Publications

June 2017
Technical Note

Issues in Non-Profit Governance

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Non-profit governance at its core is very different from for-profit governance. Certain aspects of non-profit governance are widely pervasive across all non-profits, while all others are idiosyncratic to specific sub-groups of non-profits. After identifying these... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Nonprofit Organizations

Educators

16 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna; Accounting

August 23, 2010
Article

Disaster Politics: International Politics and Relief Efforts

By: Eric D. Werker

Keywords: Government and Politics

Research Summary

Land in China's Political Economy

By: Meg Rithmire

Land Bargains and Chinese Capitalism: The Politics of Property Rights under Reform

Published October 2015

China since the 1980s has been the scene of unprecedented efforts at urban construction and growth, even in the absence of privatization... View Details

2011
Book

Capitalism: Its Origins and Evolution as a System of Governance

By: Bruce R. Scott

Capitalism, as defined in this book, is an indirect, three-level system of governance for economic relationships (i.e., economic, administrative, and political). Whereas economic markets can coordinate supply and demand within an existing system thanks to the invisible... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Price; Governance; Government and Politics; Books; Markets; Relationships; System

March 2018
Teaching Note

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (A) and (B)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines the ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must determine how to... View Details

July 2021
Article

Multinationality and Capital Structure Dynamics: A Corporate Governance Explanation

By: Daniel Gyimah, Nana Abena Kwansa, Anthony K. Kyiu and Anywhere Sikochi

This paper examines the impact of corporate governance on capital structure dynamics. Using ordinary least squares regressions on 17,496 firm-year observations for 2,294 U.S. multinational companies (MNCs) over the period 1990–2018, we find that MNCs with strong... View Details

Keywords: Multinationality; Speed Of Adjustment; Corporate Governance; Multinational Firms and Management; Capital Structure

2009
Chapter

Government as Risk Manager

By: Tom Baker and David Moss

We explain the four basic ways to manage risk: prevention, risk shifting, risk spreading, and loss control. We set out five principles of effective government risk management gleaned from extensive historical study: (1) link responsibility and control, (2) manage moral... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety

fall 1992
Article

Information Politics

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr., Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak

Keywords: Information

2010
Other Paper

Clear and Present Danger: Planning and New Venture Survival Amid Political and Civil Violence

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine

Prior strategy research is divided on the utility of new-venture planning. Some scholars argue that planning enhances new-firm performance and others make the opposite argument. This paper attempts to reconcile these contradictory views by exploring the extent of... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Success; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Business and Government Relations; Colombia

August 2008
Article

The Implications of Unverifiable Fair-value Accounting: Evidence from the Political Economy of Goodwill Accounting

By: Karthik Ramanna

I study the evolution of SFAS 142, which uses unverifiable fair-value estimates to account for acquired goodwill. I find evidence consistent with the FASB issuing SFAS 142 in response to political pressure over its proposal to abolish pooling accounting. The result is... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Fair Values; Politics; Standard Setting; Fair Value Accounting; Goodwill Accounting; Government Legislation; Agency Theory

SSRN

21 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Voluntary, Self-Regulatory, and Mandatory Disclosure of Oil and Gas Company Payments to Foreign Governments

Keywords: by Paul M. Healy and George Serafeim; Energy

Teaching Interest

Creating Value in Business and Government

By: W. Carl Kester

This full-credit course is open only to students in the HBS-HKS Joint Degree Program, and is a required course for all joint degree students in the fall semester of their third year. Its purpose is to integrate on the one hand, the perspectives and analytic tools... View Details

October 1990
Article

The Structure and Governance of Enterprise

By: Michael C. Jensen and Richard S. Ruback

Keywords: Governance; Business Ventures

2011
Other Unpublished Work

Military Ties, New Ventures, and Political Risk Management in Emerging Economies

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine

New ventures in emerging economies face a number of challenges such as political instability, corruption, and uncertain property rights that can severely hinder their ability to grow and survive, yet little is known about how startups can mitigate such risk. Using data... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Business Startups; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Latin America

August 2024
Case

The Political Money Machine and Senator Cruz

By: Robert F. White and Jimena Marquez

This caselet explores campaign finance rules in U.S. elections, as illustrated through a fundraising memo for Senator Ted Cruz. View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Communication; Public Administration Industry; United States

Educators

September 1997
Background Note

Note on Political Risk Analysis

By: Debora L. Spar

Describes the emergence and subsequent decline of the political risk analysis industry. Discusses what political risk means for multinational firms and various ways in which firms have tried to analyze and grapple with these risks. View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Foreign Direct Investment; Government and Politics

Educators