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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,517)
- People (2)
- News (264)
- Research (984)
- Events (6)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (377)
- 2025
- Working Paper
Dynamic Personalization with Multiple Customer Signals: Multi-Response State Representation in Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement learning (RL) offers potential for optimizing sequences of customer interactions by modeling the relationships
between customer states, company actions, and long-term value. However, its practical implementation often faces significant
challenges.... View Details
Keywords: Dynamic Policy; Deep Reinforcement Learning; Representation Learning; Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment; Latent Variable Models; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Foreign Direct Investment; Analytics and Data Science
Ma, Liangzong, Ta-Wei Huang, Eva Ascarza, and Ayelet Israeli. "Dynamic Personalization with Multiple Customer Signals: Multi-Response State Representation in Reinforcement Learning." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-037, February 2025.
- 2022
- Working Paper
Multinationals and Varieties of Capitalism: When U.S. Giants Stepped into the Swiss Coordinated Labor Market in the 1950s
By: Sabine Pitteloud
This working paper investigates unintended consequences of U.S. FDI in Switzerland in the 1950s-1960s: the increased competition that U.S. firms generated within the national labor market and the challenge their hiring practices constituted for the institutional... View Details
Keywords: Multinationals; Capitalism; Business ＆ Government Relations; Foreign Direct Investment; Immigration Policy; History; Switzerland; Americanization; R＆D; Labor History; Labor Market Institutions; Tax Havens; ＂USA,＂; Business Interest Association; Lobbying; Labor and Management Relations; Business History; Multinational Firms and Management
Pitteloud, Sabine. "Multinationals and Varieties of Capitalism: When U.S. Giants Stepped into the Swiss Coordinated Labor Market in the 1950s." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-075, June 2022.
- 2014
- Book
Reinventing State Capitalism: Leviathan in Business, Brazil and Beyond
By: Aldo Musacchio and Sergio G. Lazzarini
In this book we describe the transformation of state capitalism from a model in which governments owned and ran corporations and broadly controlled the allocation of financial resources into two new varieties of state capitalism: Leviathan as a majority and as a... View Details
Keywords: State Capitalism; State-owned Enterprises; Industrial Policy; Development Banks; Capitalism; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance Theory; CEO Effects; Public Sector; Economic Systems; Financial Institutions; Corporate Governance; Business and Government Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; State Ownership; Privatization; Public Ownership; Emerging Markets; Banking Industry; Mining Industry; Energy Industry
Musacchio, Aldo, and Sergio G. Lazzarini. Reinventing State Capitalism: Leviathan in Business, Brazil and Beyond. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.
- June 2015 (Revised September 2017)
- Supplement
Generating Higher Value at IBM
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Scott Mayfield
This case analyzes IBM's financial performance and its capital allocation decisions over a 10-year period from 2004-2013, during which IBM returned more than $140B to shareholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases. During this time, CEO Sam... View Details
- June 2015
- Supplement
Generating Higher Value at IBM (A): EPS Forecasting Model
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Scott Mayfield
This case analyzes IBM's financial performance and its capital allocation decisions over a 10-year period from 2004-2013, during which IBM returned more than $140B to shareholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases. During this time, CEO Sam... View Details
- May 2015 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Generating Higher Value at IBM (A)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield
This case analyzes IBM's financial performance and its capital allocation decisions over a 10-year period from 2004-2013, during which IBM returned more than $140B to shareholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases. During this time, CEO Sam... View Details
Keywords: Dividends; Share Repurchases; Earnings Guidance; Financial Statement Analysis; Financial Ratios; Payout Policy; Earnings Per Share (EPS); Earnings Management; Change Management; Leadership; Transformation; Financial Strategy
Esty, Benjamin C., and E. Scott Mayfield. "Generating Higher Value at IBM (A)." Harvard Business School Case 215-058, May 2015. (Revised September 2017.)
- Article
Short-Termism and Capital Flows
By: Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang
During 2007–2016, S&P 500 firms distributed to shareholders $7 trillion via buybacks and dividends, over 96% of their aggregate net income, prompting claims that "short-termism" is impairing firms' ability to invest and innovate. We show that, when taking into account... View Details
Keywords: Short-termism; Quarterly Capitalism; Share Buybacks; Open Market Repurchases; Dividends; Equity Issuances; Seasoned Equity Offerings; Equity Compensastion; Acquisitions; Payout Policy; Capital Flows; Capital Distribution; Working Capital; Business and Shareholder Relations; Acquisition
Fried, Jesse M., and Charles C.Y. Wang. "Short-Termism and Capital Flows." Review of Corporate Finance Studies 8, no. 1 (March 2019): 207–233.
- July 1997
- Article
National Champions and Corruption: Some Unpleasant Interventionist Arithmetic
By: Alberto Ades and Rafael Di Tella
We present a hold-up model of investment where active industrial policy promotes both corruption and investment. Since corruption deters investment, the effect of industrial policy on investment is lower than when corruption is absent. We find evidence suggesting that... View Details
Keywords: Crime and Corruption
Ades, Alberto, and Rafael Di Tella. "National Champions and Corruption: Some Unpleasant Interventionist Arithmetic." Economic Journal 107, no. 443 (July 1997): 1023–43.
