Publications

04 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Making the Case for Consumer-Driven Health Care

While some consider it President Obama's greatest accomplishment, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also has been the target of constant scrutiny and scorn since it was signed into law last... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

05 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 5

pricing in quarters where they have a financial incentive to close a deal, resulting in mispricing that costs the vendor 6%-8% of revenue. Robustness checks demonstrate that price discrimination by the vendor does not explain the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2008
News

The $4 Billion Question

It’s no secret that private equity firms have enjoyed massive profits in recent years. In Private Equity Finance, a course in the second-year MBA elective curriculum, students follow the life cycle of a deal in order to learn more about... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Finance; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Management

January 5, 2012
Article

Internet Protocol Numbers and the American Registry for Internet Numbers: Suggested Guidance for Bankruptcy Trustees, Debtors-in-Possession, and Receivers

By: Stephen Ryan, Benjamin Edelman and Matthew Martel

Bankruptcy trustees, debtors-in-possession, and receivers are seeing an increase in efforts to sell Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, also referred to "IP Numbers." IP Numbers are the unique numeric identifiers associated with computers connected to the Internet. While... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Internet; Sales; Value; Policy; Contracts

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June 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Rambus Inc., 2004

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Examines the role of technology licensing in strategies for high-technology companies. In the 1990s, Rambus developed a revolutionary memory technology that would improve the ability of DRAMs to keep pace with ever-faster microprocessors. To commercialize the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Strategic Planning; Relationships; Commercialization; Competition; Technology Adoption; Value; Semiconductor Industry

February 2003
Background Note

Identity Issues in Teams

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Hillary Anger Elfenbein

This note explains how identity dynamics underlie many of the observable interpersonal problems that team members encounter, ranging from lack of participation and low involvement to misunderstandings and dysfunctional emotional conflict. It provides a framework for... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Managerial Roles; Outcome or Result; Performance Effectiveness; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Emotions; Identity

16 Oct 2014
News

Reducing special-interest influence over government regulation

lead to problems of its own. David A. Moss, the John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration, has helped lead a team of scholars from across the country to examine how... View Details

July 2001 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Centra Software

By: John A. Deighton and Laetitia Pouliquen

Centra is a pioneer in software eLearning. It is debating how to modify its go-to-market strategy, adding telesales to improve sales force productivity. At the same time, its market is evolving, and management thinks it may be about to "cross the chasm" in Geoffrey... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Learning; Emerging Markets; Growth Management; Salesforce Management; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Education Industry

01 Jun 2009
News

Too Big To Fail

Illustration by David Plunkert Here’s a really scary thought. Now that the federal government has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into saving financial institutions deemed “too big to fail,” hasn’t it... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; federal bailouts; Credit Intermediation and Related Activities; Finance

June 2019
Article

Fraud Allegations and Government Contracting

By: Jonas Heese and Gerardo Pérez Cavazos

This paper examines whether fraud allegations affect firms’ contracting with the government. Using a dataset of whistleblower allegations brought under the False Claims Act against firms accused of defrauding the government, we find that federal agencies do not reduce... View Details

Keywords: Whistleblower; Fraud Allegations; False Claims Act; Government Contracting; Risk Allocation; Government and Politics; Contracts; Crime and Corruption; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Government Relations

SSRN

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31 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 31, 2009

directors had conflicts of interest because they were involved with the CEO's non-Friendly business activities. In 2003, Blake filed a lawsuit against the CEO and the company. In 2006, Sardar Biglari, a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 1994 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Repligen Corporation: January 1992

By: Josh Lerner and David Kane

Sandford Smith, CEO of Repligen, faces the breakdown of negotiations about a proposed joint venture with a large pharmaceutical firm. He must decide whether to proceed using his firm's internal resources or whether to seek to revise the proposed collaboration. If the... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Decisions; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Value

July 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Agricultural Biotechnology and its Regulation

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

In the United States, genetically modified corn and soybeans are now widely grown and consumed. In Europe, however, they have been dubbed "Frankenstein foods," shunned by packaged food manufacturers, and subjected to a host of governmental restrictions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Genetics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Corporate Strategy; Trade; Law; Goods and Commodities; Safety; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Europe; United States

10 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

Breakthrough Negotiation: Don’t Leave It On the Table

of coercive power as illegitimate and will feel free to violate its terms unless power is applied on an ongoing basis to enforce it. They also understand that backing weak players into a corner triggers resistance and escalation.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

July 2008
Article

Crime and Punishment in the 'American Dream'

By: Rafael Di Tella and Juan Dubra

We observe that countries where belief in the "American dream" (i.e., effort pays) prevails also set harsher punishment for criminals. We know that beliefs are also correlated with several features of the economic system (taxation, social insurance, etc). Our objective... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economic Systems; Values and Beliefs; Law Enforcement; Mathematical Methods; Personal Characteristics; United States

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Read Now

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51195 Spring 2016 Business History Review California Fair Trade: Antitrust and the Politics of 'Fairness' in U.S. Competition Policy By: Sawyer, Laura Phillips Abstract—In the decades before... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2016 (Revised November 2021)
Teaching Note

T-Mobile in 2013: The Un-Carrier

By: John Beshears and Francesca Gino

By 2013, the U.S. wireless industry was in the midst of a costly transition. As consumers began to embrace more sophisticated mobile devices, the industry's four main players spent heavily to improve their infrastructures for providing reliable high-speed data... View Details

Keywords: Wireless Industry; Telecommunications; Mobile; Service Contracts; Behavioral Economics; Add-on Fees; Shrouded Attributes; Contracts; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry; United States

February 1997 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Harrington Financial Group

By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel

In early 1997, Harrington Bank, a small Indiana savings and loan (thrift) wondered what its next move should be. Harrington was acquired in 1988 by the principals of Smith Breeden Associates, a money-management and consulting firm specializing in the application of... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Price; Risk Management; Mortgages; Contracts; Asset Management; Investment; Financial Services Industry