Publications

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207091 China Netcom: Corporate Governance in China (A) Harvard Business School Case 308-027 With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York Stock Exchange,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2025
Case

TfL Pension Fund and the 2022 Gilt Market Crisis

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Vincent Dessain, Emer Moloney and Carlota Moniz

On September 27, 2022, Padmesh Shukla, CIO of the Transport for London (TfL) Pension Fund, was keeping a careful eye on the turmoil in the U.K. sovereign bond (or gilt) market. When the new government announced the largest tax cuts the U.K. had seen in half a century,... View Details

Article

Debt Maturity: Is Long-Term Debt Optimal?

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

We model and calibrate the arguments in favor and against short-term and long-term debt. These arguments broadly include: maturity premium, sustainability, and service smoothing. We use a dynamic equilibrium model with tax distortions and government... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Investment Return; Development Economics; Taxation; Risk and Uncertainty; Cost; Interest Rates; Developing Countries and Economies; Welfare; United States; Brazil

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December 2010
Article

The Case for Professional Boards

By: Robert C. Pozen

When the world's largest financial institutions had to be rescued from insolvency in 2008, many experts laid the blame at the feet of corporate boards. But insufficient board oversight is a problem that had supposedly been solved in 2002. As the United States... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Failure; Accounting Audits; Quality; Behavior; Legal Liability; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Performance Effectiveness; United States

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February 2023 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Accra, Ghana

By: Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Leonard Schlesinger and Namrata Arora

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Ghana. It highlights Ghana economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Agribusiness; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Ghana

Web

Technology & Innovation - Faculty & Research

and unfunded firms. Because randomization of the sample was not feasible, we address endogeneity around selection bias using a sample of qualitatively similar firms based on a funding decision score. This allows us to observe the local... View Details

May 2009
Article

Synchronicity and Firm Interlocks in an Emerging Market

By: Tarun Khanna and Catherine Thomas

Stock price synchronicity has been attributed to poor corporate governance and a lack of firm-level transparency. This paper investigates the association between different kinds of firm interlocks, control groups, and synchronicity in Chile. A unique data set... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Price; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Resource Allocation; Emerging Markets; Ownership Stake; Chile

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01 Sep 2023
News

In My Humble Opinion: Futures Investor

rowed lightweight crew. His worldview broadened during two years of military service as an officer with the Navy SEALs in Vietnam and a subsequent US State Department posting in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso). Roosevelt’s State Department responsibilities included... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; climate change; investment banking; leadership; carbon tax

Web

California - Global

workforce and redefining how enterprises think about productivity and automation. Through a detailed look at Agentforce’s internal rollout, early customer deployments, and evolving pricing and governance strategies, the case provides a... View Details

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Micro Insurance Agency: Helping the Poor Manage Risk

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

The notable success of insurance products for low-income clients of its microfinance network leads Opportunity International to launch the first global specialized microinsurance company, the Micro Insurance Agency (MIA). Building on the experience in 10 countries... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost Management; Microfinance; Globalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Nonprofit Organizations; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America

August 2018
Case

Christine Lagarde

By: Julie Battilana, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Vanessa Ampelas and Noemie Assenat

For a modular presentation of the same material, please see “Christine Lagarde (A): A French Prime Minister Calls” (HBS No. 419-017), “Christine Lagarde (B): Being a Public Servant” (HBS No. 419-018), and “Christine Lagarde (C): Managing the IMF” (HBS No. 419-019).... View Details

Keywords: Change; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence; Leadership; Gender; Leading Change

05 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 5

focuses on scaling a venture's sales process and provides a methodology for identifying core customers and some implications for governance criteria and potential product changes as well as sales management. Paper: View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

State of South Carolina, The

By: Randolph B. Cohen

This case presents the managerial dilemma faced by the treasurer of South Carolina in 1998. Until last year, the South Carolina state pension fund (with over $17 billion in assets) was barred by the state constitution from investing in equities. After the constitution... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Capital Markets; Investment Return; Public Administration Industry; South Carolina

Web

Social Enterprise - Faculty & Research

on political councils, political legacy, and financial resources—affect the likelihood of firms issuing CSR reports. Second, we focus on the symbolic nature of CSR reporting and how variance in the risk of government monitoring through... View Details

March 2018 (Revised January 2021)
Case

China Vanke: Battle for Control (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Charles C.Y. Wang, Dawn H. Lau and Anthony K. Woo

In June 2016, the board of China Vanke, one of China’s largest and best-known private residential real estate developers, must vote on a proposed acquisition that is opposed by its largest shareholders, state-owned China Resources Co. and the lesser-known property... View Details

Keywords: China Vanke; China Resources; Hostile Takeover; Board Of Directors; Shareholding Structure; Shareholder Rights; Asset Restructuring; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Real Estate Industry; China

Fast Answer

Financial databases: certification and training

Environmental Social Governance (ESG). Open to all current Harvard faculty, students, and staff through 12/31/2024*, with potential for extension. Please email infoservices@hbs.edu for the class code to waive fee. Then, sign... View Details

March 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

CDC Capital Partners: December 2002

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Paul Fletcher, CEO of CDC Capital Partners, a private equity group investing in the world's poorest countries, is wrestling with questions raised by the imminent reorganization of the firm. Previously an arm of the United Kingdom's international aid agency, CDC is... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Privatization; Venture Capital; Business and Government Relations; Emerging Markets; Infrastructure; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; United Kingdom