Publications

12 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 12

experiment to examine the effect of management fiduciary duties on equity‐debt conflicts. A 1991 Delaware bankruptcy ruling changed the nature of corporate directors' fiduciary duties in firms incorporated... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

16 Dec 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The End of Chimerica

Keywords: by Niall Ferguson & Moritz Schularick

January 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (A): True to Brand?

By: Jeffrey Fear and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Examines one of the most important entrepreneurial decisions made in the history of Porsche, made in early 1998: to build a sport utility vehicle (SUV)--the Cayenne. After decades of relying on one or two sports car models and nearly going bankrupt and losing its... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Supply Chain Management; Luxury; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry

October 1995 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Beechwood Spouts (B)

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Eight months has passed since Barker first invested in Beechwood Spouts, and the company's situation has deteriorated. The problems appear to be resolved. Barker must now decide whether to participate in a crucial bridge financing round, without which the company will... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Information

November 2010 (Revised September 2015)
Case

American International Group - 2010

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

The AIG Board underwent significant restructuring after the company was bailed out by the U.S. government in September 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Business and Government Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Restructuring; Financial Services Industry

March 2000 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Iridium LLC

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Fuaad Qureshi and William J Olson

This case involves part of a module on financing large projects in the elective curriculum course entitled "Large-Scale Investment." It is set in August 1999, just after Iridium, a global communications firm, declared bankruptcy. Although the case describes Iridium's... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Communications Industry; Technology Industry

26 Oct 2010
First Look

First Look: October 26, 2010

information-rich "opportunistic" trades that contains all the predictive power in the insider trading universe. A portfolio strategy that focuses solely on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 1982 (Revised June 1990)
Case

Massey-Ferguson Ltd.—1980

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Scott P. Mason

Massey Ferguson began fiscal year 1981 in default on $2.5 billion of outstanding debt. The company's future depends on the ability of lenders, the governments of Canada and Ontario, and management, to agree on a refinancing plan. The case reviews Massey's performance... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Financial Markets; Financing and Loans; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance; Canada

15 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 15

geographically insulate their trades from the broader commerce, creating in effect two circuits. Yet the professionals also promote specific practices of trade within their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2011 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Countrywide plc

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

One of the world's leading investors in distressed companies, Oaktree Capital Management, is contemplating a "loan to own" investment in the debt of Countrywide plc, a financially troubled residential real estate agent based in the U.K. Only sixteen months earlier,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Financial Crisis; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Management; Investment; Real Estate Industry; United Kingdom

March 1991 (Revised January 1996)
Case

The General Mills Board and Strategic Planning

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Examines the General Mills Board of Directors' role in the General Mills joint venture with Nestle S.A. to sell cereals outside of North America. It raises the more general question of the appropriate role for the board of directors in strategy formulation. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Trade; Corporate Governance; Managerial Roles; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; North America

January 2003 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Multinationals as Engines of Growth?

By: Geoffrey G. Jones

Reviews the issues surrounding estimating the impact over time of multinationals on host economies. Uses a series of short historical case studies, including the role of United Fruit in the "banana" republics of Central America, oil and banking in Iran before the... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Trade; Growth and Development; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Globalized Economies and Regions; Iran; United States; Malaysia; Japan

Find at Harvard

June 1991 (Revised May 1992)
Case

Cumberland Worldwide Corp. (B)

Cumberland has been in Chapter 11 for 18 months and is trying to formulate a plan of reorganization that will satisfy a variety of claimants. Teaching objective: valuation and negotiation issues. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy

04 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 4, 2018

Republican administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush and the Democratic administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton during its implementation. It created the largest free trade area in the world... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Career Coach

Kendall Borges

purpose, and meaning and how to incorporate more of it in their work. Previously, Kendall oversaw the HBS coaching program, managing and training a roster of 50+ career coaches who supported HBS students and alumni. Before joining HBS,... View Details

Keywords: Health Care

16 Feb 2016
First Look

February 16, 2016

the Modern Administrative State, 1912–1925: Trade Associations, Codes of Fair Competition, and State Building By: Sawyer, Laura Phillips Abstract—From its founding in 1912 through the interwar years, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Profile

Fereshteh Zeineddin

Why was earning your MBA here important to you? I was at a point in my career when I wanted to transition into brand management. I knew that to become a great brand manager, I needed to gain a better understanding of all aspects of... View Details

Keywords: Retail

March 2011 (Revised December 2017)
Background Note

The IMF: The Washington Consensus, the Critics, and the New Challenges as China Rises

By: Rafael M. Di Tella, Natalie Kindred and Monica Baraldi

How the International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines and carries out its mandate has evolved considerably since 1944, when it was founded to serve a vital but narrow function in maintaining the global foreign exchange system and thus enabling international trade. This... View Details

Keywords: History; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Trade; Financial Institutions; Macroeconomics; Financial Services Industry