Publications

13 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Company Reviews on Glassdoor: Petty Complaints or Signs of Potential Misconduct?

Corporate scandals often follow a pattern: Whether it’s Theranos and its fraudulent blood testing technology, Wells Fargo and its fake financial accounts, or Volkswagen and its bogus emissions data, a whistleblower eventually comes forward to expose the behavior, and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

June 2020
Case

Recovering Trust After Corporate Misconduct at Wells Fargo

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Jonah S. Goldberg

The case describes widespread misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank in the period leading up to 2017 and the company’s subsequent attempts to improve internal controls, company culture, and corporate governance. The case examines the potential causes of large scale... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Internal Controls; Banks and Banking; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Governance Compliance; Management Systems; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Governing and Advisory Boards

November 1994
Case

Dow Corning and the Breast Implant Controversy (A)

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller

In early 1994, Dow Corning Corp. debates whether to participate in a proposed $4.2 billion product liability settlement. Specifically, the firm must decide whether to contribute $2 billion to end a class action suit filed by women suffering from connective tissue... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Ethics; Health Disorders; Government Legislation; Crime and Corruption; Legal Liability; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Communication Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Health Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

December 2016 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Rajat Gupta

By: Paul Healy and Eugene Soltes

Rajat Gupta, former managing director of McKinsey & Company; a director of Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, and AMR; and a well-known philanthropist, was convicted of engaging in insider trading. The case explores Gupta’s rise and the later legal problems he faced. View Details

Keywords: Insider Trading; McKinsey; Ethics; Crime and Corruption; United States

November 2003 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Ivar Kreuger and the Swedish Match Empire

By: Geoffrey Jones and Ingrid Vargas

Taught in Evolution of Global Business. Globalization and corporate fraud are the central themes of this case on the international growth of Swedish Match in the interwar years. Between 1913 and 1932, Ivar Kreuger, known as the "Swedish Match King," built a small,... View Details

Keywords: History; International Finance; Globalized Firms and Management; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Monopoly; Business and Government Relations; Sweden

09 Aug 2018
Cold Call Podcast

Two Million Fake Accounts: Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo

Keywords: Re: Suraj Srinivasan; Banking; Financial Services

30 Apr 2020
Book

Fighting Climate Change Requires a New Capitalism

Rebecca Henderson spent her young adult years living two lives. At work, she preached the risks of resisting change to MBA students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, drawing on lessons she learned while watching factories close as a management consultant.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Energy

Louis T. Wells

Professor Louis T. Wells is the Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at the Harvard Business School. He has served as consultant to governments of a number of developing countries, as well as to international organizations and private firms. His... View Details

Keywords: mining; telecommunications; utilities

10 Oct 2016
Book

Why White-Collar Criminals Commit Their Crimes

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

March 2018 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Designing a Compliance Program at AB InBev

By: Eugene Soltes

Compliance programs help companies align the interests and behavior of employees with external expectations and regulation. The case discusses how AB InBev, a major brewer, developed its compliance program. View Details

Keywords: Governance; Crime and Corruption; Governance Compliance; Consumer Products Industry; Africa; Europe; India; North America

Research Summary

Renovating Democratic Capitalism

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This in-process work focuses on how best to address the declining public trust and confidence in democratic capitalism, which many citizens consider to be a cornerstone of our national ideology and identity? While the answer to this question is not entirely clear, I... View Details

2010
Book

The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal

By: Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu

On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened for business, thus changing the face of both world trade and military power and playing a pivotal role in the rise of the United States on the world stage. Today we view the creation of the Panama Canal as a... View Details

Keywords: Political History; For-Profit Firms; Development Economics; Infrastructure; State Ownership; Ship Transportation; Panama; United States

Find at Harvard

01 Oct 2000
News

Carlos A. Saladrigas: Hardworking Optimist

line the shelves of Saladrigas's office. In addition to fighting corruption in local government, he was involved in last spring's negotiations between Elián González's Miami relatives and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. That task proved... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Microsoft Latin America

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Alberto Ballve and Antonio Davila

Mauricio Santillan, regional vice president for the Latin American division of Microsoft, has introduced a new performance measurement system to help his country managers formulate and control strategy. Microsoft Latin America's priorities are rolling out of an... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Applications and Software; Emerging Markets; Crime and Corruption; Motivation and Incentives; Management Skills; Global Strategy; Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Latin America