Publications

November 2009
Case

The HLB Turnaround

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Bhaskar Chakravorti and Laura Winig

Ford Pearson has recently taken over as CEO of HLB, a Chicago-based product design and development firm (and once one of the largest in the business), to help turn it around after a series of crises that had seriously threatened its survival. Pearson has personally... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Business or Company Management; Private Equity; Restructuring; Product Design; Corporate Finance

June 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

The Role of Real Estate in Endowment Portfolios: The Case of Christ Church, Oxford

By: David Chambers, Elroy Dimson, Arthur I Segel and Eva Steiner

The case centers on Christ Church's Treasurer, James Lawrie, who is contemplating his options for investing a portion of the College's endowment in real estate. Approximately 1/3 of the total $690 million endowment was allocated towards real estate, much higher than... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Endowment Management; Endowments; United Kingdom; Oxford; Portfolio Allocation; Higher Education; Investment Portfolio; Property; Corporate Finance; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

August 2016
Teaching Note

The Role of Real Estate in Endowment Portfolios: The Case of Christ Church College

By: Arthur I. Segel and Alexander W. Schultz

The case centers on Christ Church’s Treasurer, James Lawrie, who is contemplating his options for investing a portion of the College’s endowment in real estate. Approximately 1/3 of the total $690 million endowment was allocated towards real estate, much higher than... View Details

Keywords: Portfolio Allocation; Oxford; England; Real Estate; University Endowment; Higher Education; Investment Portfolio; Property; Corporate Finance; Financial Services Industry; England

12 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 12

system rather than a government-controlled system. Book: http://www.gale.cengage.com/servlet/ItemDetailServletCr?region=9&imprint=070&titleCode=GCCL&cf=p&type=3&id=254645 Corporate Ownership Structure and Bank Loan... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 17, 2006

across their internal corporate departments lead their facilities to prioritize different institutional pressures and thus adopt different management practices. Specifically, we argue that external constituents who interact with... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Appalachian Mountain Club: Transforming Governance

By: Walter J. Salmon and Jaan Elias

Starting in 1988, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) began a controversial transformation in management and governance. For its first 112 years, the AMC's structure had resembled that of a country club--volunteer leaders directed the club's operations and its small,... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Transformation; Corporate Governance; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Labor and Management Relations; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Research Summary

Sustainability and Integrated Reporting

A sustainable strategy for a company is one that enables it to create value for shareholders over the long term while contributing to a sustainable society. In doing so, it must balance the needs of different types of providers of financial capital (e.g.,... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting

23 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 23

high rates of return on corporate political investment, but evidence for this puzzle is largely descriptive in nature. We exploit the setting of the American Jobs Creation Act's passage in 2004 to provide more robust estimates of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

16 Jun 2021
HBS Case

Cruising in Crisis: How Carnival Is Riding Out the COVID-19 Storm

companies are often considered financially distressed. “Indeed, early in the pandemic, with the financial markets in turmoil, Carnival reportedly entered into discussions with a group of private equity and hedge fund investors—who typically specialize in buying the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Travel

16 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 16

for those three resources. Many corporations and investors assume that fixing cities is the purview of government. But governments around the world are stuck-financially, politically, or both. Implementing solutions to the problems of... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

31 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 31

PublicationsFinancial Development, Fixed Costs and International Trade Authors:Bo Becker, David Greenberg, and Jinzhu Chen Publication:Review of Corporate Finance Studies (forthcoming) Abstract Exporting firms face significant up-front... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

23 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

After High-Profile Failures, Can Investors Still Trust Credit Ratings?

Credit ratings play an essential role in global finance by assessing whether borrowers can meet their debt obligations. Agency analysts study data from financial statements to make initial assessments about bond issuers, which include... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

12 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Accounting Information as Political Currency

Corporate donations to political campaigns reveal a lot about mutual back-scratching in the political and business arenas. Now new research from Harvard Business School reveals that corporate giving may... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

International Rivers Network and the Bujagali Dam Project (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

In the summer of 2002, the International Rivers Network (IRN), an environmental NGO located in Berkeley, California, was engaged in what appeared to be the last hours of a three year campaign to stop a $582 million dam and hydropower project at Bujagali Falls in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Project Finance; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Projects; Developing Countries and Economies; Energy Industry; Uganda

18 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 18, 2006

debt needed to fund the transaction. Covers issues such as identifying and attracting bidders; dealing with the concerns of the managers of the selling company; negotiating issues in a definitive merger agreement; and post-sale issues.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research, May 16

diverse perspectives that will help them compete. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52624 May–June 2017 Harvard Business Review The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership By: Bower, Joseph L., and Lynn... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

Cheng, J. Yo-Jud, and Boris Groysberg Abstract—: Corporate directors and executives alike recognize that today’s pace of change continues to accelerate and that firms need to innovate to stay ahead. But are boards doing enough to support... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

March 2021
Supplement

Making Impact Investing Markets: IFC (B)

By: Shawn A. Cole, John Masko and T. Robert Zochowski

In 2018, Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya (known as Krungsri), was considering whether to participate in the first issue of a new financial instrument from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), known as a gender bond. Building on the success of the Green Bond program... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Equity; Bonds; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development; Emerging Markets; Non-Governmental Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Instruments; Gender; Financial Services Industry; Thailand