Publications

In this book we study the evolution of corporate governance arrangements that governments have adopted for their state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the last 20 years. We show that the process of privatization and liberalization of the 1990s and early 2000s created... View Details

September 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Engineering an Inclusive Bioeconomy

By: Tarun Khanna, Raffaella Sadun and Susie L. Ma

In 2019, entrepreneur Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio was developing a project he hoped could generate and share wealth from the natural resources of the Amazon without destroying those resources. His idea, called Earth Bank of Codes (EBC), would create a library of the... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Sherman's research has long focused on financial reporting, performance measurement/management, and financial literacy issues facing corporate management and Boards of Directors in global businesses. He also actively studies methods to improve productivity in... View Details

15 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

The Unspoken Messages of COVID-19 Restrictions

Soaring COVID-19 cases are forcing government officials to confront a critical question: Should they lock down the economy further? Whether to curb activities like indoor dining might seem like a simple choice, but the decision to ease... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Food & Beverage

2009
Working Paper

The Bloody Millennium: Internal Conflict in South Asia

By: Lakshmi Iyer

This paper documents the short-term and long-term trends in internal conflict in South Asian countries, using multiple data sources. I find that incidents of terrorism have been rising across South Asia over the past decade, and this increase has been concentrated in... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; International Relations; National Security; Conflict Management; Poverty; South Asia

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

PortageBay and ESG Analytics

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Radhika Kak

In 2023, sustainable investors faced several challenges. The first was the lack of access to standardized and vetted environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, and equally, the interpretation of this data into investment-useful insights. Reducing reliance on... View Details

Keywords: ESG Ratings; Investment Funds; Governance; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

September 2017
Case

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking service provider with several of the... View Details

Keywords: Tencent; Tencent Holdings; WeChat; Social Networking; Social Networks; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Video Games; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Portals; Payments; Mobile Payments; O2O; Online-to-offline; E-commerce; Messaging; Subscription Model; Freemium; Mobile App Industry; Smartphone; PC; Monetization Strategy; Antitrust; Streaming; Cloud Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Alibaba; Facebook; JD.com; Tesla; Bundling; Synergies; Digital Strategy; Imitation; Licensing; Agility; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Communication; Communication Technology; Blogs; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Industry Growth; Monopoly; Media; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Opportunities; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Value Creation; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; China; Canton (province, China)

Article

Understanding Boards of Directors: A Systems Perspective

By: Jay W. Lorsch

In this essay, my goal is to explore why, despite the tireless efforts of talented people, research on corporate governance has been slow and uneven, and where that research should turn to next to be most valuable to practitioners. My belief is that the most fruitful... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Boards; Business Admnistration; Social Systems; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; System

13 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Small Businesses Are Worse Off Than We Thought

and is working through the details of a partnership with GoFundMe to help facilitate donations for businesses. Other platforms such as Uber are working on similar initiatives. Distrust of government aid The survey View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

Article

Regulatory, Legal, and Market Aspects of Smart Wearables for Cardiac Monitoring

By: Jan Benedikt Brönneke, Jennifer Müller, Konstantinos Mouratis, Julia Hagen and Ariel Dora Stern

In the area of cardiac monitoring, the use of digitally driven technologies is on the rise. While the development of medical products is advancing rapidly, allowing for new use-cases in cardiac monitoring and other areas, regulatory and legal requirements that govern... View Details

Keywords: Wearables; Regulatory Changes; Medical Technology; Medical Devices; Market Access; Market Entry and Exit; Information Technology; Health Care and Treatment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States; Germany; Belgium

Teaching Interest

Public Entrepreneurship

By: Mitchell B. Weiss

Public entrepreneurship is designed for future private entrepreneurs and public leaders who want to build new ventures operating in or selling into traditionally public domains.

The last few years have seen a wave of new public entrepreneurs start companies... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship

Article

The Use of Broker Votes to Reward Brokerage Firms' and Their Analysts' Research Activities

By: David A. Maber, Boris Groysberg and Paul M. Healy

In traditional markets, the price mechanism directs the flow of resources and governs the process through which supply and demand are brought into equilibrium. In the investment-research industry, broker votes perform these functions. Using detailed clinical data from... View Details

02 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Food Stamp Entrepreneurs: How Public Assistance Enables Business Bootstrapping

Established in 1997, the program provides health insurance to uninsured children in moderate-income families. To research the link between SCHIP and entrepreneurship, Olds studied 1992-2011 data from the United States Census Bureau's... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

10 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting

40 or so years, SASB hopes to simplify and standardize how businesses report data from their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. George Serafeim is the Jakurski Family Associate... View Details

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim

June 2006 (Revised July 2009)
Case

MassMEDIC: The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Michael E. Porter and Spencer Wallace

Set in 2004, as Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) President Tom Sommer contemplates the future direction of a successful medical device cluster association. Focuses on the formation of cluster organizations and their roles and effectiveness,... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Industry Clusters; Nonprofit Organizations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Cooperation; Massachusetts

May 2009
Article

Synchronicity and Firm Interlocks in an Emerging Market

By: Tarun Khanna and Catherine Thomas

Stock price synchronicity has been attributed to poor corporate governance and a lack of firm-level transparency. This paper investigates the association between different kinds of firm interlocks, control groups, and synchronicity in Chile. A unique data set... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Price; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Resource Allocation; Emerging Markets; Ownership Stake; Chile

Find at Harvard

17 May 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Keywords: by Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim

2023
Working Paper

Causes and Consequences of State Violence against Civilians: The Rohingya of Myanmar

By: C. Austin Davis, Paula Lopez-Pena, A. Mushfiq Mobarak and Jaya Wen

The Rohingya crisis is a severe, ongoing conflict involving large-scale violence and forced displacement, yet its causes are contested and its consequences lack systematic documentation. We marshal a variety of existing and original data to shed light on its drivers,... View Details

Keywords: War; Conflict and Resolution; Motivation and Incentives; Developing Countries and Economies; Myanmar