Publications

February 2018 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Amazon's HQ2 (A)

By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin

In September 2017, the Internet giant Amazon announced that it aimed to open a second headquarters in some city other than Seattle, its current home base. By 2032, the company projected, this “HQ2” would be home to as many as 50,000 high-paying tech jobs and up to $5... View Details

Keywords: Economic Development; Headquarters; Local Government; Incentives; Business Headquarters; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics

June 2004
Article

A Catering Theory of Dividends

By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler

We propose that the decision to pay dividends is driven by prevailing investor demand for dividend payers. Managers cater to investors by paying dividends when investors put a stock price premium on payers, and by not paying when investors prefer nonpayers. To test... View Details

Keywords: Dividends; Catering; Financial Instruments; Investment Return; Business and Shareholder Relations

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28 Oct 2014
News

With midterm losses looming, what's left of Obama's power?

June 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Individual FoodService, Kelso, and Ken Sweder

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

When and how much risk to take? In October 2020, Ken Sweder, CEO of Individual FoodService (“IFS”), contemplated this question as he evaluated a proposal to acquire Brady Industries, a distributor of janitorial and sanitation products. Sweder and his private equity... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Risk Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Value Creation; Business Divisions

01 May 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose

Keywords: by Malcolm S. Salter

23 Apr 2008
Op-Ed

The Gap in the U.S. Treasury Recommendations

The U.S. Treasury recommendations for restructuring the nation's system of financial regulation are an important start in the process of strengthening the United States financial system. The proposal is to be commended for some of its... View Details

Keywords: by Dwight Crane; Banking; Construction; Real Estate; Financial Services

What You're Really Meant To Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential

Professor Kaplan's book is published by the Harvard Business Review Press, May 2013.

Drawing on his years of experience, Rob Kaplan proposes an integrated plan for identifying and achieving your goals. He outlines specific steps and exercises to help you... View Details

09 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Catching Up With Boards--Jay Lorsch

performance and succession, corporate strategy, and executive compensation. In a recent interview at Harvard Business School, governance expert Jay Lorsch, the School's Louis Kirstein Professor of Human Relations, offered his insights.... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

April 2018 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Tesla's CEO Compensation Plan

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Mehta

Tesla’s board of directors proposed an unusual compensation plan for the company’s CEO Elon Musk. The plan payouts were entirely contingent on achieving very ambitious market value, sales, and EBIT targets over the next ten years. If all the targets were achieved,... View Details

Keywords: CEO Compensation; Compensation Committee; Corporate Governance; Executive Compensation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Auto Industry; United States

August 2001 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Doral Costa

By: William J. Poorvu, John H. Vogel Jr., Arthur I. Segel and Amy Silverstein

Doral Costa is a proposed 277,803 square foot Class A office park development in Miami, FL. Trammell Crow Co. would like to develop this office park in joint venture with a partner. Samantha Spar, the acquisitions partner at Titan Associates, a large real estate... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Joint Ventures; Acquisition; Investment; Partners and Partnerships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Fair Value Accounting; Construction; Property; Real Estate Industry; Consulting Industry; Miami

April 2006 (Revised April 2020)
Case

"The Case of Leadership Inertia"

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

The CEO of an international bank has raised the bank's performance by emphasizing a new culture of leadership that empowers people at all levels. Managers are rated both on their business results and their leadership—how they model new behaviors—but 12 senior managers... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Performance Evaluation; Employee Relationship Management

February 2001 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Delivery Problems at Arrow Electronics, Inc. (A)

By: Andrew P. McAfee, Frances X. Frei and Kerry Herman

Describes a dramatic decrease in service levels (on-time shipments) from the warehouse network of a large electronics distributor. Students need to analyze the root cause of the problem and propose actions. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Order Taking and Fulfillment; Problems and Challenges; Business Processes; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry

March 1997 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Stone Container in Honduras (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Hannah Bowles

Chicago-based Stone Container Corp., a leading producer of cardboard containers and paper bags, proposes a large-scale pine forest management and utilization program in the La Mosquitia region of Honduras. A framework agreement with the government is strongly endorsed... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Types; Environmental Sustainability; Conflict of Interests; Globalized Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Government and Politics; Manufacturing Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Honduras; Chicago

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23 Oct 2015
News

The Mayo Clinic Model for Running a Value-Improvement Program

October 2016 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Indigo Agriculture

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and Christine Snively

Indigo Agriculture had successfully developed and launched its first commercial product, microbe-enhanced cotton seeds, on an accelerated product development timeline. In late 2016, as the company was about to launch its second product, winter wheat, the management... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Agribusiness; Science-Based Business; Operations; Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry

July 1990 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Consolidated Equipment Co.

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

A mature company seeks to rejuvenate itself with internal R&D and external acquisitions. It has developed a DCK model for analyzing the value of a proposed acquisition. A rewritten version of an earlier case by J.K. Butters. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Valuation; Business Growth and Maturation; Research and Development; Acquisition; Capital Budgeting

December 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Forecasting ClimaCell

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Christopher Stanton and James Barnett

A weather technology startup, ClimaCell considers the R&D trade-offs and financing implications of pursuing a proposed contract with a major automobile maker, rather than continuing its focus on building a scalable, all-purpose weather prediction engine. View Details

Keywords: Weather; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Startups; Research and Development; Finance; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Making; Strategy; United States; Israel; Massachusetts; Colorado