Publications

"A spectacular achievement" - Library Journal

From the financial fraudsters of Enron, to the embezzlers at Tyco, to the Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, the failings of corporate titans are regular fixtures in the news. But what drives wealthy and... View Details

24 Jul 2014
Op-Ed

Reform Tax Law to Keep US Firms at Home

Editor's Note. Given a veritable flood over the last year of corporate "inversions"—US companies that reincoporate in other countries to take advantage of favorable tax rates and business regulations—lawmakers in Washington D.C.... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai; Pharmaceutical

20 Dec 2006
Op-Ed

Investors Hurt by Dual-Track Tax Reporting

accounting earnings. Corporate tax shelters that reduce book income are rarely, if ever, undertaken, and the main benefit of many shelters is the book income they produce. The proposal to publicly report... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai

March 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

AFSCME vs. Mozilo...and "Say on Pay" for All! (A) (Abridged)

By: Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

Richard Ferlauto, director of pensions and benefits policy at the AFSCME, the largest public sector workers union in the U.S., was responsible for protecting the pensions of its members. Because pensions were invested for decades, Ferlauto wanted the companies in which... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Investment; Investment Activism; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Ownership Stake; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

October 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Integrated Reporting at Aegon

By: Robert G. Eccles, George Serafeim, Sydney Ribot and Michael Krzus

In 2011, Aegon adopted integrated reporting—a corporate reporting approach that sought to present company performance in a holistic light by considering medium- to long-term issues, stakeholder opinions, and the relationship between material financial and nonfinancial... View Details

December 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Nestle: Sustainable Agriculture Initiative

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Swiss food giant Nestle attempts to improve the performance of its suppliers of agricultural commodities to raise quality, lower costs, and contribute to sustainable development. Its initiatives focus first on coffee, cocoa, and milk. Nestle managers assert that the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Corporate Strategy; Agribusiness; Supply Chain Management; Marketing Strategy; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Ranjay Gulati is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration and the former Unit Head of the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He is an expert on leadership, strategy, and organizational issues... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; computer; financial services; industrial goods; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; professional services; retailing

25 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

How Chapter 11 Saved the US Economy

truth is anything but— "it's about reviving companies," says Gilson, author of the 2010 book Creating Value through Corporate Restructuring: Case Studies in Bankruptcies, Buyouts, and Breakups . Reviving The Economy Taking a... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Financial Services

December 2011
Article

Economics Education and Greed

By: Long Wang, Deepak Malhotra and J. Keith Murnighan

The recent financial crisis, and repeated corporate scandals, raise serious questions about whether a business school education contributes to what some have described as a culture of greed. The dominance of economic-related courses in MBA curricula led us to assess... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Ethics; Attitudes; Business Education; Economics; Education

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2008
Working Paper

Attracting Flows by Attracting Big Clients: Conflicts of Interest and Mutual Fund Portfolio Choice

By: Lauren Cohen and Breno Schmidt

We explore a new channel for attracting inflows using a unique dataset of corporate 401(k) retirement plans and their mutual fund family trustees. Families secure substantial inflows by being named trustee of a 401(k) plan. This affords the plan sponsor potential... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Conflict of Interests; Financial Services Industry

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October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Veeva Systems: The Next Frontier

By: Satish Tadikonda and William Marks

Born out of a desire to bring technological advances in enterprise software into the healthcare vertical, Peter Gassner and Matt Wallach founded Veeva to bring life sciences companies into the digital age for data management in both the commercial and R&D sectors. Over... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Governance Compliance; Applications and Software; Growth Management; Expansion; Technology Industry

Program

Program for Leadership Development

Summary Innovative companies know that long-term success requires a pipeline of visionary leaders who can help build and secure a competitive edge. The Program for Leadership Development (PLD) prepares emerging executives to become more effective influencers who can... View Details

August 19, 2024
Article

The Business Roundtable’s Stakeholder Pledge, Five Years Later

By: Lynn S. Paine

Five years ago, the Business Roundtable issued a statement pledging to “lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders.” In the past five years, stakeholderism has gained wider acceptance and helped many corporate leaders see the value of taking the interests... View Details

Keywords: Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business or Company Management; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Governance

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Keywords: Financial Services

Article

The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose

By: Ranjay Gulati

Most forward-thinking executives have embraced the notion that purpose-driven companies can solve social and environmental problems while also generating wealth, creating win-win outcomes that benefit everyone. But ideal solutions are rare. Many purpose-driven... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Sustainability; Mission and Purpose; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Profit; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Decision Making

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12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

“Globalization, the Internet, and instant communications combine to subject every corporate action to scrutiny whether the company communicates or not.” There are two main reasons to use One Report, according to its originators, Robert G.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

23 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Businesses Need a 'Catalyst' to Make CSR Practices Stick

trust and credibility than a giant agribusiness company coming in and saying we want to help you.” Financing. That could come from the anchor corporation as part of its CSR budget, as well as from impact investors who seek social View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

2016
Working Paper

The Structure of Board Committees

By: Kevin D. Chen and Andy Wu

We document and analyze board committee structures utilizing a novel dataset containing full board committee membership for over 6,000 firms. Board committees provide benefits (specialization, efficiency, and accountability benefits) and costs (information... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Specialization; Accountability; Information Segregation; Overloaded Directors; Multi-commitee Directors; Sarbanes-Oxley Act; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Accounting; Corporate Governance

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May 2008 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Finansbank 2006

By: C. Fritz Foley and Linnea Meyer

How do financial policy requirements and benefits of ownership concentration affect the need for and process of corporate restructuring? This case provides students with an opportunity to analyze the restructuring of a Turkish multinational business group by way of a... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Capital Budgeting; Agreements and Arrangements; Valuation; Turkey; Greece