Publications

Find at Harvard

January 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Case

United Breaks Guitars

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

When social media propagate a complaint about poor customer service, an international media event ensues. How do viral videos spread and what can firms do about them? This case dissects an incident in which a disgruntled customer used YouTube and Twitter to spread a... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Network Effects; Service Delivery; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet; Air Transportation Industry

Howard H. Stevenson is Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor emeritus, former Senior Associate Dean, Director of Publishing, and Chair of the Harvard Business Publishing Company board. The Sarofim-Rock Chair was established in 1982 to provide a continuing base for... View Details

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

Bank Capital and the Growth of Private Credit

We show that business development companies (BDCs)—closed-end funds that provide a significant share of nonbank loans to middle market firms—are very well capitalized according to bank capital frameworks. They have median risk-based capital ratios of about 36% and,... View Details

13 May 2002
Op-Ed

A Cure for Enron-Style Audit Failures

committee be independent and financially literate, and that at least one have accounting or equivalent experience. The audit committee chairman should have this experience and the leadership to insist on full and complete discussions.... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Lorsch; Accounting

14 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Reforming New Orleans Schools After Katrina

organization that could help schools coordinate with each other and receive shared support services without creating the dysfunction of a large urban district. “One of the benefits of being a charter school... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

May 2011
Supplement

Dharavi: Developing Asia's Largest Slum (B)

By: Lakshmi Iyer and John Macomber

In July 2009, as investors prepared to submit financial bids for the $3 billion Dharavi slum redevelopment project, considerable economic and political risks remained. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Private Equity; Social Issues; Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Mumbai

December 1998 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Korea Stock Exchange, 1998

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and James Chang

Following a major financial crisis, the South Korean government attempted to revive the Korea Stock Exchange to spur equity investment in Korean companies. This case describes the reforms undertaken so far and the challenges that lay ahead. View Details

Keywords: Equity; Stocks; Restructuring; Emerging Markets; Corporate Governance; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; South Korea

January 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Change; Disruption; Volatility; Communication; Competency and Skills; Customers; Decision Making; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Goods and Commodities; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Executive Compensation; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Job Design and Levels; Job Interviews; Job Offer; Labor; Employment; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Law; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Succession; Management Systems; Management Teams; Risk Management; Operations; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Science; Strategy; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; Minnesota

25 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 25

Working PapersAnger and Regulation Authors:Rafael Di Tella and Juan DubraNBER Working Paper Series, No. 15201, August 2009 Abstract We propose a model where voters experience an emotional cost when they observe a firm that has displayed insufficient concern for View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

25 May 2016
Blog Post

Meet the Africa Business Club

The Africa Business Club is a student-run organization at the Harvard Business School. We provide services and resources for African students, students who've worked in Africa and any student with a professional or cultural interest in... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

November 2019
Case

Celebrity Fashions Limited (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Tanvi Deshpande and Shreya Ramachandran

In May 2017 in Chennai, India, the chairman of Celebrity Fashions doubted whether the company could last until the end of the year. Venkatesh Rajagopal had found that the company, a readymade garment manufacturing and exporter he founded in 1989, was having a hard time... View Details

Keywords: Turnarounds; Operations; Management; Financial Condition; Problems and Challenges; Communication; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Manufacturing Industry

Research Summary

Trust

By: Deepak Malhotra

My research on trust falls into two broad categories. First, I study barriers to trust development, and focus on mechanisms that might help to overcome these barriers. One recent project analyzes over 150,000 pages of documents concerning 102-interfirm disputes to... View Details

11 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Meet the MBA Class of 2020

Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resources & Service Administration HBS ACTIVITIES Social Chair, Health Care Club, HBS... View Details

February 2001
Case

California PERS (B)

By: Jay O. Light, Jay W. Lorsch, James O. Sailer and Katharina Pick

The largest state pension fund continues the evolution of its approach to corporate governance contemplating "relationship investing" and other new approaches. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Governance; Financial Management; Asset Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry; California

September 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Discovery Health (B)

By: Samuel S. Chun and Shaun Matisonn

A South African health insurance company grapples with designing a financially viable coverage solution for a new prescription drug treatment for male impotence. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Service Delivery; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance Industry; South Africa

29 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Risky Trust: How Multi-entity Teams Develop Trust in a High Risk Endeavor

Keywords: by Faaiza Rashid & Amy C. Edmondson

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

evidence from two large banking organizations, I argue that systematic variations in ERM practices exist in the financial services industry. The cases illustrate four risk management ideal types and show how... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2010 (Revised April 2014)
Case

American Well: The Doctor Will E-See You Now

By: Elie Ofek and Ron Laufer

What is next for healthcare IT provider American Well, whose innovative Online Care technology allows physicians to deliver care to patients online in real time? Using American Well's platform, patients with non-emergency health concerns can communicate with physicians... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Service Delivery; Online Technology; Health Industry

January 2021
Article

State and Local Government Employment in the COVID-19 Crisis

By: Daniel Green and Erik Loualiche

Local governments are facing large losses in revenues and increased expenditures because of the COVID-19 crisis. We document a causal relationship between fiscal pressures induced by COVID-19 and the layoffs of state and local government workers. States that depend... View Details

Keywords: Local Government; Municipal Finance; Public Finance; Fiscal Capacity; Fiscal Policy; Governance; Local Range; Health Pandemics; Employment; Finance; Policy; Public Sector