Publications

August 2022
Article

The U.S. Approach to Antitrust Policy in Technology Markets

By: Shane Greenstein

This report illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. approach to antitrust policy by drawing lessons from three cases: United States v. AT&T, United States v. Microsoft, and United States v. Google. The cases against AT&T and Microsoft are historical cases,... View Details

Keywords: Antitrust; Lawsuits and Litigation; Information Technology; Competition

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05 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 5

and Finance Hypothesis Pass the Test of History? Authors:Musacchio, Aldo, and John D. Turner Publication:Business History Abstract For the body of work known as the law View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Wage-Employment Contracts

By: Jerry R. Green and Charles M. Kahn

This paper studies the efficient agreements about the dependence of workers' earnings on employment, when the employment level is controlled by firms. The firms' superior information about profitability conditions is responsible for this form of contract governance.... View Details

Keywords: Labor; Wages; Contracts

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17 Sep 2021
News

Clearing the Path to Citizenship

When Xiao Wang (MBA 2014) and his parents immigrated to the United States from China three decades ago, the process was a difficult and expensive one. The family spent the equivalent of five months’ rent on... View Details

April 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

The International Criminal Court

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Natalie Kindred

This Case describes a controversial 2010 decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and alludes to some of the broader challenges of building international institutions. The case briefly highlights certain milestones in international relations preceding the... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decision Choices and Conditions; International Relations; Political Elections; Courts and Trials; Organizations; Kenya

December 2007 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Don Jenkins: Resigning from the Firm

By: Boris Groysberg, Geoff Eckman Marietta and Steven Manchel

Don Jenkins, a star event planner at a large firm, resigns to take a position at a boutique firm. However, Don may have made some mistakes when departing that could be trouble later on down the road. The case can be used to teach the business and legal aspects of... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Law; Service Industry

December 2014 (Revised February 2023)
Module Note

Legal Analysis: Customers

By: Lena G. Goldberg

This Note introduces the Module on Responsibilities to Customers taught in Leadership and Corporate Accountability, a required course in the Harvard Business School MBA program. The Note outlines the asymmetries inherent in the company-customer relationship and... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Legal Liability; Customer Relationship Management

April 2000
Article

The Fable of Fisher Body

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Daniel F. Spulber

General Motors' (GM) acquisition of Fisher Body is the classic example of market failure in the literature on contracts and the theory of the firm. According to the standard account, GM merged vertically with Fisher Body in 1926, a maker of auto bodies, because of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Failure; Contracts; Vertical Integration; Market Transactions; Investment; Trust; Production; Assets; Supply Chain; Opportunities; Technology; Auto Industry

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June 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Can Goodr Fight Food Insecurity at Scale?

By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr

Jasmine Crowe founded Goodr to redirect food waste to people in need. Now a profitable enterprise, she’s searching for Series A funding and encountering pushback. Scaling and contract concerns are also at the forefront of her mind, but so are her values. Feeding... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investor Demand; Food; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Values and Beliefs; Social Issues; Race; Opportunities; Contracts; Mission and Purpose; Financing and Loans

Article

The Growing Problem of Patent Trolling

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers

The last decade has seen a sharp rise in patent litigation in the U.S., with 2015 having one of the highest patent lawsuit counts on record. In theory, this could be a consequence of growth in the commercialization of technology and innovation—patent lawsuits increase... View Details

Keywords: Patent Aggregators; Patent Litigation; Patent Pools; Patent Trolls; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; United States

25 Apr 2014
News

Disrupting criminal enterprises that prey on children

Department of Justice for more than eight years, prosecuting child exploitation and human-trafficking crimes. "The UN is in a position to coordinate and incentivize countries to work together to develop... View Details

fall 2008
Article

Typosquatting: Unintended Adventures in Browsing

By: Benjamin Edelman

"Typosquatting" is the practice of registering domain names, identical to or confusingly similar to trademarks and famous names, in hopes that users will accidentally request these sites—whereupon they will receive, typically, advertisements. This piece presents the... View Details

Keywords: Web; Advertising; Business Model; Lawsuits and Litigation; Profit; Practice

June 2012
Article

Decoding Inside Information

By: Lauren Cohen, Christopher Malloy and Lukasz Pomorski

Using a simple empirical strategy, we decode the information in insider trading. Exploiting the fact that insiders trade for a variety of reasons, we show that there is predictable, identifiable "routine" insider trading that is not informative for the future of firms.... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Financial Markets; Forecasting and Prediction; Law Enforcement; Opportunities; Geographic Location; Business Earnings

SSRN

07 Jul 2020
Blog Post

The JD/MBA Seminar: The Perfect Practice Ground

program—some focus more on the law and its effects on how business is conducted, while others approach their topics from a business-first standpoint, analyzing how businesses are impacted by the positive or... View Details

January 1996 (Revised January 1996)
Teaching Note

Colonial Broadcasting Co. TN

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr. and George Wu

Teaching Note for (9-894-011). View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Advertising; Television Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

20 Jun 2016
Blog Post

Exploring Cleantech at HBS

you’re interested in within cleantech. It’s a good way to learn about the companies and organizations in the space, and have an excuse to invite people you admire to campus. Keep tabs on study groups View Details

27 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 27, 2018

also present a panoply of challenges for communities and states. Surprisingly, federal laws are chief among those challenges despite the fact that online marketplaces facilitate transactions traditionally... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2015
Technical Note

The On-Demand Economy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, James Weber and Elizabeth Anne Watkins

This note describes the emerging on-demand economy, also referred to as the sharing economy. The note highlights several companies including Uber and Airbnb that exemplify this new mode of competition, a model that threatens to disrupt traditional firms. Uber provides... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Reform; Disruption; Disruptive Innovation; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Labor; Employment; Working Conditions; Human Capital; Rights; Organizational Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Service Industry

August 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Preem (A)

By: Bo Becker, Annelena Lobb and Aldo Sesia

High yield bond fund Proventus Capital Partners (PCP) has invested in underwater bonds issued by Preem, a large oil refinery. As maturity approaches, in the midst of financial crisis, Preem appear unlikely to be able to refinance. Meanwhile, Prreem has a complicated... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Restructuring; Courts and Trials; Negotiation; Bonds; Mining Industry; Energy Industry; Europe