Publications

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January 1994 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Dell Computer Corporation

By: Peter Tufano

Tina Chen, chief investment officer of a large insurance company, hears accusations by a Kidder Peabody equity research analyst that Dell Computer Corp. might be improperly accounting for what he suspects are large foreign exchange losses resulting from speculation.... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Financial Instruments; Ethics; Financial Statements; Computer Industry; United States

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June 2013 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-hê Hsieh and Lara Adamsons

Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details

Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland

October 1986 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Karen Leary (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

Describes the evolution of the working relationship of Karen Leary, a new manager of a Merrill Lynch retail branch, and Ted Chung, a new financial consultant in the branch. Leary has some concerns about her working relationship with Chung and with his performance.... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Employee Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Performance Evaluation; Diversity; Financial Services Industry

May 2000
Case

To Trim or Not to Trim: That Is the Question

By: Srikant M. Datar

Should Novartis drop 20% of its global pharmaceutical product brands that account for only 3% of its pharmaceutical revenues? View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Cost vs Benefits; Business Strategy; Investment Return; Problems and Challenges; Pharmaceutical Industry

August 2010 (Revised February 2012)
Supplement

Cosmeticos de Espana, S.A. (D)

By: David F. Hawkins

The fourth case in the Cosmeticos de Espana case series. What should management's accounting response be to the imposition of foreign currency controls? View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Inflation and Deflation; Currency Exchange Rate; Governance Controls; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Spain; Venezuela

February 2017
Article

How Much Is a Win Worth? An Application to Intercollegiate Athletics

By: Doug J. Chung

Intercollegiate athletics in the United States have become a multibillion-dollar industry over the past several decades. In this study, we investigate the short- and long-term direct monetary effects of operating a winning athletics program for an academic institution... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Panel Data; Heterogeneity; Instrumental Variables; Intercollegiate Athletics; Educational Finance; Entertainment Marketing; Higher Education; Marketing; Sports; Revenue; Education Industry; United States

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06 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 6

cannibalization and endogenous vertical differentiation concerns. We discuss how our study helps improve our understanding of notions of strategy, business model, and tactics in the field of strategy. Context, Agency, and Identity: The Indian Fashion View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2013 (Revised March 2016)
Case

The Private Company Council

By: Karthik Ramanna and Luis M. Viceira

Financial Accounting Foundation chairman Jack Brennan is under pressure from private-company interests to set up a new body—the Private Company Council—to determine separate GAAP for private companies. PCC advocates—including the US Chamber of Commerce—argue that... View Details

Keywords: FASB; Lobbying; Political Economy; Accounting; Government and Politics; Leadership; Financial Markets; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry

March 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Rent-Way, Inc. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

The company uses the units of activity method to account for its rental inventory. A prominent hedge fund advisor recommends the company's stock be sold short. View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Stock Shares; Fair Value Accounting; Quality; Investment Funds; Service Industry

22 Apr 2008
Working Paper Summaries

An Exploration of Technology Diffusion

Keywords: by Diego A. Comin & Bart Hobijn

How Much Is a Win Worth? An Application to Intercollegiate Athletics

Intercollegiate athletics in the United States have become a multibillion-dollar industry over the past several decades. In this study, we investigate the short- and long-term direct monetary effects of operating a winning athletics program for an academic institution... View Details

December 2018 (Revised August 2022)
Teaching Note

Revenue Recognition at HBP

By: Siko Sikochi and Paul Healy

In early 2014, Corporate Learning, one of three business units at Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), was in the process of revamping its flagship product, Harvard Manage-Mentor (HMM) from version 11.0 (HMM11) to version 12.0 (HMM12). The revamped software would be... View Details

Keywords: Accrual Accounting; Budgets and Budgeting; Revenue Recognition; Financial Reporting; Publishing Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

2010
Working Paper

Does Product Market Competition Lead Firms To Decentralize?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

There is a widespread sense that over the last two decades firms have been decentralizing decisions to employees further down the managerial hierarchy. Economists have developed a range of theories to account for delegation, but there is less empirical evidence,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Employees; Managerial Roles; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Asia; Europe; North America

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Profile

Tyler Todd

Why was earning your MBA at HBS important to you? I love my engineering background, but my long-term goals of senior management and running my own company necessitated that I learn how to make sound business decisions. While you can learn finance or View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity; Financial Services; Energy / Extractive Minerals; Manufacturing

29 May 2024
News

The EC Formula: MBA Class of 2024 Looks Back

August 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Supplement

Cosmeticos de Espana, S.A. (C)

By: David F. Hawkins

The third case in the Cosmeticos de Espana case series. What should management's accounting response be to a further devaluation of the Bolivar? View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Inflation and Deflation; Currency Exchange Rate; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Spain; Venezuela

19 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Search for Benchmarks: When Do Crowds Provide Wisdom?

Keywords: by Charles M.C. Lee, Paul Ma & Charles C.Y. Wang

March 2024
Case

Hippo: Weathering the Storm of the Home Insurance Crisis

By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Sophia Pan

Rick McCathron, CEO of Hippo, considered how the firm’s underwriting model could account for the effects of climate change. Along with providing smart home packages, targeting risk-friendly customers, and using data-driven pricing, the Insurtech used technologically... View Details

January 2002 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Consulting by Auditors (A): Levitt's Campaign

By: Ashish Nanda

This case highlights the debate between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and several of the large accounting firms over whether the same firms should offer consulting services to clients they audit. View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry