Publications

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17 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Price of Capital: Evidence from Trade Data

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro & Faisal Z. Ahmed

September 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Sobha Group Real Estate: Backward Integration for Quality

By: John Macomber and Alpana Thapar

From humble beginnings in Kerala, India, Mr. PNC Menon built a reputation for quality, detail, and trustworthiness, earning him major construction commissions in the Gulf region. This paved the way for venturing into real estate development in Dubai, UAE. Striving to... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Backward Integration; Land Acquisition; Raising Capital; Construction; Family Business; Decision Making; Joint Ventures; Quality; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; India; Middle East; Dubai

28 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Architectural Innovation and Dynamic Competition: The Smaller “Footprint” Strategy

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark; Computer

March 2017 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Corey Thomas and the IPO

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Collins

Corey Thomas, the African American CEO of the company Rapid7, must decide if it is the right time to take the 15-year-old company public, as it stood poised to capitalize on what appeared to be the next frontier for digital technology markets—cybersecurity. In spite of... View Details

Keywords: Business Finance; Capital Markets; Private Equity; Internet and the Web; Initial Public Offering; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

Ashish Nanda is Senior Lecturer and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator at Harvard Business School. From 2018 to 2021, he was course head for the MBA Required Curriculum course in Strategy. Beginning in 2022, he is teaching an MBA Elective... View Details

January 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Blackstone at Age 30

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

Since its IPO in 2007 and following the global financial crisis, Blackstone largely outpaced its alternative investment firm peers in assets under management, new business launches, profitability, and market capitalization. Under the leadership of Stephen A.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

June 2014
Article

Frictions in Shadow Banking: Evidence from the Lending Behavior of Money Market Funds

By: Sergey Chernenko and Adi Sunderam

We document the consequences of money market fund risk taking during the European sovereign debt crisis. Using a novel data set of security-level holdings of prime money market funds, we show that funds with large exposures to risky Eurozone banks suffered significant... View Details

Keywords: Money Market Mutual Funds; European Sovereign Debt Crisis; Runs; Contagion; Risk Taking; Investment Funds; Financial Crisis; Europe

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Geoffrey Jones is the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, and Faculty Chair of the School's Business History Initiative. He holds degrees of BA, MA and PhD from Cambridge University, UK. He has an honorary Doctorate in Economics and Business Administration... View Details

Keywords: banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking; banking

October 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Hony, CIFA, and Zoomlion: Creating Value and Strategic Choices in a Dynamic Market

By: Josh Lerner and Yiwen Jin

The private equity group Hony Capital considers what to do with their investment in Zoomlion, which has been successful to date. The question is whether to take their money off the table or to invest in their acquisition of a large Italian competitor. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Strategy; Investment; Emerging Markets; Financial Services Industry; China

2020
Working Paper

Best Ideas

By: Miguel Antón, Randolph B. Cohen and Christopher Polk

We ﬁnd that the stocks in which active mutual fund or hedge fund managers display the most conviction towards ex-ante, their “Best ideas,” outperform the market, as well as the other stocks in those managers’ portfolios, by approximately 2.8 to 4.5 percent per year,... View Details

Keywords: Mutual Funds; Managerial Skill; Market Efficiency; Investment Funds; Management; Investment Portfolio; Decision Making

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November 1973 (Revised November 1991)
Case

Economy Shipping Co. (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Piper

Shipping company must choose among several mutually exclusive investment projects. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Projects; Shipping Industry

15 May 2017
Blog Post

Exploring Career Options at HBS

While working in investment banking and e-commerce roles, I realized the importance of interpersonal and leadership skills in successfully growing an organization. My decision to attend business school was... View Details

May 2004 (Revised October 2007)
Background Note

Best Practices: Decision Making Among Venture Capital Firms

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

Describes investment decision-making processes, based on interviews with 56% of the top 38 venture capital firms in the country. Discusses some implications for the future growth of the industry. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Venture Capital; Investment; Industry Growth

December 1994 (Revised December 1995)
Case

The JKJ Pension Fund

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

The JKJ pension fund currently has $187 million invested in 14 properties. Sarah Griffin, the portfolio manager for real estate, needs to value each of the properties and recommend which ones should be sold and which ones to hold. She further needs to recommend... View Details

Keywords: Property; Investment Portfolio; Valuation; Investment Funds; Financial Management; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

September 2012
Case

Sir Alex Ferguson: Managing Manchester United

By: Anita Elberse and Thomas Dye

Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager in British football history, is preparing for the 2012–2013 season—his record-setting 26th as manager of one of the world's most decorated professional football clubs and one of sport's biggest franchises. Over the years... View Details

Keywords: Managing Teams; Leading Teams; European Football; Sports; Leadership; Sports Industry; England; United Kingdom; Europe

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

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January 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Google Car

By: Karim R. Lakhani, James Weber and Christine Snively

By 2013, Google, while not a traditional manufacturer of automobiles, had invested millions of dollars in its self-driving cars which had logged over 500,000 miles of testing. The Google management team faced several questions. Should Google continue to invest in the... View Details

Keywords: Digital Services; Innovation; Technology; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; Transportation; Auto Industry; United States