Publications

December 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Special Economic Zones in India: Public Purpose and Private Property (A)

By: Laura Alfaro and Lakshmi Iyer

In 2005, the government of India enacted the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act in order to attract investment, generate export revenues, and create manufacturing jobs. However, several planned projects faced difficulties in acquiring land for setting up the SEZ. In... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Development Economics; Economic Growth; Policy; Government Legislation; Property; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; India

September 1992 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Acid Rain: The Southern Co. (B)

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

In addition to the issues of expected cost minimization elucidated in Acid Rain: The Southern Co. (A), problems involving regulatory uncertainty are critical to the firm's Clean Air Act compliance strategy. The regulatory uncertainty affects, and is affected by, the... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Business Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Cost vs Benefits; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategic Planning; Investment Return; Government Legislation; Wastes and Waste Processing; Business and Government Relations; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; United States

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Michael W. Toffel

Professor Toffel teaches the required first-year MBA course Technology and Operations Management (TOM).

He also coordinates and teaches the Doctoral Seminar in Technology and Operations Management to help... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Government Legislation; Non-Governmental Organizations; Multinational Firms and Management

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

Whistleblower Legislation in the Context of Financial Reporting This note provides an overview of U.S. federal legislation relating to whistleblowing, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank (including the Office of the... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

in 2006. The case invites students to consider how domestic and multinational companies should respond to the Chinese government's invitation to comment on the proposal. The case also describes the impetus for the new legislation and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

How to Speed Up Energy Innovation

innovation is held by design-build construction firms? I don't think we know the answer to that, but it's interesting to consider what sort of policies in the areas of procurement, IP, and antitrust legislation would support that level of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

28 Aug 2014
Op-Ed

Government Can Do More to Unfreeze Small Business Credit

Business Lending, gaps persist in certain areas of the small-business market, and regulatory overhang continues to create pressures on small business credit. Government Steps To Loosen Credit Three landmark pieces of legislation passed... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking

09 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

How to Revive Health-Care Innovation

legislation and regulation that block disruptive approaches from being used anywhere until they are certifiably good enough to used everywhere. This traps the industry where it began, in the expertise-intensive world of high costs.... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Jerome H. Grossman, M.D. M.D. & Jason Hwang; Health

February 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

The Flint, Michigan Sit-Down Strike

By: Tom Nicholas, Christopher T. Stanton and Matthew Preble

For roughly six weeks between late December 1936 and February 1937, a major strike at several critical General Motors (GM) plants in Flint, Michigan, essentially halted the corporation’s U.S. production and resulted in significant gains for the nascent United... View Details

06 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

What the World Could Learn from America's Immigration Backlash—100 Years Ago

Immigration will be a central issue in the upcoming US presidential election, just as it motivated the recent snap elections in France. After all, the number of migrants rose 27 percent to 281 million globally in 2020, compared with 2010, according to United Nations... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Tabellini

January 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Financing American Housing Construction in the Aftermath of War

By: David Moss and Cole Bolton

At the start of WWI, the United States faced a significant housing shortage. Public officials feared the spread of disease—and even communism—in the nation's cramped urban centers where vacancy rates held near zero and families often "doubled up" in single-housing... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Bonds; Mortgages; Government Legislation; Business History; Housing; Banking Industry; United States

19 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Ground-Floor Opportunities for Retail in India

spending. Real estate costs are high. The taxation and legislation system is complex and difficult to navigate. Vijay Jain said he left a "cushy" job in investment banking to take advantage of the huge potential promised by... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products; Retail

06 Mar 2006
What Do You Think?

The China Dilemma for U.S. Firms: Comply, Resist, or Leave?

agendas. Further, they add that it is more appropriate that the U.S. government take whatever action is appropriate, including passing legislation requiring compliance. Questions posed by this dilemma go far beyond the basic arguments... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

October 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

The 2012 Spanish Labor Reform: Lifting All Boats, or Leveling Down?

By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella, Santiago Botella and Elena Corsi

Since 1978, Spain had struggled to control unemployment. The country’s labor law was protective of employees hired long-term and companies used temporary contracts as buffers. In 2012, amid economic recession and a 23.6% unemployment rate, a center-right government of... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Labor Market; Unemployment; Recession; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government Legislation; International Relations; Working Conditions; Employment; Labor Unions; Contracts; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Spain; European Union