Publications

August 2000
Case

Mannesmann AG

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Katharina Pick

Explores the functioning of a German supervisory board in the context of a takeover bid made by a British company. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Mergers and Acquisitions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Germany; United Kingdom

October 1993
Supplement

United Way of America: Governance in the Nonprofit Sector (B), Kenneth W. Dam Becomes Interim President

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Analyzes the measures taken by the United Way of America (UWA) and its board of governors in response to the 1992 Washington Post reports that lead to the UWA scandal. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Newspapers; Nonprofit Organizations; United States

November 2010 (Revised September 2015)
Case

American International Group - 2010

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

The AIG Board underwent significant restructuring after the company was bailed out by the U.S. government in September 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Business and Government Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Restructuring; Financial Services Industry

Web

Past Issues - Alumni

ideas and trends that generated buzz in 2021—and could define 2022 New Wave Tapping the power of tides and waves to help power the planet is an attractive concept, but marine-energy companies have long been held back by issues ranging... View Details

September 2013
Case

United Rentals (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Kathleen Durante and Emily McTague

In December 1997 United Rentals (URI) went public on the NYSE. Ten years later, during the peak of the economic meltdown, the company's performance was in decline. United Rentals had experienced its share of problems in the prior years and was still struggling to... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Board Dynamics; Accounting Fraud; Governance; Board Committees; Merger; Corporate Governance; Construction Industry; United States

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

PublicationsEngineers and the State in Modern China Author:William C. Kirby Publication:In Prospects for the Professions in China, edited by William P. Alford, William C. Kirby, and Kenneth Winston, 283-314. Routledge Studies in Civil... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2023
News

Engaging Students More Deeply

that’s not all it is. “The dot rug—the kids’ bottoms go in the circle, and they know their physical space,” explains Moskowitz. “It’s much easier for a teacher to manage with the dot rug.” When Greenwood and his case coauthor Coval, the View Details

Keywords: April White

June 2013
Case

Hess Corporation

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Kathleen Durante

On January 29, 2013, Elliott Management, a hedge fund run by Paul E. Singer, which owned 4.5% of Hess Corporation stock, put forward a slate of five independent directors it wanted elected to improve the company's performance. Elliott argued that Hess lacked focus and... View Details

Keywords: Takeover Attempt; Board; Hess; Governing and Advisory Boards; Organizational Structure; Acquisition; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry

October 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Kinetic Concepts, Inc.

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Dwight B. Crane and Ashley Robertson

Raises issues about how the nature and function of a board changes as a company moves from ownership by its employees, including the founder, to ownership by a private equity firm, Fremont Partners, culminating in a highly successful IPO. Gives students the opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Governing and Advisory Boards; Initial Public Offering; Behavior; Organizations; Employee Ownership; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Shareholders and Corporate Governance

By: Jay W. Lorsch

The data gathering has been completed and an article is being written about the role shareholders can and cannot play in corporate governance. This article should be completed by the spring of 2012. View Details

2012
Book

The Future of Boards: Meeting the Governance Challenges of the Twenty-First Century

By: Jay W. Lorsch

This book is a collection of chapters written by Harvard Business School faculty and alums who have experience with corporate boards. It will provide a uniquely HBS perspective on the future of boards. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Boards Of Directors; Compensation; Succession; Governing and Advisory Boards; Books; Perspective; Governance

Find at Harvard

Web

Course History - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

and preparing for the most challenging issues that a new CEO is likely to face. The Harvard Business Review article “Seven Surprises for New CEOs,” by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch, and Nitin Nohria,... View Details

2023
Working Paper

Learning to Use: Stack Overflow and Technology Adoption

By: Daniel Jay Brown and Maria P. Roche

In this paper, we examine the potential impact of Q&A websites on the adoption of technologies. Using data from Stack Overflow – one of the most popular Q&A websites worldwide – and implementing an instrumental-variable approach, we find that users whose questions... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Knowledge Sharing

Read Now

01 Dec 2023
News

Alumni and Faculty Books and Podcasts

invented. Now, the average American adult is inundated with digital messages each day. With all this correspondence, capturing a busy reader’s attention is more challenging than ever. Faculty Books How the Harvard Business School Changed the Way We View Organizations... View Details

Keywords: podcasts

10 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 10

L. Bower Publication:Chap. 9 in Boardroom Realities: Building Leaders Across Your Board, edited by Jay A. Conger, 253-275. Jossey-Bass, 2009 Book link:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Mar 2016
News

Culture Is Not the Culprit

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later: Home Finance

urged prospective home-buyers to save the entire purchase price before acquiring a home. In practice, however, most home-buyers and home-builders after the Civil War got themselves a mortgage—or three or four. By the 1920s, economists... View Details

February 1998
Case

Lyondell Petrochemical Company

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Daniel P. Erikson

In August 1994, Lyondell Petrochemical Co.'s corporate parent and largest single shareholder effectively shed its stock, resulting in the resignation of 5 of its 11 directors. The remaining outside directors immediately acted to overhaul the executive compensation plan... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Design; Business or Company Management; Management Teams; Mining Industry