Publications

October 2008 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Subprime Crisis and Fair-Value Accounting

By: Paul M. Healy, Krishna G. Palepu and George Serafeim

This case examines the challenges in implementing fair value accounting for mortgage instruments, the role of accounting in the sub-prime crisis, and proposals for revising accounting standards given the crisis. View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Crisis; Debt Securities; Mortgages; Standards

2020
Working Paper

Incentive Power and Knowledge Sharing Among Employees: Evidence from the Field

By: Wei Cai, Susanna Gallani and Jee-Eun Shin

There is consensus, both in the literature and in practice, about knowledge sharing within organizations being a key determinant of success. However, organizations struggle to sustain employees’ engagement in knowledge sharing. One challenge lies in the fact that,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Knowledge Sharing; Employee Driven Innovation; Innovation Appropriability; Contract Design; High-powered Incentives; Low-powered Incentives; Incentives; Pay-for-Performance; Rank-and-file; Employees; Knowledge Sharing; Innovation and Invention; Motivation and Incentives; Creativity; Performance

2023
Working Paper

No Mask, No Service: Customer Reaction to Walmart’s 2020 National Mask Mandate

By: Innessa Colaiacovo

Multi-location firms face a complex series of economic tradeoffs when deciding whether to implement standard processes or allow processes to vary across establishments. One element of this tradeoff is customer response. This paper explores customer reaction to a... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Geographic Location; Policy; Health Pandemics; Retail Industry; United States

Read Now

George Serafeim is the Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He co-leads a Lab, within Harvard's Digital, Data, Design Institute, that focuses on organizational transformation through major shifts, including those... View Details

Keywords: asset management; insurance industry; automobiles; industrial goods; fashion; food; green technology

31 Jan 2020
Video

Blavatnik Fellow David Mou is Innovating Behavioral Health Care

A Global Leader's Guide to Managing Business Conduct

An extensive global survey by three Harvard Business School professors finds that employees agree on core standards of corporate behavior; but meeting those standards will require new approaches to managing business conduct. The compliance and ethics programs of... View Details

13 Jun 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: A Startup Takes On the Credit Ratings Giants

For most of the 20th century, three bond ratings agencies—Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poor's—dominated the credit ratings industry, recently controlling 97 percent of the market. But the status quo was disrupted by the 2008 global... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Banking; Financial Services

January 1994 (Revised February 1994)
Background Note

Intercorporate Investment and Consolidated Statements

By: David F. Hawkins

Discusses accounting for intercorporate investments and the preparation of consolidated statements. U.S. and non-U.S. accounting standards are covered with emphasis on SFAS No. 52. View Details

Keywords: Investment; International Accounting

September 1992 (Revised November 1997)
Case

DHL Worldwide Express

By: John A. Quelch

The worldwide sales and marketing manager must determine the degree to which pricing strategy and tactics should be standardized or left to the discretion of the DHL subsidiary in each country. View Details

Keywords: Governance; Business Subsidiaries; Price; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Sales; Shipping Industry

January 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Ford Motor Company: Quality of Earnings Growth Analysis (A)

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

Even though Ford Motor Co. reports improved profitability, an equity analyst issues a sell recommendation and Standard & Poor's downgrades long-term debt. View Details

Keywords: Quality; Business Earnings; Valuation; Investment Return; Profit; Financial Statements; Revenue; Auto Industry; Consulting Industry

September 1999 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Boeing Company's Accounting for Executive Stock Compensation, The

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Executive stock options are experiencing increased use and the Financial Accounting Standards Board is proposing changes in accounting in the United States. View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Stock Options; Financial Reporting; United States

Find at Harvard

16 Feb 2016
News

Is your child taking a test? When is the right time?

09 Jun 2015
News

The Transparency Revolution

13 Jan 2017
News

An American Fault Line: High School-Only Grads Left Behind

18 Nov 2019
Video

Adi Godrej

Adi Godrej describes the way leaders are nurtured and developed in India-based consumer products Godrej Group, and the necessity of upholding professional standards in a family business.

View Details

07 Oct 2014
News

Average American Wages Moving In Wrong Direction

March 2008
Case

Shangri-La Hotels

By: Dennis Campbell and Brent Kazan

In November 2006, Symon Bridle, the newly appointed chief operating officer of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, was thinking about a number of organizational issues that presented challenges to Shangri-La's rapid expansion strategy. There were three major issues at hand:... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Standards; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Accommodations Industry; China; Europe; North America