Publications

December 2022
Article

Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Success and Post-ICO Performance

By: Evgeny Lyandres, Berardino Palazzo and Daniel Rabetti

We compile a comprehensive data set of initial coin offerings (ICOs) from 19 data sources including 11 ICO aggregators. We alleviate severe limitations of available ICO data by performing the first systematic analysis of ICO data quality. We use our data set to study... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Investment Return; Entrepreneurial Finance; Success; Performance

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September 26, 2024
Article

A Better Way to Measure Social Impact

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Constance Spitzer

All impact investors report the financial returns from their funds and investments, and many provide metrics on intended social outcomes, such as numbers of individuals served, or quality jobs created. But investors do not supply metrics about their impacts on... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Social Impact Investment; Inclusive Growth; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability

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February 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Collab Capital

By: Natalia Rigol, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Mitchell Weiss

Founded in 2020 by Jewel Burks Solomon and her partners, Barry Givens and Justin Dawkins, Collab Capital was a new investment firm built on two pillars: first, it would identify and support ventures founded by Black entrepreneurs, a group underrepresented in... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Race; Business Startups; Financial Services Industry; Atlanta

May 2021
Article

Preparing for a Pandemic: Accelerating Vaccine Availability

By: Amrita Ahuja, Susan Athey, Arthur Baker, Eric Budish, Juan Camilo Castillo, Rachel Glennerster, Scott Duke Kominers, Michael Kremer, Jean Lee, Canice Prendergast, Christopher M. Snyder, Alex Tabarrok, Brandon Joel Tan and Witold Wiecek

Vaccinating the world’s population quickly in a pandemic has enormous health and economic benefits. We analyze the problem faced by governments in determining the scale and structure of procurement for vaccines. We analyze alternative approaches to procurement, arguing... View Details

Keywords: Vaccines; Procurement; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Acquisition; Cooperation

December 2013
Article

Reputational Contagion and Optimal Regulatory Forbearance

By: Alan Morrison and Lucy White

Existing studies suggest that systemic crises may arise because banks either hold correlated assets or are connected by interbank lending. This paper shows that common regulation is also a conduit for interbank contagion. One bank's failure may undermine confidence in... View Details

Keywords: Reputation; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

2011
Working Paper

The Cost of Capital for Alternative Investments

By: Jakub W. Jurek and Erik Stafford

This paper studies the cost of capital for alternative investments. We document that the risk profile of the aggregate hedge fund universe can be accurately matched by a simple index put option writing strategy that offers monthly liquidity and complete transparency... View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Investment Return; Mathematical Methods; Risk and Uncertainty

September 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Penn Warranty Corporation

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Penn Warranty Corporation sold warranty contracts to the used car market. During the recession in 2008/2009 Penn's sales declined by 26% Instead of growing by 11% as forecasted. Also, disruptions in financial and insurance markets created a cash shortfall. In the... View Details

December 2010
Background Note

Risk and Reward in Venture Capital

By: William A. Sahlman

This note describes the payoff structure of investment in individual venture capital–backed companies and in venture capital portfolios. Venture Capital investments are characterized by high failure rate (0ver 50%) and a small number of given successes (greater than... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Analytics and Data Science; Failure; Performance; Information Technology

November 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Background Note

Note on School Choice in U.S. Public Education

This note surveys school choice in the United States. School choice characterizes the school assignment of approximately 56% of U.S. school-aged children and, in order of popularity, can be categorized into seven types: residential choice, private schools, intra- and... View Details

Keywords: Education; United States

Max H. Bazerman is Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His recent books... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; management consulting; pharmaceuticals

Web

Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century - Leadership

Insurance SEC established Federal regulations prohibit false advertising Influence: Low 40 1940 19 Military spending explodes Graduated income tax, Victory Tax adopted to fund war effort Rationing Influence: Medium-Low 50 1950 19 Military... View Details

Article

ESG Integration in Investment Management: Myths and Realities

By: Sakis Kotsantonis, Christopher Pinney and George Serafeim

The authors’ aim in this article is to set the record straight on the financial performance of sustainable investing while also correcting a number of other widespread misconceptions about this rapidly growing set of principles and methods. Myth Number 1:... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Sustainability; Investment Management; Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance

09 Nov 2023
HBS Case

What Will It Take to Confront the Invisible Mental Health Crisis in Business?

health research fund after his son experienced a psychotic break. In the following interview, Cohen, the L.E. Simmons Professor of Business Administration at HBS, discusses why it’s important for organizations to address mental health and... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Health

2025
Working Paper

Combining Complements: Theory and Evidence from Cancer Treatment Innovation

By: Rebekah Dix and Todd A. Lensman

Innovations often combine several components to achieve outcomes greater than the “sum of the parts.” We argue that such combination innovations can introduce an understudied inefficiency—a positive market expansion externality that benefits the owners of the... View Details

Working Paper

Covenant-Light Contracts and Creditor Coordination

By: Bo Becker and Victoria Ivashina

In 2015, 70% of newly issued leveraged loans had weaker enforcement features, called covenant-light or "cov-lite"; this is nearly a three-time increase in cov-lite issuance compared to a previous peak in 2007. We evaluate whether this development can be attributed to... View Details

Keywords: Credit Cycles; Loan Contracts; Debt Covenants; Contracts; Financing and Loans; Credit; Borrowing and Debt

SSRN

19 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Activist Board Members Increase Firm’s Market Value

returns for different firms on October 4, the day the SEC announced the delay. In particular, they compared the return for companies where investors known for being activists held large stakes. ("Activist investors" is used here to refer to hedge View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

July–August 2013
Article

Six Ways to Sink a Growth Initiative

By: Donald L. Laurie and J. Bruce Harreld

The conventional wisdom about how best to pursue growth—launch a slew of initiatives in high-potential areas; appoint some promising young managers to lead them; locate them safely away from the established businesses—is a recipe for failure, according to the authors.... View Details

Keywords: Failure; Growth and Development Strategy