Publications

February 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Fondeadora

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Mitchell Weiss

Norman Müller and René Serrano, cofounders of Fondeadora, a Mexican “neobank,” had lined up a $12.5 million in Series A funding round in 2020 only to run into a major obstacle: The lead investor was Gradient Ventures, a venture firm launched by Alphabet, Inc., and... View Details

Keywords: Fundraising; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financial Institutions; Business Startups; Government Legislation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Mexico City; Latin America

May 2025
Case

Windsurf and the AI Code Assistant Market

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Sudhanshu Nath Mishra and Radhika Kak

In April 2025, the founding team of Windsurf, an AI start-up specializing in code generation gathered in Mountain View, California, to assess its remarkable year of growth. The company had scaled from a niche GitHub Copilot alternative to a breakout player with over... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry; United States

June 2011
Article

Watch What I Do, Not What I Say: The Unintended Consequences of the Homeland Investment Act

By: Dhammika Dharmapala, C. Fritz Foley and Kristin J. Forbes

This paper analyzes the impact of the Homeland Investment Act of 2004, which provided a one-time tax holiday for the repatriation of foreign earnings and thereby reduced the cost to U.S. multinationals of accessing a source of internal capital. Lawmakers and lobbyists... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Performance Effectiveness; Code Law; Taxation; Cost; Capital; Financial Strategy; Research and Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

21 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty Debate Financial Reform Legislation

research on financial markets and regulation and who, in many cases, have held leadership positions in the financial sector, think about the bill and its intended (and unintended) consequences? Below, HBS faculty members Robert Steven... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

July 2010 (Revised August 2021)
Supplement

Vereinigung Hamburger Schiffsmakler und Schiffsagenten e.V. (VHSS): Valuing Ships (CW)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Albert W. Sheen

After booming for more than five years, the global shipping (maritime) industry experienced a dramatic crash in late 2008 as the global financial system froze and the global economy slid into recession. Ship charter rates (revenue) fell by as much as 90% causing prices... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Capital Markets; Cash Flow; Financial Liquidity; Banks and Banking; Price; Price Bubble; Contracts; Crisis Management; Market Transactions; Valuation; Shipping Industry

17 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

‘Not a Bunch of Weirdos’: Why Mainstream Investors Buy Crypto

“are not a bunch of weirdos. They look and act just like investors in traditional asset markets.” Understanding this market is increasingly important. Cryptocurrencies’ global value has boomed to a market capitalization of $3 trillion in... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

Research Summary

Dissertation Summary

From a contractual viewpoint, the employment relations observed in the early 1960s in large unionized manufacturing firms in the U.S. and Japan represented two contrasting cases. Employment relations in the U.S. were based largely on explicit, elaborate, and... View Details

20 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 20

Publications August 2013 Journal of the European Economic Association Sovereigns, Upstream Capital Flows and Global Imbalances By: Alfaro, Laura, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, and Vadym Volosovych Abstract—We construct measures of net private... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

When Celebrity ‘Crypto-Influencers’ Rake in Cash, Investors Lose Big

leverage social media platforms to provide useful information and “use their influence to promote philanthropic endeavors and advocate for economic freedom.” When regulations lack bite Pacelli does not recommend outlawing paid promotion... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is Government Just Stupid? How Bad Decisions Are Made

"Washington" telling them what they can and cannot do with their property. Both sides battle for increased or decreased legislation while ignoring possibilities for wiser regulation through joint problem solving. When a sports... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, Jonathan Baron & Katherine Shonk

13 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 13

knowledge spillovers and capital market externalities exert a stronger impact on multinational firms while labor market pooling has a weaker effect. These findings remain robust when we examine entry decisions and explore the process of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2008 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Odyssey Healthcare

By: Robert F. Higgins, Virginia Fuller and Umer Raffat

In January 2001, Dick Burnham, CEO of Odyssey Healthcare, and Odyssey's Board of Directors were considering selling the hospice care company to a larger provider or making an initial public offering (IPO). With 38 hospice locations in 21 states, Odyssey had been... View Details

Keywords: Liquidity; Venture Creation/development; Hospice; Venture Capital; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Plan; Entrepreneurship; Health Industry; United States

November 2019
Supplement

Hapag-Lloyd AG: Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

17 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 17

Business School Case 215-026 Longbow Capital Partners Longbow Capital Partners is a value-oriented long/short hedge fund focused on stocks in the energy sector. In January 2011, Longbow had invested in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Nov 2023
Book

Economic Growth Draws Companies to Asia. Can They Handle Its Authoritarian Regimes?

leaders have no political competition, or open autocracies like that of Russia, Turkey, and Malaysia, which hold elections but may lack safeguards and transparency that keep them fair. The book investigates the relationship between View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

Swedish capitalism is like.” Could this lead to the end of the high-tax “Swedish model” that like-minded nations have come to admire? Harvard Business School Professor Debora Spar, who has analyzed Sweden extensively, says no, the Swedish... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

21 Jul 2021
Research & Ideas

What Does an ESG Score Really Say About a Company?

Receiving more information can clarify the complex, but not when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores. A recent study shows that the more information a company discloses about its ESG practices, the more rating agencies disagree on how well... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

March 2021
Article

The Variation in Capacity Remuneration Requirements in European Electricity Markets

By: Conor Hickey, Derek Bunn, Paul Deane, Celine McInerney and Brian O' Gallachoir

This paper provides the first EU wide analysis of the variation in Capacity Remuneration Requirements throughout Europe which aim to resolve the “missing money” problems in various member states. The findings of this analysis point to an asymmetric investment case for... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Regulation; Investment; Utilities Industry; Europe

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