Publications

26 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism

Keywords: by Sophus A. Reinert and Robert Fredona

October 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

H.J. Heinz Co.: The Administration of Policy (B)

Summarizes the investigation conducted by outside legal and accounting firms under the Heinz audit committee. Improper practices were found at three of the five Heinz domestic divisions and at a number of foreign operations. Presents restated financial data for the... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Accounting Audits; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

May 2022
Case

TikTok and National Security: Investment in an Age of Data Sovereignty?

By: Jeremy Friedman, Sarah Bauerle Danzman and David Lane

This case covers TikTok’s purchase of Musical.ly and the reaction of the United States government, including the review of the purchase by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the reaction of the presidential administration of Donald... View Details

Keywords: Data Security; Mergers and Acquisitions; Cybersecurity; Internet and the Web; International Relations; Laws and Statutes; Globalized Firms and Management

December 2012
Teaching Note

Gene Patents (A) (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew Preble

This is the teaching note for case Gene Patents (A). In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our... View Details

Keywords: Biotech; Human Genome; Patents; Genetics; Biotechnology Industry; United States

21 Jan 2021
Video

Y. V. Reddy

Y.V. Reddy, Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, reflects on India’s balance of payments crisis in 1991, during which he headed the BoP division within the Ministry of Finance. He describes the three main features of the reform process: removing the License... View Details

February 2003 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Ernst & Young LLP

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

The history of Ernst & Young provides a platform to discuss the issues related to the sale of the consulting business as well as the founding of the legal unit. It dovetails with the issues raised at Arthur Andersen regarding the role of the Big Four accounting firms... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Conflict of Interests; Accounting Industry

Find at Harvard

2016
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Alberto Mora and the Costs and Consequences of Torture

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Benjamin Summers

Alberto Mora's time as General Counsel of the Navy from 2001–2006 greatly influenced his mission to illuminate the policy consequences of torture. Mora's drive to restore the nation's awareness and conscience against torture was gaining traction. Prominent... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Skills; Torture; Costs And Consequences; Humane; Restraint; Human Dignity; Treatment Of Prisoners; Prison; Repression; Opposition; Revolution; Democracy; Communism; International Affairs; Public Service; September 11; War On Terror; Operation Enduring Freedom; Guantanamo; Cuba; Coalition; Working Group; Cruelty; Interrogation; Memorandum; American Law; Authority; Authoritative; Quadrennial Defense Review; National Defense Authorization Act; Public Engagement; Advocacy; Law; Accountability; Center For The Victims Of Torture; Human Rights; Public Policy; Legality; Morality; Legal System; Tactical Military Operations; West Point; NGO; Human Rights First; American Civil Liberties Union; Human Rights Watch; Amnesty International; Constitution Project; Center For Constitutional Rights; Strategic Military Effect; National Security; Weapon; Terrorism; Prisoners Of War; Abu Ghraib; Pentagon; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Leadership; Rights; Policy; Public Opinion; United States

2011
Article

Bias in Search Results?: Diagnosis and Response

By: Benjamin Edelman

I explore allegations of search engine bias, including understanding a search engine's incentives to bias results, identifying possible forms of bias, and evaluating methods of verifying whether bias in fact occurs. I then consider possible legal and policy responses,... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Motivation and Incentives; Outcome or Result; Markets; Legal Liability; Policy; Search Technology; Performance Evaluation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

Read Now

January 2008 (Revised November 2009)
Case

China's Evolving Labor Laws (A)

By: Lynn Sharp Paine and Aldo Sesia Jr.

The (A) case describes key provisions of the new labor contract law proposed by China's National People's Congress in 2006. The case invites students to consider how domestic and multinational companies should respond to the Chinese government's invitation to comment... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Labor; Contracts; Laws and Statutes; Business and Government Relations; China

Research Summary

Antitrust in the new economy

The objectives of this project are threefold: (1) identify the computational, managerial, and legal issues that interact and make antitrust compliance difficult in the context of B2B exchanges; (2) examine the computational difficulties and policy implications of... View Details

December 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Daniel Defense: Responding to the Shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

At 11:33am on May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old man from Uvalde, Texas walked into the Robb Elementary School carrying a semi-automatic "AR-15-style” rifle manufactured by Daniel Defense and killed 19 children and two adults. Three days later, Representative Carolyn Maloney... View Details

Keywords: Gun Violence; Gun Policy; Second Amendment; Legal Liability; Government Legislation; Marketing Strategy; Business or Company Management; Product Marketing; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Moral Sensibility; Crime and Corruption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

Agency theory, a new model of governance promulgated by academic economists in the 1970s, is behind the idea that corporate managers should make shareholder value their primary concern and that boards should ensure they do. The theory regards shareholders as... View Details

17 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Brazil Teaches About Investor Protection

your field? Aldo Musacchio: When I wrote the book, most of the discussion on corporate governance was focused on the legal system and the corporate laws of countries. The conclusions were a bit deterministic. If a country followed the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Banking; Financial Services

November 2023
Case

The Commons Project in Rwanda—Building Digital Infrastructure for the Global Public Good

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Tom Quinn

In September 2022, The Commons Project Foundation (TCP) CEO Zhenya Lindgardt and her team met on a Zoom call to discuss building tools to help Rwandans manage their health data. They believed that helping Africa build digital infrastructure would improve much-needed... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Capital; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Health Care and Treatment; Information Management; Adaptation; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology Industry; Rwanda; United States

Charles C.Y. Wang is the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) and an associate editor of Management Science and Journal of Accounting Research,... View Details

15 Aug 2016
News

How to Make the Other Side Play Fair

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri

By: Robert L. Simons and Christopher A. Bartlett

In 1987, two European rivals--Asea AB of Sweden and BBC Brown Boveri Ltd. of Switzerland--merged to form Asea Brown Boveri. The new company employed 150,000 employees in 850 legal entities operating in 140 countries. The case describes the challenges facing Percy... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Globalization; Problems and Challenges; Leadership Style; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Structure; Reports

December 2007 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Don Jenkins: Resigning from the Firm

By: Boris Groysberg, Geoff Eckman Marietta and Steven Manchel

Don Jenkins, a star event planner at a large firm, resigns to take a position at a boutique firm. However, Don may have made some mistakes when departing that could be trouble later on down the road. The case can be used to teach the business and legal aspects of... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Law; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2001
Case

Corruption in International Business (A)

By: Robert E. Kennedy and Rafael M. Di Tella

Explores various aspects of corruption in international business, in two sections. The first section provides a broad discussion of the ethical, business, and legal aspects of corruption. The second section provides a series of "caselets" that are designed to promote... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Emerging Markets; Policy; Globalization