Publications

September 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (A)

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan

Acumen Fund is a global venture capital firm with a dual purpose: it looks for a return on its investments, and it also seeks entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty. This case examines Acumen's new projects in Kenya. The organization's investment committee and its... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Social Enterprise; Financial Services Industry; Kenya

September 2009 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Novasys Medical

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Lauren Barley

Novasys has developed a new medical device and procedure for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence that is cheaper and can be performed in doctors' offices. In spite of FDA approval, the American Medical Association has been unwilling to approve the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Product Development; Business and Government Relations; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

September 8, 2009
Article

The New Governance Paradigm

By: Nathaniel Foote and Michael Beer

Boards members of failed banks in 2008 or of the many companies like Enron who were caught up in scandals are by and large honorable, well intentioned, and competent people. So what went wrong and what can be done about it. This article argues that the problem lies in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Competency and Skills; Banks and Banking; Failure; Goals and Objectives; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Ethics; Performance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crime and Corruption

Keywords: Green Building; LEED Rating System; Economic And Environmental Performance; Program Evaluation And Assessment; Tradeoffs Between Process- And Performance Standards; Buildings and Facilities; Business Headquarters; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Standards; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Improvement; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Green Technology Industry

September 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Genzyme Center (A)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Aldo Sesia

Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning that the building as planned would likely earn a LEED Silver rating, an intermediate score in the LEED green... View Details

September 2009
Article

Hidden Roadblocks in Cross-Border Talks

By: James K. Sebenius

While most analysts and dealmakers are aware of "cultural" differences in negotiations that cross national borders--different protocol and process expectations, differences in the role of the individual versus the group, differences in attitudes toward risk and time,... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation Tactics; Risk Management; Time Management; Strategy; Governance; Performance Expectations; Attitudes; Culture; Decision Making

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August 2009 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Indian Railways: Building a Permanent Legacy?

By: Tarun Khanna, Aldo Musacchio and Rachna Tahilyani

Keywords: Government and Politics; Managerial Roles; Size; State Ownership; Performance; Transportation Industry; India

August 2009
Article

Market Culture: How Rules Governing Exploding Offers Affect Market Performance

By: Muriel Niederle and Alvin E. Roth

July 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Pfizer: Letter from the Chairman (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case explores maximizing shareholder value as a goal in executive decision making. Over a period of nine years, three different Pfizer CEOs make critical decisions intended to increase shareholder value. But the results are disappointing. To allow students to... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Annual Reports; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

June 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Target Corporation: Ackman versus the Board

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan and James Weber

After 15 years of great performance, Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight. Target Corporation, the second largest discount store retailer in the U.S., had competed successfully against industry... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Value; Retail Industry

June 2009
Case

Executive Remuneration at Royal Dutch Shell (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Kaitlyn Simpson

The remuneration committee at Shell decided to exercise their discretionary power to award five top executives a bonus for 2008, even though they had not met the necessary performance measures under the compensation plan. Proxy advisors RiskMetrics and the British... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Executive Compensation; Performance Evaluation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry

Article

Mission-Driven Governance

By: Raymond Fisman, Rakesh Khurana and Edward Martenson

The purpose of this paper is to provide a useful, easily applied theory of governance performance. The existing model is fundamentally adversarial, rooted in the paradigm of principal-agent conflict. At its base is an image of governance as a never-ending struggle... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Knowledge Management; Standards; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation

May 2009
Case

Tokyo Electron Ltd.

By: Willy C. Shih and Andrew A. King

Tokyo Electron Ltd. operates in a constrained innovation environment, defined by modular boundaries that are long standing in the industry that it serves, the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. While the original motivation for these boundaries was division... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance Controls; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Boundaries; Manufacturing Industry; Semiconductor Industry

2009
Chapter

Evaluating the Impact of SA8000 Certification

By: Michael J. Hiscox, Claire Schwartz and Michael W. Toffel

SA 8000, along with other types of certification standards and corporate codes of conduct, represents a new form of private governance of working conditions, initiated and implemented by companies, labor unions, and non-governmental activist groups. Whether these codes... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Working Conditions; Standards; Performance Evaluation

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Article

How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?

By: Aaron K. Chatterji, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel

Ratings of corporations' environmental activities and capabilities influence billions of dollars of "socially responsible" investments as well as some consumers, activists, and potential employees. In one of the first studies to assess these ratings, we examine how... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Effectiveness; Natural Environment; Pollutants