Publications

12 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

Creating Value Across Borders

Europe and Africa because property rights are more difficult to enforce there. —Walter Kuemmerle The first difference is the development of capital markets and the transparency of these markets. In countries where family-owned View Details

Keywords: by Staff

April 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Supplement

Governance at Metallgesellschaft (B)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Accountability; Business Conglomerates; Governing and Advisory Boards; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Mining Industry; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

April 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Governance at Metallgesellschaft (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

MG Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of Germany's international conglomerate, Metallgesellschaft, engaged in a disastrous hedging strategy that nearly dragged the entire enterprise into bankruptcy. This case explores issues of responsibility and accountability among the... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Accountability; Business Conglomerates; Governing and Advisory Boards; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Mining Industry; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

September 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Sherritt Goes to Cuba (A): Political Risk in Unchartered Territory

By: Aldo Musacchio and Jonathan Schlefer

Ian Delaney, CEO of Sherritt, a primarily a mining company, visited Cuba in the early 1990s to negotiate a deal to export nickel for their Canadian refineries. The case describes the difficulties of doing business in Cuba and the challenges Delaney overcame to turn... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Joint Ventures; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; Canada; Cuba; United States

01 Jun 1997
News

Sorting Myth from Reality at Hong Kong Conference

Khanna led a session titled "Entrepreneurship and the Asian Family Enterprise," which brought together three scions of top family corporations in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Ronnie Chan, chairman of the successful Hong Kong property-based View Details

Keywords: Alejandro Reyes

February 2019 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Scandal at Steinhoff

By: Kristin Mugford and Phil Caruso

Keywords: Volatility; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Bonds; Corporate Accountability; Failure; International Finance; Restructuring; Business Conglomerates; Crime and Corruption; Retail Industry; South Africa; Austria; Netherlands

11 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 11, 2018

In 2016, Bruce Wayne, Managing Director of Energy Finance Corporation (EFC), was refining the Investment/Credit Committee materials for the development of up to 10 power generating plants in Argentina. As a subsidiary of the much larger International View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

24 Nov 2014
Research & Ideas

Corrupting Silence: Companies Must Speak Up Against Bribes

In a 2012 Harvard Business School case on corruption at German conglomerate Siemens AG, Peter Solmssen —brought in to clean house —reflects on how people approach a business bribe. "The stupid ones say, very simply, what are you going to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely exceed 9 billion people, up 30 percent from 6.9 billion today, according to projections from both the US Census Bureau and the United Nations. What's more, the population in the world's cities is expected to increase by 3... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

Financial Studies (forthcoming) Abstract I evaluate the effect of loyalty on individuals' portfolio choice using a unique dataset of retirement contributions. I exploit the statutory difference that in 401(k) plans stand alone employees can invest directly in their... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2024
Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Corporate Governance; Organizational Structure; Adoption; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Latin America; Mexico

27 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 27

Hanguk is a large Korean conglomerate multinational that has been keen to attract foreigners. Dylan was hired by Peter to work in Hanguk's U.S. operations. After 18 months, Dylan was promoted to company HQ in Seoul to work with Peter's... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Oscar de la Renta

By: Bharat N. Anand, Elizabeth Lea Carpenter and Samhita Patwardhan Jayanti

Over three decades, Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) had established itself as one of the premier luxury brands in America. Its mainstay business had always been producing and marketing high-priced, couture/ready-to-wear luxury goods. Now, in September 2003, it faced a series... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Borrowing and Debt; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Production; Family Ownership; Luxury; Competition; Diversification; Expansion; United States

July 2001
Teaching Note

Newell Company: Corporate Strategy TN

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Teaching Note for (9-799-139). A rewritten version of an earlier teaching note. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Strategy; Diversification; Strategic Planning; Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Horizontal Integration; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail Industry

July 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy Is Making Me Crazy!

By: Willy Shih

For Carl Zeiss Microimaging, modular hardware and software enabled customers to tailor Zeiss's broad range of microscopy systems hardware and software to meet a wide range of needs from basic scientific research in the biological and medical sciences to clinical... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Corporate Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Science-Based Business; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Business Conglomerates; Digital Platforms; Opportunities; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Computer Industry

2011
Working Paper

From Social Control to Financial Economics: The Linked Ecologies of Economics and Business in Twentieth Century America

By: Marion Fourcade and Rakesh Khurana

As the main producers of managerial elites, business schools represent strategic research sites for understanding the formation of economic practices and representations. This article draws on historical material to analyze the changing place of economics in American... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Practice; Business Education; Labor and Management Relations; Decision Making; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Change; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Finance; Knowledge; Production; Business Conglomerates; Education Industry; United States

Read Now

October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere

By: Mihir A. Desai, Frank Williamson, Mark Veblen and Yuming Zou

Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. has made an initial bid to acquire a primary competitor, Paul Revere, from conglomerate, Textron. The due diligence process uncovers a significant block of problematic disability insurance policies. Provident is forced to assess... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Financial Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Investment; Business Strategy; Cash Flow; Price; Bids and Bidding; Financial Reporting; Business Conglomerates; Insurance Industry; Service Industry