Publications

17 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

The Lessons of Business History: A Handbook

“The history of globalization warns against easy assumptions on the linearity of globalization.” Another instance is the highly influential "law and economics" literature, which emphasizes the importance of the common View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 1986 (Revised May 1996)
Background Note

Introduction to Options

Designed to help students develop an understanding of option contracts and markets. View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Capital Markets

September 1994 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Forging the New Salomon

By: Lynn S. Paine and Michael Santoro

Describes Salomon Brothers' recovery from the August 1991 Treasury auction scandal. Details the impact of the firm's disclosure of bidding improprieties and describes how the new management team, led by Warren Buffett and Deryck Maughan, guided the company through the... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Law; Business or Company Management

October 1987 (Revised October 1998)
Case

CVD, Inc. vs. A.S. Markham Corp. (A)

Describes the legal odyssey of two engineers who left their old employer to start a company that was directly competitive. The issues include employment contracts, technology licenses, antitrust, trade secrets, and confidential information. Provides a good opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Human Resources; Contracts; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Intellectual Property; Ethics; Legal Liability; Business Startups; Monopoly

July 1991
Supplement

Retail Promotional Pricing: When Is a Sale Really a Sale? (B)

Provides the court's decision in the May D&F case, and updates the controversy surrounding high-low retail pricing. View Details

Keywords: Courts and Trials; Price; Judgments; Retail Industry

April 3, 2016
Guest Column

The Power of C.E.O. Activism: How Politically Outspoken Executives Sway Public (and Consumer) Opinion

By: Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

Some CEOs are making news by taking public stances on controversial social issues largely unrelated to their core business. This article summarizes the insights from our research paper that shows that such "CEO activism" can influence public opinion and consumer... View Details

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2010
Working Paper

Agency Revisited

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Daniel F. Spulber

The article presents a comprehensive overview of the principal-agent model that emphasizes the role of trust in the agency relationship. The analysis demonstrates that the legal remedy for breach of duty can result in a full-information efficient outcome eliminating... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Contracts; Agency Theory; Mathematical Methods; Behavior; Trust

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11 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: Dec. 11

awards, including the Grand Prix at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and a 2012 Gold Effie. Purchase this case:http://hbr.org/search/513032-PDF-ENG Creating the First Public Law... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 19

PublicationsLabor Regulations and European Venture Capital Authors:Bozkaya, Ant, and William R. Kerr Publication:Journal of Economics & Management Strategy Abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2002 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Unilever Superannuation Fund vs. Merrill Lynch, The

By: Andre F. Perold and Joshua Musher

In 2001, the Unilever Superannuation Fund sued Merrill Lynch for damages of 130 million British pounds. Over the period 1977 to 1998, the Unilever Fund had significantly underperformed the benchmark, and its trustees contended that the poor returns resulted from... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Performance Evaluation; Agreements and Arrangements; Customer Relationship Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Asset Management; Risk Management; Legal Liability; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

17 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

The Business of Babies

"The law says yes and no." Until there is more clarity, the market cannot thrive. "The best technology in the world won't help you if it's illegal," Spar said. "If advances in... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

February 1990
Supplement

Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (D)

Addresses repercussions of the accident on the company including ongoing clean-up efforts, litigation, and organizational changes. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Crisis Management

23 Oct 2019
News

Negotiators Share Lessons from High-Stakes Global Diplomacy

Madeleine Albright was interviewed for the American Secretaries of State Project, a collaboration among faculty members at HBS, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Law School designed to extract lessons in... View Details

Keywords: University Collaborations

December 2011
Article

How Do Acquirers Retain Successful Target CEOs? The Role of Governance

By: Julie Wulf and Harbir Singh

The resource-based view argues that acquisitions can build competitive advantage partially through retention of valuable human capital of the target firm. However, making commitments to retain and motivate successful top managers is a challenge when contracts are not... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Mergers and Acquisitions; Acquisition; Equity; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Contracts; Performance; Governance; Legal Services Industry

Find at Harvard

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February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Veridian: Putting a Value on Values

By: Rakesh Khurana, Joel Podolny and Jaan Margus Elias

David Langstaff, the CEO of Veridian, a defense company, struggles with the decision of selling the company. Langstaff has concerned himself with inculcalating his organization with the values necessary for superior achievement over the long term. But as a fiduciary,... View Details

Keywords: Cash; Corporate Governance; Financial Markets; Law; Leadership; Patents; Values and Beliefs; Service Industry; Aerospace Industry

January 2011
Case

William Jeffrey Departs from Bay Colony Mutual

By: Lena G. Goldberg

A board's decision-making and process in investigating and terminating a company's CEO are explored and the company's policies and contractual obligations considered. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Policy; Resignation and Termination; Contracts; Leadership

01 Sep 2009
News

Consumer Finance Makes HBS Debut

Harvard Law School professor Howell Jackson (MBA 1980), the elective course attracted 52 students, with one-third coming from the Law School. Tufano recently talked about the course View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

November 2024
Supplement

Epic Games: Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite (B)

By: Andy Wu and Ronald Wang

In a significant ruling on April 24, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld portions of the district court’s decision against Epic Games back in September 2021. However, Apple’s anti-steering provisions, which restricted app developers from... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Market Transactions; Applications and Software; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry