Publications

2012
Chapter

Integrated Reporting Requires Integrated Assurance

By: Robert G. Eccles, Michael P. Krzus and Liv A. Watson

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, increasing the effectiveness of auditing has weighed heavily on the minds of those responsible for governance. When a business is profitable and paying healthy dividends to its stockholders, fraudulent activities and... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Crime and Corruption; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Governance Compliance; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Laws and Statutes; Information Management; Accounting Audits; Financial Crisis

July 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

MC Tool

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Sean Witty and Jason Premo acquired MC Tool, a machine shop located in South Carolina in 2007 with the intent to transform it into a precision manufacturer. Witty and Premo were able to more than double revenue to $6 million in their first year of managing MC by... View Details

Keywords: Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Small Business; Production; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Financial Condition; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

22 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Silo Lives! Analyzing Coordination and Communication in Multiunit Companies

geographic office location," Stuart says. Although the research doesn't try to answer why corporate silos are so difficult to tear down, Stuart hopes the data will help managers understand, pinpoint, and remove bottlenecks within their... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

February 2011 (Revised November 2013)
Case

The Cheezburger Network

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Cheezburger Network was a Web publisher of humorous, user-contributed content, using social media for dissemination, and selling advertising against the traffic of 1 billion page views per quarter. In January 2011, it raised $30 million in venture capital for the... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Digital Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Strategic Planning; Sales; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry; Web Services Industry

30 Sep 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Real Effects of Capital Controls: Financial Constraints, Exporters, and Firm Investment

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Anusha Chari & Fabio Kanczuk

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Pioneer Natural Resources: Enhancing the Capital Return Strategy with Variable Dividends

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Elisabeth Kempf and E. Scott Mayfield

In February 2021, Scott Sheffield, the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources (an independent oil and gas company based in Texas), was considering the possibility of enhancing the firm’s capital return strategy by introducing a variable dividend tied to cash flows in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Value Creation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Return; Profit; Policy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry; United States; North America; Texas

December 2012
Article

On the Efficiency-Fairness Trade-Off

By: Dimitris Bertsimas, Vivek F. Farias and Nikolaos Trichakis

This paper deals with a basic issue: How does one approach the problem of designing the "right" objective for a given resource allocation problem? The notion of what is right can be fairly nebulous; we consider two issues that we see as key: efficiency and fairness. We... View Details

Keywords: Decision Support; Cost vs Benefits; Fairness; Resource Allocation; Performance Efficiency; Air Transportation Industry

Find at Harvard

April 1991 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Southland Corp. (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback

Examines the Thompson's $4.9 billion leveraged buyout of the Southland Corp. in 1987. As the original founders of Southland, the Thompsons were concerned about losing control over the company upon learning of the Belzberg family's acquiring interest. The teaching... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Governance Controls; Corporate Governance; Bids and Bidding; Valuation; Forecasting and Prediction; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Strategy; Cash Flow

November 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Messier's Reign at Vivendi Universal

By: Rakesh Khurana, Vincent Dessain and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Focuses on a crisis in the board at Vivendi. Highlights the difficulties that arise when dramatic pressure from outside the boardroom affects boardroom dynamics. In this case, there are two events. The first is an unexpectedly large financial loss and a pending cash... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; History; Cash Flow; Acquisition; Performance; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

August 2023
Case

WayCool: Reimagining the Food Supply Chain

By: Paul Gompers and Kairavi Dey

Founded in 2015, WayCool, is an Indian agri-tech start-up that built a B2B operation acquiring fruits and vegetables from product-specific agriculture companies and small-holding farmers. It sold them to business customers, such as local retail stores, restaurants, and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Digital Transformation; Operations; Business Strategy; Supply Chain; Performance; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; South Asia

14 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Can Entrepreneurs Drive People Movers to Success?

accept all kinds of intrusions in our urban environments—buses, highway ramps, traffic lights, telephone poles. I am hopeful that PRT will stack up well—huge benefits relative to the intrusion it asks a community to permit. But a lot... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Transportation

December 2001 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Poland's A2 Motorway

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. (AWSA) is a consortium of 18 firms that won a concession to build and operate Poland's first private toll road. In June 2000, AWSA's chief financial officer, Wojciech Gebicki, is preparing for a meeting with the projects' lead bankers to... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Cost vs Benefits; Project Finance; Projects; Construction Industry; Transportation Industry; Poland

October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere

By: Mihir A. Desai, Frank Williamson, Mark Veblen and Yuming Zou

Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. has made an initial bid to acquire a primary competitor, Paul Revere, from conglomerate, Textron. The due diligence process uncovers a significant block of problematic disability insurance policies. Provident is forced to assess... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Financial Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Investment; Business Strategy; Cash Flow; Price; Bids and Bidding; Financial Reporting; Business Conglomerates; Insurance Industry; Service Industry

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

counselor at law, not a hired gun. Third, the organization must encourage the free flow of legal and business information to and from managers and lawyers so the lawyers understand the context in which a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

January 1988 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (A)

By: David A. Garvin

Describes a comprehensive manufacturing strategy designed to reduce substantially the cycle time of orders (i.e. the time between the placement of an order by a customer and its delivery to the customer). To launch the strategy Digital has adopted manufacturing... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Information; Time Management; Production; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

June 2013
Case

Ron Ventura at Mitchell Memorial Hospital

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Heide Abelli

Mitchell Memorial Hospital is a 750-bed regional academic medical center in Ohio. Andy Prescott, Chief of the Cardiovascular Center, is reviewing the performance evaluations of his star vascular surgeon Ron Ventura. The evaluations, the result of a 360-degree... View Details

Keywords: Performance Expectations; Conflict Management; Behavior; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Resignation and Termination; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Evaluation; Health Industry; Ohio

September 1991
Case

All American Pipeline

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Goodyear is nearing its first major capital commitments for the largest investment project in its history, the All American Pipeline. The pipeline will transport heavy crude oil from California to Texas. It is the centerpiece of a major program by Goodyear to diversify... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Financial Strategy; Business Startups; Diversification; Valuation; Standards; Supply Chain; Resource Allocation; Cash Flow; Mining Industry; California; Texas