurance in the capital markets. Also describes a variety of mortgage related instruments,... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Capital Markets; Mortgages; Insurance Industry; United States

18 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?

Kominers: For the past six months, we’ve been tilting into a state of overall financial uncertainty. Crypto assets are very volatile, in part because there’s so much uncertainty about which crypto technologies are likely to be the most... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Financial Services; Technology

March 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

HelloSelf: Foundation

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

On January 6, 2019, HelloSelf, a London-based “BrainTech” company, founded a year earlier by Charles Wells, soft launched. The proposition was simply to help its members “Be your Best Self.” The company provided its registered members with access to a clinical... View Details

May 2020 (Revised November 2021)
Supplement

Valuing Peloton

By: E. Scott Mayfield

Peloton Interactive, a well-known unicorn in the connected fitness space, had gone public with a market capitalization of over $8.0 billion. In the weeks following its public debut, Peloton’s stock price fell by over 25%. Taylor Knox, a stock analyst and enthusiastic... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Risk and Uncertainty; Stocks; Price; Valuation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 2022
Case

Fueling a Cleaner Future: ACWA Power and Green Hydrogen

By: Dennis Yao and Alpana Thapar

In January 2020, Paddy Padmanathan, president and CEO of ACWA Power, was reflecting on the company’s sixteen-year record of success and thinking about its future growth plans. Founded in 2004, ACWA Power was a Saudi Arabian developer, owner, and operator of power and... View Details

Keywords: Green Hydrogen; Energy; Climate Change; Supply Chain; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Green Technology; Projects; Alliances; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Energy Industry; Saudi Arabia; Middle East; North Africa

2018
Book

American Fair Trade: Proprietary Capitalism, Corporatism, and the 'New Competition,' 1890–1940

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

American Fair Trade explores the contested political and legal meanings of the term fair trade from the late nineteenth century through the New Deal era. This history of American capitalism argues that business associations partnered with regulators to... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Competition; Policy; Fairness; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

January 2014
Case

Newfield Energy

By: William E. Fruhan and Wei Wang

In September 2013, Miles Griffin, CEO and chairman of the board of Newfield Energy, prepares to present financial proposals to the board of directors for approval. Newfield (based in Houston, Texas) was a large independent energy company primarily engaged in the... View Details

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

products at reasonable prices and runs a highly popular advertising campaign that spoofs current events. It offers its farmers 80% of the consumer's dollar for milk, compared with 35% to 40% typical in some Western markets. Amul's... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

22 Apr 2020
Research Event

How Investors Are Sizing Up Climate Change’s Risks—and Opportunities

Until a few years ago, climate change’s potential impact seemed abstract for many investors. Now, as sea levels rise, hurricanes intensify, and droughts threaten food supplies, many investors are confronting its financial realities. But it’s not a simple calculation.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

firms. They also affect trading signal classifications, back-testing inferences, track records of individual analysts, and models of analysts' career outcomes in the three years following the changes. Long-Run Stockholder Consumption Risk... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2018
Case

Infrastructure in Nigeria: Unlocking Pension Fund Investments

By: John Macomber and Pippa Tubman Armerding

The so-called “infrastructure finance gap” was a problem in Nigeria as in many parts of the world. Infrastructure projects like power plants and dams were very large capital investments that could generate long-term consistent cash flows, but their financing and... View Details

Keywords: Pension Fund Investing; Infrastucture; Power/Energy; Credit Enhancement; Infrastructure; Project Finance; Investment Funds; Emerging Markets; Nigeria; Africa

May 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Valuing Peloton

By: E. Scott Mayfield

Peloton Interactive, a well-known venture-capital-backed unicorn in the connected fitness space, recently had gone public with a market capitalization of over $8.0 billion. However, in the weeks following its public debut, Peloton’s stock price had fallen by over 25%.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Public Equity; Initial Public Offering; Disruptive Innovation; Business Strategy; Valuation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

12 Apr 2016
First Look

April 12, 2016

link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50897 forthcoming Journal of Marketing Research Repairing the Damage: The Effect of Gender and Price Knowledge on Auto-Repair Price Quotes By: Busse,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Forecasting Climate Risks: Aviva’s Climate Calculus

By: Mark Egan and Peter Tufano

In late 2021, Ben Carr, Director of Analytics and Capital Modeling at Aviva Plc (Aviva)—a leading insurer with core operations in the UK, Ireland and Canada,—was preparing for an upcoming presentation before the company's board which included its CEO, Amanda Blanc,... View Details

Keywords: Climate Risk; Climate Finance; Forecasting; Insurance; Risk Measurement; Climate Change; Risk Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance Industry; United States