Publications

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March 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Danatbank

By: David A. Moss, Cole Bolton and Andrew Novo

In the summer of 1931, Germany was struggling with a deepening economic crisis. Production had fallen, unemployment was high, and bank deposits and gold were being withdrawn from the country at a rapid pace, threatening the value of the German mark. The country's third... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk Management; Business History; Capital Markets; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; Germany

July 2005 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Jesse Holman Jones and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Bridget Gurtler

Jesse Holman Jones is regarded as one of the most influential men in reviving the American economy from the Great Depression. With only an 8th grade education, he rose to the top of the banking, real estate, and lumber industries, as well as the upper echelons of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Strategy; Business History; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence

March 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Blackout: August 14, 2003

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ryland Matthew Willis

On August 14, 2003, an electricity blackout cascaded throughout the northeastern United States and Canada. Describes the structure, technology, and economics of the electric utility industry and how gradual deregulation beginning in the 1970s placed unprecedented, and... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Infrastructure; Energy Sources; Business and Government Relations; Networks; Emerging Markets; Failure; Economics; Utilities Industry; Canada; Northeastern United States

February 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Case

ArcelorMittal and the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Sarah Nam, Sisi Pan and Eric Werker

During the summer of 2014, Alan Knight, general manager of corporate responsibility at the integrated steel and mining company ArcelorMittal, observed the unfolding of an Ebola epidemic in Liberia and other countries in West Africa with great concern. On the one hand... View Details

August 2021
Supplement

Danone S.A.: Becoming a Mission-Driven Company (C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Emilie Billaud

Describes the events that took place in the first year after Danone became France’s first “entreprise à mission” (mission-driven company). View Details

Keywords: Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; France; Europe

August 2021
Supplement

Danone S.A.: Becoming a Mission-Driven Company (B)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Emilie Billaud

Describes the events that took place in the first six months after Danone became France’s first “entreprise à mission” (mission-driven company). View Details

Keywords: Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; France; Europe

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Supplement

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A2)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

The A1 and A2 versions of the “Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)” split the original A case into two parts. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006. The... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Conflict and Resolution; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Career Coach

Sarah Bua

feasibility of novel medical technologies and services. Sarah holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Brown University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), prior elected... View Details

Keywords: Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government; Government

31 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Why Competition May Not Improve Credit Rating Agencies

how recent increases in competition among raters led to "friendlier," poorer-quality ratings. As Becker explains, "The related theory goes back to the early 1980s (especially to an influential paper by economists Benjamin... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

01 Dec 2002
News

Bad Times for Business

relate to your areas of interest and expertise. Then we'll discuss some of the challenges they pose. Brian, what about the issue of top-management compensation? Brian Hall: As you all know, stock options were intended to give executives... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

01 Sep 2011
News

Water for Life

Issue Focus: Business and the Environment Zobel de Ayala Photographs by Tom Epperson Issue Focus The Business and Environment Initiative at HBS The City Solution Green Day Related Links Watch Ayala discuss sustainability Sixteen years... View Details

Keywords: Waste Management and Remediation Services; Corporate Services; Water, Sewage and Supply Systems; Utilities

September 2017
Teaching Note

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro and Hayley Pallan

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

May 2010 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Water Shortage and Property Investing in Mexico City

By: John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar and Griffin James

A commercial property company evaluates water risks including the government's ability to remedy, the company's operating exposure and mitigation, and whether to relocate because of water risk. A real estate fund manager assesses investment prospects in Mexico City in... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Privatization; Business and Government Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Utilities Industry; Mexico City

01 Dec 2011
News

Uncle Sam’s Business Man

Barry Johnson (MBA ’89) has over 20 years of business experience as an entrepreneur and corporate executive with media giants such as the Walt Disney Company, Bertelsmann, and Sony Music Corporation. With expertise in public-private partnerships, he’s now putting his... View Details

January 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Colombia: Strong Fundamentals, Global Risk

By: Aldo Musacchio, Richard H. K. Vietor, Jonathan Schlefer and Carolina Camacho

By mid-2009 Colombian President Alvaro Uribe had ended decades of virtual civil war and strengthened the business climate, but he faced tough economic challenges. Though he had instituted prominent market reforms and brought inflation down sharply, Colombia seemed... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Macroeconomics; Trade; Global Strategy; Infrastructure; Business and Government Relations; Colombia

09 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Come Fly with Me: A History of Airline Leadership

industry went through its life-cycle stages. (Read a book excerpt on Herb Kelleher and Southwest Airlines below.) Sarah Jane Gilbert: Your research on the airline industry explores three types of executives: the entrepreneur, manager, and leader. How are they... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Air Transportation

March 2011
Teaching Note

The Political Economy of Carbon Trading (TN)

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and J. Gunnar Trumbull

Teaching Note for 710056. View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Globalization; International Relations; Problems and Challenges; Agreements and Arrangements; Risk Management; Developing Countries and Economies; System; United States; China