Publications

03 Nov 2003
What Do You Think?

Can Investors Have Too Much Accounting Transparency?

be dwarfed by the cost of conforming to new laws driven by those corporate scandals--laws that are intended to protect investors. It prompts a question: Is the cost of accounting transparency worth it to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

July 1982 (Revised August 2006)
Background Note

Tax Factors in Business Combinations

By: Henry B. Reiling

Discusses the theory and rules governing the taxation of business combinations (mergers and acquisitions). Related information from state corporate law, federal securities law, accounting, and finance is also provided. A rewritten version of an earlier note. View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Law

2021
Working Paper

Equilibrium Effects of Pay Transparency

By: Zoë B. Cullen and Bobak Pakzad-Hurson

The public discourse around pay transparency has focused on the direct effect: how workers seek to rectify newly-disclosed pay inequities through renegotiations. The question of how wage-setting and hiring practices of the firm respond in equilibrium has received... View Details

Keywords: Pay Transparency; Online Labor Market; Privacy; Wage Gap; Negotiation; Corporate Disclosure; Compensation and Benefits; Gender

09 Sep 2024
HBS Case

McDonald’s and the Post #MeToo Rules of Sex in the Workplace

behemoth’s corporate culture as it collided with the #MeToo movement’s spotlight on sexual relationships and power in the workplace. And as new information about Easterbrook’s romantic relationship with other employees emerged, it became... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Food & Beverage

29 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Uber Is Worth Saving and How To Do It

love didn’t last, though, especially when Kalanick defied those same cities when they tried to enforce local laws or when Uber would start a service without municipal permission. (Uber argued it was a technology company connecting riders... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Transportation

July 2005 (Revised August 2008)
Background Note

Attorney-Client Privilege

By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Provides a brief summary of the requirements of the attorney-client privilege--an important mechanism for protecting client confidences under U.S. law. Discusses the application of the privilege in a corporate context. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Interpersonal Communication; Crime and Corruption; Law; Attorney and Client Relationships

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10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Motivation and the Cross-Sector Alliance

society through a cultural change that had solidarity as its core value. In our sample alliances, this motivation was associated with a specific company type: family-owned businesses. These are companies controlled by an individual or a family, despite the existence of... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin, Ezequiel Reficco & SEKN research team

May 2008
Article

Coerced Confessions: Self-Policing in the Shadow of the Regulator

By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

As part of a recent trend toward more cooperative relations between regulators and industry, novel government programs are encouraging firms to monitor their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily report their own violations. In this study, we examine how regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Law Enforcement; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Environmental Sustainability; Programs; Power and Influence; Organizations; Decisions; Business and Government Relations; United States

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Read Now

18 Aug 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Role of Organizational Scope and Governance in Strengthening Private Monitoring

Keywords: by Lamar Pierce & Michael W. Toffel

March 2025
Case

Harvey: AI for Lawyers

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Charles Krumholz and Radhika Kak

In early 2025, Winston Weinberg and Gabe Pereyra, co-founders of Harvey AI, reflected on the company’s meteoric rise as a pioneer in AI-powered legal technology. Since its founding in 2022, Harvey had transformed how lawyers approached research, drafting, and document... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Legal Services Industry; Technology Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco; London

September 2007
Case

Tetra Pak Argentina

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Gustavo A. Herrero

Deals with the hands-on management of a difficult situation facing the subsidiary of a multinational corporation (Tetra Pak) in a developing country (Argentina). The situation arises from a major economic, social, and institutional breakdown that jeopardizes the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Crisis; Currency Exchange Rate; Sovereign Finance; Multinational Firms and Management; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Argentina

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing, and direct... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; advertising; airline; apparel; arts; automobiles; banking; beauty products; beverage; biotechnology; broadcasting; chemical; clothing; communications; computer; consulting; consumer products; e-commerce industry; education industry; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; fashion; fast food; federal government; financial services; food; food processing; grocery; health care; high technology; hotels ＆ motels; industrial goods; information; information technology industry; insurance industry; internet; legal services; management consulting; manufacturing; medical supplies; nonprofit industry; oil ＆ gas; petroleum; pharmaceuticals; professional services; publishing industry; real estate; recreation; restaurant; retail financial services; retailing; semiconductor; soft drink; software; sports; state government; telecommunications; textiles; tourism; toy; transportation; travel; utilities; wine

20 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Here’s How Businessman Trump Is Likely to Approach the Presidency

perspectives might the wealthy businessman draw on as he transitions from CEO to commander in chief? To get a better sense of the months ahead, The Gazette asked Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty members how Trump’s nearly 50 years of experience in building a... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese

03 Apr 2006
What Do You Think?

Has Globalization Reached Its Peak?

you think? Original Article The global corporation is once again under the microscope. Twenty to thirty years ago the concern was whether global corporations would behave responsibly without adequate... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 2014
Case

CreditEase: Providing Credit and Financial Services for China's Underclass

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Paul Healy and Nancy Hua Dai

In 2013 Ning Tang, who in 2006 founded CreditEase as a broker of P2P loans to unbanked individuals and small businesses in China, confronts the challenges of rapid growth and expansion in a changing regulatory environment. CreditEase needs to develop technology to... View Details

Keywords: P2P Lending; HNW Products And Services; Business Growth; Business Start-ups; Government Regulation; Change Management; Credit; Microcredit; Banking; Innovation And Management; Developing Countries And Economies; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Law; Financing and Loans; Change; China