Publications

25 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 25, 2018

Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55022 Who Should Select New Employees in Geographically Dispersed Organizations: Headquarters or the Unit Manager? Consequences of Centralizing Hiring at a Retail... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

August 2024
Case

Circle: Reinventing the Future of Money

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

In early 2024, Circle Internet Financial's leadership team gathered to discuss the company's strategic path as it prepared for an IPO. Founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire, Circle had emerged as a pioneer in digital finance through its USD Coin (USDC), a regulated... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Governance Compliance; Initial Public Offering; Competition; Financial Services Industry

July 2021
Supplement

CIAM: Home-Grown Shareholder Activism in France (B)

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Tonia Labruyere and Vincent Dessain

This case is a complement to CIAM: Home-Grown Shareholder Activism in France (A) and describes the events after CIAM learned about a potential misuse of corporate assets at Altice/SFR. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Valuation; Investment Activism; Accounting; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; France

05 Mar 2014
What Do You Think?

When Will the Next Dot.com Bubble Burst?

acquisitions and the price paid per employee are once again fueling headlines. (A better yardstick might be price per user, which in the case of WhatsApp was about $40 for a service with no advertising and a revenue stream of $1 per year... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail; Retail

March 2025
Case

Silicon Valley Bank: Gone in 36 Hours

By: Jung Koo Kang, Krishna G. Palepu, Charles C.Y. Wang and David Lane

This case examines factors contributing to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March 2023, an event as unpredicted as it was quick. SVB funded nearly half of all U.S. venture-backed startups and at the end of 2022 held $173 billion in deposits, largely... View Details

December 1999
Case

Brierley Investments Limited

By: Paul M. Healy

Brierley's is an investment company that has performed poorly in the New Zealand market. Management has prepared a report of the intrinsic value of the company's investments. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance Evaluation; Investment; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; New Zealand

February 2014
Teaching Note

Advising Families on Estate Planning

By: Robert C. Pozen

Sean Warrick is an estate planning adviser at Hellwig & Macon. He is preparing for meetings with two clients. His first clients are Peggy and David Bartley, a professional married couple of moderate wealth. His second clients are Ray and Michelle Polanski, a couple... View Details

Keywords: Estate Planning; Estate Tax; Gift Tax; Gift Giving; Generation Skipping Tax; Tax Accounting; Tax Strategy; Taxes; Taxation; Retirement; Financial Services Industry; United States

02 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 2, 2007

emerging paradigms governing marketing in this new media environment. It concludes that while meaning-making remains the central purpose of marketing communication, the shift from broadcasting to interaction within digital communities is... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Creating the First Public Law Firm: The IPO of Slater & Gordon Limited

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Slater & Gordon (S&G), a midsized Australian law firm with a high-growth consolidation strategy, had an initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for May 2007. Due to a series of regulatory changes in Australia in recent years, the IPO provided an opportunity for S&G to... View Details

Keywords: IPO; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Law Firm; Value Drivers; Growth Strategy; Revenue Recognition; Roll-up; Consolidator; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Consolidation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Strategy; Growth Management; Corporate Governance; Business Strategy; Legal Services Industry; Legal Services Industry; Australia

01 Jun 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Social Reporting

benefit the environment as well as a company's bottom line," Rangan adds. Good examples are the early childhood literacy initiative of PNC, a financial services organization based in Pittsburgh, and the 10,000 Women initiative of... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

19 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Should Compete for Your Privacy

data—in some cases in exchange for free services or lower prices—as well as firms that pledge to keep a lid on people's information, but often charge consumers higher prices. Firms competing with privacy tend to benefit from engaging in... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

20 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 20, 2007

Roger's big bet. Implementing it required making six other bets: continuing to sell stand-alone DVRs in the retail market, despite rapidly eroding market share; distributing TiVo service in partnership with... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2006 (Revised May 2006)
Case

JA Worldwide: Managing Change in a Multi-governed Environment

By: Michael Chu and Barbara Zepp Larson

Post-merger, the head of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide must now oversee operations in 98 countries serving 6.6 million students, with over 7,600 local chapter board directors. President and CEO David Chernow's own board has increased to 111 members. Two separate... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance; Business or Company Management; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Balance and Stability

Find at Harvard

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Firestone/Ford Tire Controversy, The (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Roger Orosman Nieves

Examines the high-profile Firestone/Ford product recall/investigation that took place in the summer of 2000. Focuses on the management of supplier relationships and incentives. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Supply Chain Management; Motivation and Incentives; Crisis Management; Corporate Accountability; Product; Service Operations; Auto Industry

04 Apr 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Can Mark Zuckerberg Rebuild Trust in Facebook?

on Amazon; they help curate the kind of books I might like, I actually like that service. And if I'm looking online at a retailer for a particular shirt, I don't mind them sending me ads for shirts. That's very, very different than when... View Details

14 Aug 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The State of Small Business Lending: Credit Access During the Recovery and How Technology May Change the Game

Keywords: by Karen Mills & Brayden McCarthy; Financial Services; Financial Services

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

pressure for antitrust revision came from the states. A perhaps unlikely leader, Edna Gleason, organized California's retail pharmacists and coordinated trade networks to monitor and enforce Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) contracts, a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2007 (Revised September 2010)
Case

ValueAct: Shareholder in the Boardroom

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak

ValueAct, a San Francisco investment firm, makes an investment in PerSe Technologies. The partners of ValueAct build relationships with the PerSe board and management. Eventually ValueAct is given a seat on the PerSe board and is able to influence a significant imprint... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Investment; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry; San Francisco