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16 Jun 2021
Blog Post

Seeing Everyday as a New Adventure: Reflections for Father's Day

Chad Losee, HBS MBA 2013 graduate and current HBS Managing Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, shares his experience being a dad to his four boys. Tell us about your family. My wife and I have four growing boys. Lots of energy... View Details

February 2024
Case

Chime Solutions

By: Shai Bernstein, William R. Kerr, Christopher Stanton, Raymond Kluender and Mel Martin

Just two years after launching its 10k by 2020 initiative to hire 10,000 employees by 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilson to send nearly all of his staff at Chime Solutions (Chime) to work from home. Chime was a customer contact firm... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Service Operations; Recruitment; Performance; Change Management; Retention; Financial Institutions; Employee Relationship Management; Talent and Talent Management; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States

January 2021
Case

The FIRE Savings Calculator

By: Michael Parzen and Paul Hamilton

This case follows Carol Muñoz, a member of the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) lifestyle movement. At the age of 45, Carol is considering retiring and living off the $1 million she has accumulated. Using Monte Carlo simulation, Carol forecasts the... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Personal Finance; Saving; Risk and Uncertainty; Diversification; Theory; Personal Development and Career; Financial Services Industry

July 2010
Supplement

Post-Crisis Compensation at Credit Suisse (B)

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

The (B) case describes how Credit Suisse management allocated the cost of the 25% U.K. banker's tax among shareholders, U.K. managing directors, and the other employees globally. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Cost; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Taxation; Compensation and Benefits; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Switzerland; United Kingdom

August 2001 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Maria Hernandez & Associates

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

This case presents the situation of an unemployed web page designer who starts a new consulting firm with personal savings and a family loan. Two months later, she is to report on operations to her father, using financial reports she must design and construct. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Accounting; Business Startups; Design; Borrowing and Debt; Service Industry

December 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Balancing Returns and Responsibilities at Raya Partners

By: Arthur Segel, Ephraim Mernick, Derek C. M. van Bever and Olivia Barba

Raya Partners, a private equity firm, faces a crucial decision regarding Asa Specialty Coatings Company (ASCC). The dilemma involves shifting ASCC's manufacturing operations to Mexico, a move that would boost profitability and reduce emissions but result in significant... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Communication Strategy; Private Equity; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Values and Beliefs; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Mexico; Vermont

October 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Background Note

Venture Capital Negotiations: VC versus Entrepreneur

By: Robert J. Robinson and Noam T. Wasserman

Introduces students to the challenging negotiations between venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. Explores interests, sources of negotiating power, barriers to reaching agreement, and common contractual terms. Describes how the parties try to reduce information... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry

Web

Organizational Behavior - Doctoral

the influence of individuals on organizational change, or the relationship between social missions and financial objectives. Your core disciplinary training will take place in either the psychology or sociology departments, depending on... View Details

2010
Working Paper

A Brief Postwar History of U.S. Consumer Finance

By: Andrea Ryan, Gunnar Trumbull and Peter Tufano

This article describes the consumer finance sector in the US since World War II. We first define the sector in terms of the functions delivered by firms (payments, savings/investing, borrowing, managing risk, and providing advice.) We provide time series evidence on... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Mortgages; Personal Finance; Business History; Innovation and Invention; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry; United States

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Article

The Cost Structure, Customer Profitability, and Retention Implications of Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel

By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This paper uses the context of online banking to investigate the consequences of employing self-service distribution channels to alter customer interactions with the firm. Using a sample of retail banking customers observed over a 30-month period at a large U.S. bank,... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Service Operations; Distribution Channels; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web; Banks and Banking; Technology Adoption; Service Delivery; Market Transactions; Market Participation; Profit; Retail Industry; Banking Industry; United States

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Article

Common Variants of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Do Not Predict the Positive Mood Benefits of Prosocial Spending

By: Ashley V. Whillans, Lara B. Aknin, Colin Ross, Lihan Chen and Frances S. Chen

Who benefits most from helping others? Previous research suggests that common polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) predict whether people behave generously and experience increases in positive mood in response to socially-focused experiences in daily... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Positivity; Behavior Genetics; Individual Differences; Behavior; Emotions; Genetics; Spending

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04 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 4

to develop Alfred’s routes and respond to customer requests in conjunction with other service providers, for example grocery delivery services, in what the founders describe as their "B2B2C"... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

How Europe Wrote the Rules of Global Finance

The United States has been both credited and criticized for its powerful role in promoting global financial liberalization—the flow of capital across country borders. But research by Harvard Business School Professor Rawi Abdelal has... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

Web

Resumes & Cover Letters - Alumni

required) Sample 2: Consulting to Operating Company Resume (login required) Sample 3: VP with Long Tenure Resume (login required) Sample 4: Exec. Ed. with Long Tenure Resume (login required) Sample 5: Financial View Details

2025
Working Paper

Incentive-Compatible Recovery from Manipulated Signals, with Applications to Decentralized Physical Infrastructure

By: Jason Milionis, Jens Ernstberger, Joseph Bonneau, Scott Duke Kominers and Tim Roughgarden

We introduce the first formal model capturing the elicitation of unverifiable information from a party (the "source") with implicit signals derived by other players (the "observers"). Our model is motivated in part by applications in decentralized physical... View Details

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March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales. These results were in marked contrast... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul