Publications

2010
Article

Corporate Governance at the World Bank and the Dilemma of Global Governance

By: Ashwin Kaja and Eric Werker

Most major decisions at the World Bank are made by its Board of Executive Directors. While some countries enjoy the opportunity to serve on this powerful body, most countries rarely, if ever, get that chance. This gives rise to the question: does board membership lead... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Decisions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Voting; Globalized Economies and Regions

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November 23, 2021
Article

The Nasdaq Mandate Will Expand Diversity in Business—and That’s Good for Business

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Andrea Silbert

As The Boston Club’s corporate census has identified, Massachusetts is moving the needle on the advancement of women and people of color in the business community. In our work, we measure this data year after year, and we are seeing incremental progress, but it is... View Details

Keywords: Women; Equity; Board; Diversity; Race; Gender; Measurement and Metrics; Policy; Massachusetts

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November 1989 (Revised December 1996)
Supplement

Wisconsin Central Ltd. Railroad and Berkshire Partners (B): LBO Associations and Corporate Governance

By: Michael C. Jensen

Describes the resolution of the default situation. Further examines the internal control mechanisms and distinct role of the board of directors of a typical LBO association. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Leveraged Buyouts; Rail Industry

04 Apr 2022
What Do You Think?

As Disney Board Chair, What Would You Advise CEO Bob Chapek Regarding 'Don’t Say Gay'?

But Iger, who had stayed on until recently as executive chairman and chairman of the board after a “legendary” tenure as CEO, said publicly, “A crisis of this magnitude, and its impact on Disney, would necessarily result in my actively... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Aug 2012
News

Picking a Corporate Leader: The Crucial Question Almost No One Asks

March 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Kimball International, Inc. (KII), led by CEO Kristie Juster, and its board of directors, chaired by Kim Ryan, faced critical questions about KII’s future in the spring of 2021. Two years earlier, the board had appointed Juster as the new CEO of KII, a publicly traded,... View Details

24 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility

ESG—factors), both because of its importance to socially conscious investors and as an indicator of long-term corporate health. Firms such as Morgan Stanley Capital International crunch hundreds of factors from carbon emissions to the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

August 2016
Case

CSI Ingenieros

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

CSI's business unit managers gathered around the downstairs conference room for the company's weekly meeting to discuss project bids. Cristina WaldAshley Hartman, who was in charge of finding projects for the engineering firm to work on, read through several she had... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Board; Board Committees; Board Dynamics; Organization; Organization Alignment; Dynamic Capabilities; Organization Design; Organizational Prototyping; Organizational Silence; Organizational Learning; Organization Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Manufacturing Industry; South America; Uruguay

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

Greed, Fear, and The System Hinder Corporate Reform

already lost money. Enforcement may work as a deterrent, but in the long run, he suggested, it is difficult to know whether deterrence instills investor confidence. The key is to let everyone know that regulators are out there, he said. "It is a challenge."... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

16 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

At the Center of Corporate Scandal Where Do We Go From Here?

Harvard Business School Dean Kim B. Clark made these remarks to the National Press Club on February 26.What I'd like to do is talk about a topic that I think touches the very heart of our society: the issue of corporate misconduct and the... View Details

Keywords: by Kim B. Clark

10 Nov 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Managing Reputation: Evidence from Biographies of Corporate Directors

Keywords: by Ian D. Gow, Aida Sijamic Wahid, and Gwen Yu

03 Feb 2018
Op-Ed

How to Heed BlackRock's Call for Corporate Social Responsibility

ranks. Still, a great deal more needs to happen. Standards and measurement systems are only one part of the solution for changing corporate behaviors, and they are difficult to get right. But as long as we know about the assumptions used... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Battilana

August 2011 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Boardroom Battle Behind Bars: Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings—A Corporate Governance Drama

By: William C. Kirby and Tracy Yuen Manty

Despite widespread news of the incarceration of Gome Electronics' CEO, Huang Guangyu, Bain Capital felt they carefully undertook due diligence before making a significant investment in the company. The venture capital firm was confident that it and the current... View Details

Keywords: China; Legal Aspects Of Business; Corruption; Risk; Corporate Governance; Crime and Corruption; Power and Influence; Risk Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Venture Capital; Ethics; Governing and Advisory Boards; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Values and Beliefs; Private Equity; China

November 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Tesla, Inc. in 2018

By: Siko Sikochi, Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

On August 7, 2018 Elon Musk, Chairman and CEO of Tesla tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private and had secured funding. Weeks went by without details about a deal and speculation grew that Musk had misled investors. He soon abandoned the idea, but the... View Details

Keywords: Disclosure Regulation; Board Independence; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards

February 2021
Article

The Department of Justice as a Gatekeeper in Whistleblower-Initiated Corporate Fraud Enforcement: Drivers and Consequences

By: Jonas Heese, Ranjani Krishnan and Hari Ramasubramanian

We examine drivers and consequences of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight of whistleblower cases of corporate fraud against the government. We find that the DOJ is more likely to intervene in and conduct longer investigations of cases that have a higher chance... View Details

Keywords: Whistleblowing; Department Of Justice; DOJ Enforcement; Performance Measures; False Claims Act; Crime and Corruption; Governance Compliance; Law Enforcement

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March 2018
Supplement

China Vanke: Battle for Control (C)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Charles C.Y. Wang, Dawn H. Lau and Anthony K. Woo

Baoneng calls for the removal of China Vanke's board of directors, citing as reasons the directors' mishandling of the Shenzhen Metro proposal as well as the company's various breaches of corporate governance requirements. Vanke defends itself against Baoneng's... View Details

Keywords: China Vanke; China Resources; Hostile Takeover; Board Of Directors; Shareholding Structure; Shareholder Rights; Asset Restructuring; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Real Estate Industry; China

26 Feb 2009
Lecture

Sustainability in the Board Room." Presentation for the Conference Board: "Corporate Governance and Sustainability Working Group

By: Lynn S. Paine

Keywords: Corporate Governance

Web

Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability Course | HBS Online

This course is part of the Business in Society and Leadership & Management track. Introduction to Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability ENROLL NOW No application needed for our certificate programs. Start your journey today!... View Details

May 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Supplement

Odebrecht's 'Transformation Journey' (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Pedro Levindo

The case describes the changes in Odebrecht’s board of directors while the company had to file for court-supervised reorganization and cope with an ongoing feud within its founding family, and the new challenges that the Group’s leadership has to face. The changes in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Reputation; Mission and Purpose; Business and Government Relations; Engineering; Family Business; Emerging Markets; Construction Industry; Brazil; Latin America