Publications

January 2021
Case

Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (A)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

In 2011, Daniel Herrero, CEO of Toyota Argentina (TASA) since 2010, was about to meet with the Secretary-General of the union representing automotive industry workers in the country. The company produced vehicles in Argentina since 1997 at their plant at Zárate, and,... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Bargaining; Production; Performance; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Fairness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina

June 2023
Case

Grittiness at Convene

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Based in New York, Convene was founded in 2009 by Ryan Simonetti and Chris Kelly. Convene was founded on the question: “What if you ran an office building like a hotel?” The company offered a premium corporate events and workspace product. Convene initially took a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Hospitality Industry; Growth; Culture; Entrepreneurship; Change Management; Growth Management; Strategy; Leadership; Service Industry; United States

01 Dec 2023
News

The Imposter Among Us

significant number of corporate clients. —Ellie Luce (PMD 30, 1975) The Right Answer I had been working for Helene Curtis for one year right out of college when they promoted... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

March 2021
Case

Proteak: Valuing Forestry Assets

By: Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Carla Larangeira

In early 2020, 414 Capital was hired by Proteak, Mexico´s largest forestry platform, to perform a valuation of its teak business, a high-grade hardwood commonly used to build boat decks, outdoor walls, furniture, doors and small objects. Teak plantations typically... View Details

Keywords: Forestry; Assets; Valuation; Forest Products Industry; Financial Services Industry; Mexico

August 2006 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Duane Morris: Balancing Growth and Culture at a Law Firm

By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

After nearly 100 years as a mid-size regional law firm, Duane Morris entered a period of spectacular growth led by CEO Sheldon Bonovitz. Originally founded by Quakers, the firm had a distinct organizational culture featuring a number of unique or unusual business... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Competitive Advantage; San Francisco

Web

2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

of Work Project. Slides Readings: Building from the Botton Up Hidden Networks The Partnership Imperative Navigating the Brave New World of Cryptocurrency Bankruptcy Professor Stu Gilson + More Info – Less... View Details

2014
Article

Delaware's Choice

By: Guhan Subramanian

This article first documents the shift to annual elections of all directors at most U.S. corporations and argues that the alternative of "ineffective" staggered boards would have been more desirable, as a policy matter, but is now a missed opportunity. Using this... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Laws and Statutes; Policy; Delaware

Read Now

March 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Microsoft's IP Ventures

By: Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Microsoft's IP Ventures program, through which Microsoft spun out promising but unused technologies into new companies, is a new approach to corporate venture capital. The program provides "IP for equity" and has proven very successful in achieving its main... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Equity; Financing and Loans; Investment; Intellectual Property; Rights; Software; Washington (state, US)

July 2018
Case

Leading Open Innovation at BT

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Jean-François Harvey and Johnathan R. Cromwell

This case focuses on the genesis and development of the open innovation unit at BT, the strategic value of the unit, and its operating model. As the business environment becomes increasingly dynamic and firms are pressured to achieve faster innovation rates, there may... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Open Innovation; Inter-organizational Relationships; Organizational Culture; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United Kingdom; United States

01 Feb 2001
News

What Makes a Good Leader

design good systems of reporting, hire the right people, and put together the proper multidisciplinary advisory groups. Name: David Thomas, H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration Recent... View Details

Keywords: Management

November 2001
Background Note

Global Approaches to Anti-Corruption

By: Joseph Hinsey, Guhan Subramanian and Michelle Kalka

In the 1970s, a series of unpleasant revelations about corporate conduct, culminating in the public disclosure about unsavory business practices abroad by more than 400 U.S. corporations, jarred popular perceptions concerning business ethics. Congress responded by... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Globalization; Developing Countries and Economies; Laws and Statutes; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Information Industry; United States

20 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, March 20, 2018

Abstract—Firms spend millions of dollars annually on whistle-blower hotlines, training, and other efforts to ensure adherence to laws, regulations, and company policies. Yet malfeasance remains entrenched in the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2020
Article

Lazy Prices

By: Lauren Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Quoc Nguyen

We explore the implications of a subtle "default" choice that firms make in their regular reporting practices, namely that firms typically repeat what they most recently reported. Using the complete history of regular quarterly and annual filings by U.S. corporations... View Details

Keywords: Default Behavior; Inertia; Firms; Disclosure; Information; Business or Company Management; Behavior; Annual Reports; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Reporting; United States

SSRN

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March 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Patagonia: 'Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder'

By: Brian Trelstad, Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael Norris and Susan Pinckney

In September 2022, Yvon Chouinard, the iconoclastic founder of outdoor apparel company Patagonia, announced a new ownership model for his company. Chouinard and his family had held complete control of the company's voting and non-voting stock since its founding 50... View Details