Publications

December 2014 (Revised April 2016)
Module Note

Responsibilities to Employees

By: Nien-he Hsieh

The note provides a framework to conceptualize managers' responsibilities to employees in relation to economic, legal and ethical considerations. The note frames the central ethical challenge for managers as exercising power in a fair manner. The fair exercise of power... View Details

Keywords: Leadership & Corporate Accountability; Legal Aspects Of Business; Responsibility; Ethics; Fairness; Employees; Decision Making; Leadership; Jobs and Positions; Labor; Law

January 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

EMC Corporation: Response to Shareholder Litigation (A)

By: Josh Lerner

EMC Corp. is the target of a shareholder class-action lawsuit for the second time. CEO, Richard Egan, must decide whether to settle the case, as is done in 96% of such cases and as EMC itself did previously, or fight the action. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Lawsuits and Litigation; Going Public; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technology Industry; United States

23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

business park at Canary Wharf, three miles outside of central London. Peter Charleton, head of the London Office, is proposing to move to Canary Wharf and building a single, landmark headquarters with all the necessary amenities View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Jun 2007
News

KPMG for Mayor!

corruption scandal in Lagos could harm KPMG’s reputation in New York or Shanghai. Moreover, foreign firms are bound by many laws of their home country and by international laws, notably the antibribery... View Details

Keywords: Eric Werker; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

22 Sep 2009
News

The Case for Regulatory Reform

guarantees” that compel the government to bail out large financial institutions. Moss’s own reform ideas have helped frame the ongoing Washington debate and make a clear, persuasive argument for more federal View Details

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

March 2017 (Revised April 2021)
Module Note

Responsibilities to Society

By: Nien-hê Hsieh

This module note for students outlines an approach to help managers deliver on their responsibilities in relation to society. The approach frames these responsibilities in terms of potential harms to third parties beyond investors, customers, and employees. The... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Political Activity; Corporate Social Responsibility; Human Rights; Role Of Business In Society; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics; Business and Community Relations; Rights; Society

18 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 18

Publications August 2013 Oxford Handbook of Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Multilevel Linkages Innovating without Information Constraints: Organization, Communities, and Innovation When... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 11, 2009

Self-Policing? (revised) Authors:Michael W. Toffel and Jodi L. Short Abstract Administrative agencies are increasingly establishing voluntary self-reporting programs, both as an investigative tool and as a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Background Note

Profitability Drivers in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case presents a simple model of the drivers of profitability in a professional service partnership and conducts an empirical exploration of the determinants of profitability among AmLaw 100 firms over the period 1994 to 1999. View Details

Keywords: Profitability; Model; Profit; Partners and Partnerships; Law; Service Industry

03 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Homeland Security: A Ready-made Market

government are mysterious, he added—the making of laws and sausages are two activities better left behind closed doors. The CIA can talk to the INS, but there are policy issues that affect the speed of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Service

Ricardo Salinas Pliego

Keywords: Diversified

Article

Matching in Networks with Bilateral Contracts

By: John William Hatfield and Scott Duke Kominers

We introduce a model in which firms trade goods via bilateral contracts which specify a buyer, a seller, and the terms of the exchange. This setting subsumes (many-to-many) matching with contracts, as well as supply chain matching. When firms' relationships do not... View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Market Design; Marketplace Matching; Supply Chain

Find at Harvard

03 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 3

capitalization of firms in their coverage portfolio. Our results hold after Regulation Fair Disclosure, suggesting that these relationships are not based on selective disclosure. Overall, the evidence shows both the importance View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Jul 2020
Blog Post

The JD/MBA Seminar: The Perfect Practice Ground

program—some focus more on the law and its effects on how business is conducted, while others approach their topics from a business-first standpoint, analyzing how businesses are impacted by the positive or... View Details

October 2014
Technical Note

Legal Hazards of Product Launches

By: Lena Goldberg and Annelena Lobb

This note considers common legal pitfalls associated with the launch of new products. A series of questions are presented that companies poised to launch a product should keep in mind. Questions about advertising, pricing, and branding are explored, as well as who in a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Legal Liability