Publications

2011
Chapter

The World Bank and Democratic Accountability: The Role of Civil Society

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Steve Herz

Keywords: International Finance; Banks and Banking; Civil Society or Community; Governance Compliance; Banking Industry

08 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 8, 2008

Society to Create Competitive Advantage Harvard Business School Case 307-076 Focuses on the experience of China's largest shirt manufacturer in managing various aspects of government relations in China. Identifies a wide variety of social... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

Greed, Fear, and The System Hinder Corporate Reform

Rakesh Khurana. Here are some of the challenges: Basic greed. Wayne M. Carlin, northeast regional director of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who clarified that he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of his organization, wondered whether greed could... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2009
Case

Supersonic Business Jets

By: Dennis A. Yao and Julia Rozovsky

In the fall of 2002, Brian Barents, ex-CEO of Galaxy Aerospace, faced an important decision: whether or not to enter the supersonic business jet (SSBJ) industry. Supersonic flight-flight faster than the speed of sound-had long tantalized leaders of commercial aerospace... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Governance Compliance; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Cooperation; Aerospace Industry

Educators

February 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Background Note

Note on Contingent Environmental Liabilities

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Forest L. Reinhardt

Addresses contingent environmental liabilities that are the result of unforeseen environmental risks where the dollar amount of such liabilities is unknown and depends on future events. In contrast, fines for violating environmental laws are liabilities, but are not... View Details

Keywords: Legal Liability; Risk Management; Natural Environment; Laws and Statutes; Pollutants; Governance Compliance; United States

Educators

12 Jan 2015
Research & Ideas

Regulators Ease Up on Companies Generating Political Benefits

of the financial scandals that propelled the recent economic collapse, Heese looked at enforcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission, asking why regulators were so amiss at monitoring firms' compliance with accounting standards.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

22 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 22, 2018

generations of the same family may even cease to regress towards the mean. Moreover, we demonstrate that government interventions intended to ameliorate inequality may in fact lower intergenerational mobility—even when they do not... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Supplement

ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (B)

By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg

The case presents ExxonMobil's response to growing pressure to disclose how climate change will impact their business. This includes multiple asset impairments and losing a proxy vote to shareholders to increase climate change related reporting. Supplements the (B)... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Asset Impairment; Predictive Analytics; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Innovation; Disclosure; Accounting; Valuation; Energy Sources; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Governance Compliance; Climate Change; Financial Reporting; Energy Industry; United States

2013
Working Paper

Testing Coleman's Social-Norm Enforcement Mechanism: Evidence from Wikipedia

By: Mikolaj J. Piskorski and Andreea Gorbatai

Since Durkheim, sociologists have believed that dense network structures lead to fewer norm violations. Coleman (1990) proposed one mechanism generating this relationship and argued that dense networks provide an opportunity structure to reward those who punish norm... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Information Publishing; Social and Collaborative Networks; Social Issues; Societal Protocols

SSRN

23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

largest shareholder, Khazanah Nacional, the sovereign wealth fund, is tasked with helping to grow the Malaysian economy. Should Khazanah encourage job and route cuts at MAS, and how would the government react to them? Moreover, should... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 12, 2006

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-021.pdf Coerced Confessions: Self-Policing in the Shadow of the Regulator Authors:Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel Abstract As part of a recent trend toward more cooperative relations between regulators and industry, novel View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2003
Chapter

Designing Sustainability at BMW Group: The Designworks/USA Experience

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney

This case study describes how an industrial design company developed a Sustainability Management System (SMS) standard, designed and implemented an SMS throughout its business, and then became the first company in the world to achieve third-party SMS certification. The... View Details

Keywords: Design; Governance Compliance; Management Practices and Processes; Standards; Environmental Sustainability; United States

October 2010
Supplement

Belco Global Foods: Spreadsheet Supplement (CW)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Matthew Johnson

This case introduces students to the fundamental issues that managers face when deciding what international trade finance terms to use when transacting with other firms. In late 2009, Pam Arnold, the Head of Global Credit at Belco Global Foods must decide which trade... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Decisions; Trade; Financial Strategy; Governance Compliance; Managerial Roles; Market Transactions

Article

Designing Sustainability at BMW Group: The Designworks/USA Experience

By: Kellie McElhaney, Michael W. Toffel and Natalie Hill

This case study describes how an industrial design company developed a sustainability management system (SMS) standard, designed and implemented an SMS throughout its business, and then became the first company in the world to achieve third-party SMS certification by a... View Details

Keywords: Design; Governance Compliance; Management Practices and Processes; Standards; Environmental Sustainability; Auto Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

03 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty on Supreme Court Health Care Ruling

McPherson Professor of Business Administration and author of Who Killed Health Care? Although many conservatives are gnashing their teeth about the Supreme Court's upholding the individual mandate, had it not been upheld, their worst nightmares would have occurred.... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Health

February 2002
Case

Strategy of the Firm Under Regulatory Review: The Case of Chilectra

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Alexander Dyck

Discusses the largest electric distribution company in Chile and one of the five largest private Chilean companies. Introduces the exercise of operating control in order to improve the profitability of the investments, privatization, and international expansions. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Growth and Development Strategy; Privatization; Emerging Markets; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Global Strategy; Governance Compliance; Utilities Industry; Chile

Educators