- 01 Jun 2024
- News
Outside Voices
and banks that had nearly collapsed have been cleaned up and are once again fueling the economy. In late 2023, Greece’s credit rating was bumped from junk to investment grade for the first time since 2010, signaling to foreign investors... View Details
- April 2011 (Revised April 2012)
- Case
Angels in British Columbia
By: Josh Lerner, Thomas Hellmann and Ilkin Ilyaszade
The case study provides an overview of the angel investment practices and describes government policies towards angel and venture capital investing in British Columbia, Canada. It focuses in particular on the Equity Capital Program (BCECP henceforth), which provides... View Details
Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Policy; Taxation; Performance Improvement; Programs; British Columbia
Lerner, Josh, Thomas Hellmann, and Ilkin Ilyaszade. "Angels in British Columbia." Harvard Business School Case 811-100, April 2011. (Revised April 2012.)
- July 1995 (Revised October 1995)
- Case
Superior Clamps, Inc.
By: David F. Hawkins
An investor must prepare pro forma financial statements as a basis for a third-party investment in his new company. The investor must make a number of accounting policy decisions. View Details
Keywords: Financing and Loans; Investment; Policy; Financial Statements; Business Startups; Manufacturing Industry
Hawkins, David F. "Superior Clamps, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 196-040, July 1995. (Revised October 1995.)
- September 2016 (Revised September 2016)
- Case
The Tavistock Group and the Australian Agricultural Company
By: Dante Roscini and Matthew Preble
In late 2015, Dr. Shehan Dissanayake, a managing director and board member of Bahamian investment firm The Tavistock Group (Tavistock), the largest shareholder in the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo), one of the country's largest agribusinesses, faces a... View Details
Keywords: Agribusiness; Foreign Direct Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business and Government Relations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Australia; Bahamas
Roscini, Dante, and Matthew Preble. "The Tavistock Group and the Australian Agricultural Company." Harvard Business School Case 717-009, September 2016. (Revised September 2016.)
Victoria Ivashina
Victoria Ivashina is the Lovett-Learned Professor of Finance and Head of the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. She also serves as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy... View Details
Louis T. Wells
Professor Louis T. Wells is the Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at the Harvard Business School. He has served as consultant to governments of a number of developing countries, as well as to international organizations and private firms. His... View Details
- July 2017 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
GM's Capital Allocation Framework
By: C. Fritz Foley, F. Katelynn Boland and Michael Lemm
In March of 2015, General Motors announced the details of a newly established capital allocation framework. This framework provided a target for return on invested capital, guidelines for capital structure choices, and policies related to payouts. Senior managers face... View Details
Keywords: Performance Metrics; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Auto Industry; Transportation Industry; United States
Foley, C. Fritz, F. Katelynn Boland, and Michael Lemm. "GM's Capital Allocation Framework." Harvard Business School Case 218-026, July 2017. (Revised September 2017.)
- August 2023
- Case
Ripple 2023
By: David B. Yoffie, Andy Wu and Sarah von Bargen
This case covers Ripple’s events from 2020–2023. The focus of this case is Ripple’s 2023 victory over the SEC, which sued Ripple in 2020 claiming that they did not register their XRP coins as securities. After Ripple’s victory, CEO Garlinghouse faced numerous... View Details
Yoffie, David B., Andy Wu, and Sarah von Bargen. "Ripple 2023." Harvard Business School Case 724-372, August 2023.
- May 2005 (Revised January 2006)
- Case
Ticonderoga: Inverse Floating Rate Bond
Presents a simple interest hedging exercise. A hedge fund is considering an investment in a structured fixed--income product: an inverse floating-rate bond, or inverse floater, designed by a U.S. investment bank. The hedge fund's normal policy is to hedge interest rate... View Details
Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Bonds; Investment Funds; Interest Rates
Chacko, George C., and Anders Sjoman. "Ticonderoga: Inverse Floating Rate Bond." Harvard Business School Case 205-113, May 2005. (Revised January 2006.)
- October 2000 (Revised February 2007)
- Case
Harvard Management Company and Inflation-Protected Bonds, The
By: Luis M. Viceira
In March 2000, the board of The Harvard Management Co. (HMC) approved significant changes in the policy portfolio determining the long-run allocation policy of the Harvard University endowment. These changes included a sharp reduction of the allocation to U.S. equities... View Details
Keywords: Bonds; Investment Portfolio; Investment Funds; Asset Management; Corporate Governance; Capital Markets; Financial Services Industry; United States
Viceira, Luis M. "Harvard Management Company and Inflation-Protected Bonds, The." Harvard Business School Case 201-053, October 2000. (Revised February 2007.)
- 2003
- Other Unpublished Work
The Cluster Initiative Greenbook
By: Örjan Sölvell, Göran Lindqvist and Christian H.M. Ketels
After Michael Porter's seminal work on clusters and competitiveness published around 1990, cluster initiatives (CIs) have become a central feature of microeconomic policy around the world. CIs add a new dimension to traditional policy areas such as industrial... View Details
Keywords: Macroeconomics; Policy; Investment; Industry Clusters; Innovation and Invention; Developing Countries and Economies; Transition; Partners and Partnerships; Science
Sölvell, Örjan, Göran Lindqvist, and Christian H.M. Ketels. "The Cluster Initiative Greenbook." Ivory Tower AB, Stockholm, Sweden, August 2003. (Prepared for the 6th Annual Conference of The Competitiveness Institute (TCI), Gothenburg, Sweden, September 2003.)
- Summer, 2021
- Article
The Economics of Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries
By: Meredith Fowlie and Robyn C. Meeks
Almost all of the world’s energy demand growth is projected to occur in low- and medium-income countries (LMICs). Targeted energy efficiency investments have the potential to mitigate tensions between economic growth objectives and sustainable development commitments.... View Details
Fowlie, Meredith, and Robyn C. Meeks. "The Economics of Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries." Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 15, no. 2 (Summer, 2021): 238–260.