Publications
Publications
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(790)
- Faculty Publications (223)
- January 2008
- Article
Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your Capacity to Do New Things
By: Clayton M. Christensen, Stephen P. Kaufman and Willy C. Shih
Most companies aren't half as innovative as their senior executives want them to be (or as their marketing claims suggest they are). What's stifling innovation? There are plenty of usual suspects, but the authors finger three financial tools as key accomplices.... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations
By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti
This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
The 'Fees → Savings' Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta
By: Michael I. Norton and Leonard Lee
Many consumers have had the experience of entering discount membership clubs to make a few purchases, only to leave with enough pasta to outlast a nuclear winter. We suggest that the presence of membership fees can lead consumers to infer a "fees → savings" link,... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
The Price of Capital: Evidence from Trade Data
By: Laura Alfaro and Faisal Ahmed
We use highly disaggregated data on trade in capital goods to study differences in the price of capital across countries. This strategy is motivated by the fact that most countries import the bulk of machinery equipment from a small number of industrialized countries.... View Details
- March 2006
- Module Note
Valuing Cross-Border Investments
By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs
Describes a core module in the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. The module explores how valuation differs in an international context and introduces students to the major issues in cross-border valuations: how to value investments in currencies... View Details
- February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Background Note
Introduction to Valuation Multiples
By: Robin Greenwood and Lucy White
Outlines the definition and applicability of financial multiples and their relationship to discounted cash flow analysis. View Details
- January 2006 (Revised December 2006)
- Case
Wal-Mart's Business Environment
In 2004, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. proposed to build a new supercenter in Inglewood, a low-income community near Los Angeles. The proposal was a part of Wal-Mart's strategy to bring its supercenter format to California. Introduced in the late 1980s, supercenters added a... View Details
- December 2005 (Revised February 2006)
- Case
Migros
By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman
In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros, is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to 600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Cooperative Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Product Marketing; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland
- February 2005 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
Rx Depot: Importing Drugs from Canada
By: Debora L. Spar
In 2002, a handful of entrepreneurs began to ship drugs from Canada into the United States, taking advantage of regulatory and price differentials across the neighboring countries. Using the Internet and a low-cost network of Canadian pharmacies, firms like Rx Depot... View Details
- 2005
- Article
Early Decisions: A Regulatory Framework
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
We describe a regulatory framework that helps consumers who have difficulty sticking to their own long-run plans. Early Decision regulations help long-run preferences prevail by allowing consumers to partially commit to their long-run goals, making it harder for a... View Details
- 2005
- Working Paper
Money Illusion in the Stock Market: The Modigliani-Cohn Hypothesis
By: Randolph B. Cohen, Christopher Polk and Tuomo Vuolteenaho
Modigliani and Cohn [1979] hypothesize that the stock market suffers from money illusion, discounting real cash flows at nominal discount rates. While previous research has focused on the pricing of the aggregate stock market relative to Treasury bills, the... View Details
- April 2004
- Case
Marks & Spencer: The Phoenix Rises - A Multimedia Case Study
By: Joseph L. Bower
Enables students to interactively research the steps Marks & Spencer's top executives took to restore prosperity and explore in depth the major issues remaining. The perspective is that of Luc Vandevelde, who arrived at the venerable U.K. retailer in 2001, and that of... View Details
- November 2003 (Revised March 2006)
- Case
Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina
By: Mihir A. Desai and Alexandra de Royere
What price should Dow Chemical bid for PBB, a petrochemical complex that is being privatized by the Argentine government? To answer this question, students are forced to consider the role of country risk, the underlying currency exposure of the business, and how to... View Details
- November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Drilling South: Petrobras Evaluates Pecom
By: Mihir A. Desai and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho
The Brazilian oil company, Petrobras, is evaluating the acquisition of an Argentine oil company, the Perez Companc Group (Pecom). The acquisition would increase Petrobras' oil reserves and expand its interests outside Brazil, a significant step for the largest company... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Crisis; Non-Renewable Energy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Corporate Governance; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; State Ownership; Performance Evaluation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Energy Industry; Argentina; Brazil
- October 2003 (Revised October 2004)
- Case
AT&T Canada (A)
By: Andre F. Perold and Kwame C. Van Leeuwen
AT&T Canada (ATTC) is a merger arbitrage situation where AT&T Corp. has a contractual commitment to purchase the shares of ATTC at an escalating formula price. However, ATTC's business is performing poorly, and its bonds are trading at significant discounts to par.... View Details
- February 2003 (Revised December 2006)
- Case
Toys "R" Us (A)
By: Michael G. Rukstad, Dennis A. Yao and Cate Reavis
In 1992, Toys "R" Us, the pioneer of the "category killer" retail format, faced significant competitive threats from mass discounters and warehouse clubs and was losing market share. This case explores the dynamic sustainability of Toys "R" Us's retailing model, its... View Details
- December 2002 (Revised January 2004)
- Background Note
Note on Credit Markets
By: Joshua D. Coval, Peter Tufano and Ivo Welch
Covers various aspects of credit markets, including discounting and pricing, team structure, and default. View Details
- September 2002
- Supplement
Discount & Hawkins Critical Moments: Audio Highlights
- August 2002 (Revised January 2003)
- Case
Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 1
By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas
How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months—from Siebel's initial... View Details
- August 2002 (Revised February 2003)
- Case
Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 2
By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas
How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months--from Siebel's initial... View Details