Publications

May 2000 (Revised December 2018)
Case

SMA: Micro-Electronic Products Division (A)

By: Michael Beer and Michael Tushman

The Micro-Electronic Products Division of SMA has financial and organizational problems. Conflict and lack of coordination exist between functional groups. Employees do not have a sense of direction and morale is low. The cause of these problems is found in a change in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy

18 Feb 2014
News

Satchu Launches Bold New Investment Fund

Keywords: Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments

May 2007
Teaching Note

Toyota Motor Corporation: Launching Prius (TN)

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Dennis A. Yao

Keywords: Production; Auto Industry; Green Technology Industry

Following the path of companies such as Apple and Amazon, more and more firms are trying to become not just product purveyors but also platform providers, facilitating direct connections between customers and other groups. Although launching a platform can... View Details

18 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Financial Development and Technology Diffusion

Keywords: by Diego Comin & Ramana Nanda

October 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

US Office Products (A)

Growth by acquisition (rolling up or consolidating an industry) results in questions about integrating operations, corporate form, financial structure, and management for this company. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Business or Company Management; Acquisition

June 1998 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A)

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Nicole Tempest

Wells Fargo, the industry leader in electronic banking, has implemented a Balanced Scorecard in its online financial services group (OFS) to track and measure performance. The OFS group develops and supports services that allow existing and future banking customers to... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Finance; Change; Situation or Environment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

30 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Do Mergers Hurt Product Quality?

consistently increase or decrease in quality level” Sheen decided to pursue the product perspective of mergers in order to help determine the cause of post-merger financial effects. "On average, the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

December 2001
Case

Natural Pork Production

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James M Beagle

An entrepreneurial hog farmer's creative use of contracts and capital structure drives very successful growth and returns in a depressed commodity industry. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Capital Structure; Futures and Commodity Futures; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Goods and Commodities; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Contracts; Success; Consumer Products Industry

November 2010
Article

The Litigation of Financial Innovations

By: Josh Lerner

This paper examines the litigation of patents relating to financial products and services. I show that these grants are being litigated at a rate 27 to 39 times greater than that of patents as a whole. The patents being litigated are disproportionately those issued to... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Finance

Find at Harvard

13 Aug 2018
Blog Post

Following My Dream: Launching a Venture

Throughout my entire career, I’ve always been tempted by the entrepreneurial journey but have never had the courage to quit an existing opportunity and work on my own start-up. Coming to HBS, one of my main goals was to launch a venture.... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

March 2013
Article

Financial Development, Fixed Costs and International Trade

Exporting firms face significant up-front costs in product design, marketing, and distribution, which likely would be difficult to finance externally. We argue that a developed financial system can facilitate exports, and we test three implications. First, a more... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Finance

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October 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Curled Metal Inc.—Engineered Products Division

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Frank V. Cespedes

Curled Metal Incorporated has declining sales but has developed a new product (curled metal pile driver pads) that, in field tests, deliver customer benefits that are many times CMI's manufacturing costs. Joseph Fernandez and Rajiv Sanwal of CMI's Engineered Products... View Details

Keywords: Price; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Strategy

2023
Working Paper

ESG: From Process to Product

By: George Serafeim

ESG measurement, analysis, management, and communication is a process that the financial industry has turned into a product, resulting in many investment funds using the ESG label. This has caused confusion, generating demand for a framework that defines... View Details

Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Ratings; ESG Reporting; Investment Fund; Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry

Read Now

14 Jan 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Smart Money: The Effect of Education, Cognitive Ability, and Financial Literacy on Financial Market Participation

Keywords: by Shawn Cole & Gauri Kartini Shastry; Financial Services; Financial Services

Web

Launching Tech Ventures - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Launching Tech Ventures Course Number 1757 Senior Lecturer Jeffrey Bussgang Senior Lecturer Allison Mnookin Spring; Q3Q4; 3.0 credits 27 Sessions Project Career Focus Launching Technology... View Details

February 2001 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Competitive Dynamics in Home Video Games (G): Launching the Sega Saturn

Outlines the events leading up to the Sega's launch of its 32-bit console named Saturn. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Product Launch; Video Game Industry

04 May 2009
Research & Ideas

What’s Next for the Big Financial Brands

guilt, lack of customer care, or financial weakness. Financial brands should continue to advertise but with messages that help customers now with recession-relevant product and... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Financial Services; Financial Services

June 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

New Product Commercialization: Common Mistakes

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Addresses the common mistakes made in new product development and launch. Many times customers' and suppliers' perceptions of the degree of product/market innovation do not match. One of them may view the innovations as a "breakthrough," but the other may view it only... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges