Publications

2013
Working Paper

Is a VC Partnership Greater Than the Sum of Its Partners?

By: Michael Ewens and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

This paper investigates whether individual venture capitalists have repeatable investment skill and to what extent their skill is impacted by the VC firm where they work. We examine a unique dataset that tracks the performance of individual venture capitalists'... View Details

Keywords: Investing; Persistence; Performance Persistence; Theory Of The Firm; Venture Capital; Organizations; Human Capital; Performance Evaluation

2012
Other Unpublished Work

Lost in the Clouds: The Impact of Copyright Scope on Investment in Cloud Computing Ventures

By: Josh Lerner and Greg Rafert

Our analysis seeks to understand the impact of changes in copyright scope on investment in new firms. We begin by analyzing the investment effects of the Cartoon Network, et al. v. Cablevision decision in the U.S. and court rulings in France and Germany on venture... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Investment; Business Startups; Copyright; France; Germany; United States; European Union

June 2021
Case

Building the Governance to Take Capital SAFI to the Next Level

By: V.G. Narayanan, Asis Martinez Jerez and Mariana Cal

Asset management firm Capital SAFI wanted to attract new strategic investors and expand to other countries. Having the right corporate governance in place was critical to achieve this goal. View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Transparency; Sustainable Finance; South America; Latin America; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business Organization; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry; Bolivia; South America; Latin America

19 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding Innovation: Is Your Firm Doing it Wrong?

urgent needs of the future. Start-ups, on the other hand, are intensely focused on innovation but are also beholden to the impatience and boom-and-bust cycles of the venture capital industry. In his new... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

September 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Chai Point: Disrupting Chai

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Ramana Nanda and Rachna Tahilyani

Chai Point is India’s largest organized chai retailer. It has missed its target for retail store openings by approximately 25%, goals that are very important to its investors who are also board members. However, it has developed an exciting new internet-based tea... View Details

07 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Rediscovering Schumpeter: The Power of Capitalism

If capitalism was the most influential single economic and social force of the 20th century (and continuing today), there is no better guide to understanding its power and complexity than famed economist Joseph Schumpeter, says Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education

July 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Supplement

Eden McCallum: A Network-Based Consulting Firm (B)

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Erin McFee

To weather the 2009 financial crisis, Eden McCallum's cofounders must renegotiate partners' compensation, attract independent consultants to meet different client demands, and reassure their Advisory Board that their network-based consulting model remains sound. The... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Entrepreneurship; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Partners and Partnerships; Consulting Industry

1999
Other Unpublished Work

Executive Ownership and Control in Newly Public Firms: The Role of Venture Capitalists

By: Malcolm Baker and Paul Gompers

We study the implications of CEO equity ownership for incentives and control in a sample of 1,011 newly public firms. Before an initial public offering, equity investments by venture capitalists reduce CEO ownership by about half, from an average of 35 percent to 19... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Venture Capital; Managerial Roles; Cost Management; Governance Controls; Executive Compensation

2022
Article

The Effects of Public and Private Equity Markets on Firm Behavior

By: Shai Bernstein

In this article, I review the theoretical and empirical literature on the effects of public and private equity markets on firm behavior, emphasizing the consequences that emerge from disclosure requirements, ownership concentration, and degree of firm standardization.... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance And Governance; Financing Policy; Commercialization; Capital Markets; Private Equity; Public Equity; Venture Capital; Innovation and Invention; Cost of Capital

Find at Harvard

March 2020
Technical Note

Intrapreneurship: Leading Innovation Efforts in Established Organizations

By: Karen G. Mills and Annie Dang

“Intrapreneurship” is the use of entrepreneurial management techniques within established companies to create new environments that foster innovation. Mature firms have consistently faced risk of elimination from competitors, shifting consumer preferences, and... View Details

Keywords: Intrapreneurship; Innovation; Corporate Venture Capital; Accelerators; Incubators; Lean Startup; Hypothesis Testing; Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Framework; Disruption

23 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

In Venture Capital, Birds of a Feather Lose Money Together

program at HBS, many of whom pursue careers in the venture capital industry. In fact, people with Harvard MBAs make up 24.4 percent of the professional ranks at venture View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

20 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

Rocket-tunity: Can Private Firms Turn a Profit in Space?

is on Commercial space ventures have received more than $18.4 billion of investment since 2000, according to the Start-Up Space 2018 report from research firm Bryce Space and Technology. Weinzierl says... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Wallask; Aerospace; Tourism; Transportation

February 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Butler Capital Partners and Autodistribution: Putting Private Equity to Work in France

Describes a proposed buyout transaction of Autodistribution, an entrepreneurial firm that is the leading car-parts distributor in France. The deal became feasible because of a failed takeover battle for Autodistribution's parent company. Private equity investor Butler... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Valuation; Executive Compensation; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Industry; Auto Industry; France

15 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These VC Partners May Make Your Firm Less Innovative

“which is a fancy way of referring to all of the things you don’t have as a new company—products, knowledge, connections, resources.” The most common and effective way to make up for that lack is to find someone who can help you overcome it—most often a View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

2006
Article

Cyclical Wages in a Search-and-Bargaining Model with Large Firms

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Business Ventures

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Article

How Big are the Private Equity Transactions in Latin America?: Evidence from Twenty-five Countries from 2001 to 2008

By: Roberto Charvel

This article shows evidence on private equity transaction size and firm value size in 25 Latin American countries. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Venture Capital; Alternative Assets; Latin America; Emerging Market; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Ventures; Finance; Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry; Latin America

December 2006 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Lion Capital and the Blackstone Group: The Orangina Deal

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

The managing partners of two private equity firms are hoping to forestall a third bidding round for a target company, the European beverage division of Cadbury Schweppes. As they wait to meet with the CEO, they revisit their assumptions on the deal and review the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Process; Partners and Partnerships; Valuation; Europe

2009
Chapter

Small and Medium Firm Lending in Mexico: Lessons and Current Issues

By: Rodrigo Canales and Ramana Nanda

Mexico is often cited as one of the world's most entrepreneurial countries in terms of the percentage of its population that has started or is in the process of starting a business venture. Yet Mexico does not seem to be very friendly to entrepreneurs, as confirmed by... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Policy; Competition; Mexico