Publications

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2016
Working Paper

Patent Disclosures and Standard-Setting

By: Josh Lerner, Haris Tabakovic and Jean Tirole

A key role of standard setting organizations (SSOs) is to aggregate information on relevant intellectual property (IP) claims before deciding on a standard. This article explores the firms’ strategies in response to IP disclosure requirements—in particular, the choice... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Corporate Disclosure; Standards

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Keywords: Ecotourism

Dr. Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti

Keywords: Textiles, retail

July 2001
Case

Regal Cinemas LBO (A)

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Daniel Green

This case describes one of the greatest LBO failures of the 1990s. It presents an overview of the difficulties two experienced buyout sponsors were forced to deal with. View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Corporate Governance; Failure

December 1992
Exercise

Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #2

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Describes the position of Utility #2 in negotiating Group B with respect to 1) its SO emissions reduction requirements; 2) the costs of its alternative compliance strategies; and 3) the nature of its state regulatory environment. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Pollutants; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governance Compliance; Utilities Industry

2016
Working Paper

Who Pays for White-Collar Crime?

By: Paul Healy and George Serafeim

Using a proprietary dataset of 667 companies around the world that experienced white-collar crime, we investigate what drives punishment of perpetrators of crime. We find a significantly lower propensity to punish crime in our sample, where most crimes are not reported... View Details

Keywords: Crime; Gender Bias; Women; Women Executives; Corruption; Legal Aspects Of Business; Firing; Human Capital; Human Resource Management; Prejudice and Bias; Crime and Corruption; Judgments; Law Enforcement; Human Resources; Corporate Governance; Gender

SSRN

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Keywords: Dairy

Web

Investment Strategies - Course Catalog

already public acquirer - remains a critical step in corporate transformation by private equity investors and innovation by venture capitalists. Because public capital markets play such a key role in the global economy, View Details

July 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Pfizer: Letter from the Chairman (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case explores maximizing shareholder value as a goal in executive decision making. Over a period of nine years, three different Pfizer CEOs make critical decisions intended to increase shareholder value. But the results are disappointing. To allow students to... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Annual Reports; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

April 1985
Supplement

Cleveland Twist Drill: Jim Bartlett, Video

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Daniel F. Muzyka

Presents a question and answer session with Jim Bartlett, president of Cleveland Twist Drill. Edited into three parts. Bartlett provides additional insights into the case situation and also describes subsequent events at the company. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Policy; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Keywords: Sugar, Agribusiness, Bicycles, Insurance

August 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Revenue Recognition Problems in the Communications Equipment Industry

By: Paul M. Healy and Arjuna J Costa

Designed to explore recognition issues in the context of a potential market downturn. In late 2000, Lucent Technologies reports multiple revisions to its recent financial results due to revenue recognition problems, leading to a dramatic decline in its stock price.... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Disclosure; Revenue Recognition; Policy; Supply and Industry; Performance; Communications Industry

November 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Messier's Reign at Vivendi Universal

By: Rakesh Khurana, Vincent Dessain and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Focuses on a crisis in the board at Vivendi. Highlights the difficulties that arise when dramatic pressure from outside the boardroom affects boardroom dynamics. In this case, there are two events. The first is an unexpectedly large financial loss and a pending cash... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; History; Cash Flow; Acquisition; Performance; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

November 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Supplement

The Weir Group: Reforming Executive Pay (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Federica Gabrieli

Supplement to the (A) case. The case describes the events that took place in the run-up to the 2018 Annual General Meeting, the voting outcome, key perspectives on success factors, and the challenges that The Weir Group faced in the near future. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Human Resources; Management; Executive Compensation; Europe; United Kingdom; Scotland

December 2017
Supplement

CEO Succession at Cisco: Video Supplement

By: Boris Groysberg and J. Yo-Jud Cheng

Excerpts of videotaped class visits and an interview with former Cisco CEO John Chambers about Cisco’s CEO succession planning process. Topics include Chambers’ reflections on the process; the roles of the incumbent CEO, board of directors, executive search, and the... View Details

Keywords: CEO Succession; CEO Turnover; Top Management Teams; Board Of Directors; Organizational Change; Strategic Human Resource Management; Strategy; High Technology; Management Succession; Managerial Roles; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Change

01 Oct 1996
News

At HBS Workshop, New CEOs Tune Up for the Top

effective relationships with boards of directors. In addition to Porter, other HBS faculty members teaching in those sessions included Professor Jay W. Lorsch, a leading expert on corporate governance and... View Details

Keywords: Jon Prestage

04 Apr 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Can Mark Zuckerberg Rebuild Trust in Facebook?

George: I teach governance and serve on many corporate boards, and I can tell you that once you make the decision to go from a wholly-owned private company to go public, you're getting public money, you're... View Details

Keywords: Re: Andi Wang

December 2019
Case

WeWork Files for an IPO

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

For the board of The We Company—better known as WeWork—August 14, 2019, promised to be a pivotal day. It was then that WeWork’s IPO prospectus, known as an S-1 filing, would be made public, giving potential investors, the media, and the general public a window into the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Leadership; Management; Private Equity; Valuation; Venture Capital; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; United States

January 2011
Case

William Jeffrey Departs from Bay Colony Mutual

By: Lena G. Goldberg

A board's decision-making and process in investigating and terminating a company's CEO are explored and the company's policies and contractual obligations considered. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Policy; Resignation and Termination; Contracts; Leadership