News & Highlights

  • May-June 2023
  • Event

Alumni Events in Warsaw and Prague with Professor Paul Gompers on his New Book

In May and June, the Europe Research Center collaborated with the Harvard Clubs of Poland and Prague to host alumni events. Professor Paul Gompers presented his book, Advanced Introduction to Private Equity, to Harvard alumni and supporters. Co-written with University of Chicago Professor Steven A. Kaplan, the book provides valuable insights on private equity for academics, students, young professionals, and industry veterans. The events were attended by about 40 Harvard alumni and friends.
  • April 2023
  • Cold Call Podcast

Sweden’s Northvolt Electric Battery Maker: A Startup with a Mission

In Stockholm, Sweden, an upstart battery maker, Northvolt, is trying to recreate the value chain for European car manufacturers making the switch to EVs. With two founders from Tesla and two experienced financiers at the helm, the company seems bound for success. But can they partner with the government, scale fast enough, and truly be part of the climate solution? Professor George Serafeim discusses what it takes to scale a business—the right people, in the right place, at the right time—with the aim of providing a climate solution in the case, “Northvolt, Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change.” As part of a new first-year MBA course at Harvard Business School, this case examines the central question: what is the social purpose of the firm?
  • March 2023
  • Working Knowledge

BMW’s Decarbonization Strategy: Sustainable for the Environment and the Bottom Line

In this article, Professor Shirley Lu discusses a new Harvard Business School case study, “Driving Decarbonization at BMW,” coauthored with Professors George Serafeim and Mike Toffel and supported by Tonia Labruyere of the Europe Research Center. This case focuses on the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). While EVs had a low carbon footprint once in operation, battery production was a highly carbon-intensive process. Many automakers announced they would stop selling ICE vehicles altogether, buoyed by investment analysts and favorable press. But BMW decided to focus on lifecycle emissions and pursue a flexible powertrain strategy by offering vehicles with several options: gasoline and diesel-fueled ICE, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery EVs. That approach received a frostier reception in the stock market. Professor Lu discusses how BMW plans to convince stakeholders that its strategy is good for both the environment and the company’s financial performance.

New Research on the Region

  • 2023
  • Working Paper

Geographies of Discontent: Public Service Deprivation and the Rise of the Far Right in Italy

By: Simone Cremaschi, Paula Rettl, Marco Cappelluti and Catherine E. De Vries

Electoral support for far-right parties is often linked to geographies of discontent. We argue that public service deprivation, defined as reduced access to public services at the local level, plays an important role in explaining these patterns. By exploiting an Italian reform that reduced access to local public services in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents we demonstrate that far-right support in national elections increased more after the reform in affected municipalities than in unaffected ones. We use geo-coded individual-level survey data and party rhetoric data to explore the mechanisms underlying this result. Our findings suggest that exposure to the reform increased concerns about immigration, and that far-right parties increasingly linked public services to immigration in their rhetoric after the reform. These demand and supply dynamics help us understand how public service deprivation shapes geographic patterns in far-right support.

  • October 2023
  • Case

Making Progress at Progress Software (A)

By: Katherine Coffman, Hannah Riley Bowles and Alexis Lefort

In this case, the Human Capital team at Progress Software has identified that some employees have a hard time understanding how to advance within Progress. This realization leads the team to develop several major people-process innovations: the introduction of clear-cut, widely accessible leveling information as well as the development of several other programs, among them an internal mobility program that calls for quarterly conversations between managers and direct reports about professional development called “Career Conversations.” The case details the development of these programs and asks students to consider why some employees might have a harder time than others accessing career information and how managers could play a role in that imbalance.

  • October 2023
  • Case

JPMorgan Chase in Paris

By: Joseph L. Bower, Dante Roscini, Elena Corsi and Michael Norris

In 2019, Daniel Pinto, President and COO of JPMorgan Chase, has to make a recommendation to the bank’s Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, about where to physically locate the bank’s European trading operations after Brexit takes effect in 2020. The decision-making process considered a range of European locations, including Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Paris, and ultimately Pinto is left with a choice between Frankfurt and Paris. The case describes the decision-making process and gives an overview of JPMorgan’s history in France and the French government’s efforts to make the country more economically competitive to lure banks moving from London in the wake of Brexit.

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Paris Staff

Vincent Dessain
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