Publications

April 2007
Case

Microfinance in Bolivia: A Meeting with the President of the Republic

By: Michael Chu

Herbert Muller, chair of leading microfinance bank BancoSol, has met with Evo Morales one year after the populist leader's inauguration as president of Bolivia and proceeds to write an email to his fellow board directors. The bank is world famous for pioneering... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Race; Government Administration; Business and Government Relations; Microfinance; Poverty; Interest Rates; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Bolivia; South America

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Web

Planned Giving - Alumni

Giving Planned Giving Giving Planned Giving Leave a Legacy Through planned giving, you can use a variety of strategies and assets to support HBS during your lifetime or at your passing, while also fulfilling your financial planning goals.... View Details

May 2013
Case

Bridgewater Associates

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Heidi K. Gardner

Bridgewater Associates was the world's largest hedge fund with approximately $120 billion in assets under management in mid-2012, and its leaders attribute its record-beating performance to the firm's culture of "radical transparency." The founder, Ray Dalio, was... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Performance; Leadership Style; Investment; Financial Services Industry

14 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 14

Abstract—To set inventory service levels, firms must understand how changes in service level affect customer demand. While the effects of service level changes have been... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

The Dark Side of Fintech Borrowing

that fintechs attract a different type of loan-seeker—one with a higher propensity to overspend—which is not something easily captured in their credit reports. The rise of fintechs Fintech lending’s popularity exploded in the years following the View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services; Financial Services

28 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 28

October 2014 Review of Financial Studies Corporate Investment and Stock Market Listing: A Puzzle? By: Asker, John, Joan Farre-Mensa, and Alexander Ljungqvist Abstract—We investigate whether short-termism distorts the investment decisions... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

David A. Thomas

David Thomas is H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His research addresses issues related to executive development, cultural diversity in organizations, leadership and organizational change. He recently served as a... View Details

Keywords: financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services

18 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?

Recent high-profile financial meltdowns at Bitcoin, Celsius, and Terraform Labs, which together wiped out hundreds of billions in market value, helped trigger a flight from the cryptocurrency market, driving its value from $2.9 trillion... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Financial Services; Financial Services

February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Amram Migdal

This case examines Blue Haven Initiative (BHI), an impact investing fund and family office, and one of its investments, PEGAfrica (PEG). BHI founder Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ motivations for using her family wealth to start a family office focused on impact investing,... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Family Office; Development; International Development; International Development Investing; Development Fund; Sustainability; Solar Energy; Solar; Pay As You Go; PAYG; MFI; Social Venture; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Economics; Development Economics; Energy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Assets; Asset Pricing; Capital; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Venture Capital; Cash; Cash Flow; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Stock Shares; Financing and Loans; Microfinance; International Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Price; Geography; Geographic Location; Emerging Markets; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Private Ownership; Social Enterprise; Value; Valuation; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Africa; United States

21 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 21

ratings play an important role in the financial system, but investors and regulators who use ratings cannot easily verify their quality, and ratings are paid for by the firms whose bonds are rated. The provision of quality ratings is at... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Business History - Faculty & Research

shops. Keywords: Business Model ; Cultural Entrepreneurship ; Social Entrepreneurship ; Business History ; Business and Government Relations ; Technological Innovation ; Cash ; Culture ; Distribution Industry ; Financial View Details

Web

Faculty - Creating Emerging Markets

Professor of Business Administration Research Interests : customer behavior , customer satisfaction , service management , service operations , service quality Interviews... View Details

07 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

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

coins and tokens—payments they often fail to disclose. Unfortunately for retail investors, following online crypto advice, especially from self-described “experts,” has the potential to bring significant View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Web

Case Studies - Social Impact Collaboratory

to design use investment capital to create social change. Key Themes: The social impact bond is a unique financial contract that allows investors to fund social service organizations with the potential to... View Details

August 2019 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Paradigm Capital Value Fund

By: Luis M. Viceira and Elena Corsi

Karl Jan Erick Hummel had founded Paradigm Capital Value Fund in 2007 together with Columbia Business School Professor Bruce Greenwald, an expert in value investing and now chairman of the fund. The fund followed the principles of value investing to their target... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Investment Portfolio; Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

August 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Discerene Group: Long-Term Public-Markets Investing

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brent Schwarz

This case discusses active investing based on fundamental valuations and price distortions created by market events, and whether contractual terms between investment managers and their investors can help align incentives between long-term investors and active managers.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Valuation; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; Connecticut