Publications

October 1999 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Case Brief: Stone Container in Honduras and Costa Rica

By: James K. Sebenius and Hannah Bowles

Summarizes contents of two full-length cases. The cases provide examples of two different approaches to managing complex multi-party negotiations with stakeholders. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Participants; Costa Rica; Honduras

June 1997
Case

Stone Container in Costa Rica (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Hannah Bowles

Keywords: Costa Rica

January 2006 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Negotiating Star Compensation at the USAWBL (A-1): Confidential Instructions for Jesse J.

By: Ian Larkin, James K. Sebenius and Guhan Subramanian

In this three-party negotiation exercise, Jesse J, star center in the U.S.A. Women's Basketball League, with her agent, is negotiating a possible compensation package with the Boston Sharks involving a base salary, a possible share of team merchandising profits, and a... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Contracts; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict and Resolution; Sports; Sports Industry; United States

March 1999 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Honda-Rover (C): "The Sting"

By: Ashish Nanda, James K. Sebenius and Ron Fortgang

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Joint Ventures; Alliances; Knowledge Sharing; Strategy; Contracts; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Auto Industry; United Kingdom

1992
Chapter

Thinking Coalitionally: Party Arithmetic, Process Opportunism, and Strategic Sequencing

By: James K. Sebenius and David Lax

Keywords: Alliances; Negotiation Process; Mathematical Methods; Strategy

1991
Chapter

The Power of Alternatives or the Limits to Negotiation

By: James K. Sebenius and David Lax

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation

October 2020
Case

John Branca: Negotiating the Beatles' Northern Songs Catalog (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

In 1985, pop music superstar Michael Jackson instructed his attorney, John Branca, to make a bid for the Northern Songs music catalog, which contained the songs of the Beatles. In a challenging negotiation with Australian media baron Robert Holmes à Court, Branca... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Strategy; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; United Kingdom

January 2020
Supplement

High Drama in Milford (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Farzana Mohamed

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

John Branca: Negotiating Michael Jackson's Thriller (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

John Branca, attorney to pop musician Michael Jackson, must negotiate a series of deals on behalf of his client in order to safeguard his financial interests and creative license during a period of rising stardom. View Details

Keywords: Dealmaking; Negotiation; Entertainment; Music Entertainment

December 2010
Supplement

Everything or Nothing: Martti Ahtisaari and the Aceh Negotiations (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Describes Martti Ahtisaari's negotiating strategies and tactics along with the results of his efforts to end the decades-long conflict between Acehnese insurgents and the Indonesian government that had claimed thousands of lives. View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict of Interests; Strategy; Indonesia

December 2010
Case

The Israeli-Palestinian Negotiating Partners: 2010 Strategic Re-assessment

By: James K. Sebenius and Shula Gilad

A network of influential Israelis and Palestinians, jointly trained in negotiation at Harvard since 2002, faces organizational, strategic, and funding challenges in 2010. Unlike "people-to-people" or "Track II" initiatives, the Israeli-Palestinian Negotiating Partners... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Negotiation Participants; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Conflict and Resolution; Conflict Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy

April 2010
Supplement

Bill Nichol Negotiates with Walmart: Hard Bargains over Soft Goods (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

This case describes the multi-prong negotiating approach that Bill Nichol, Kentucky Derby Hosiery Co. CEO, took to deal with an ultimatum from his largest customer, as well as the outcome of this process. It concludes with a number of Nichol's observations about... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Management Practices and Processes; Negotiation Deal; Outcome or Result; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Retail Industry

December 2007
Background Note

Tools and Tactics for Transformation: Three "Whats" and Three "Hows"

By: James K. Sebenius and Stephen Friedman

Important transformation at Goldman Sachs, where one of the authors was Chairman, required analysis, political leadership, and management in order to fundamentally shift the strategy, people, and culture on a sustainable basis. After describing the actions needed to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture; Transition; Strategic Planning; Core Relationships; Multinational Firms and Management; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity

2003
Case

Lakhdar Brahimi / Negotiating a New Government for Afghanistan

By: James K. Sebenius and Kristin Schneeman

Part of the PON Great Negotiator Case Study Series, this factual case study examines former UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's involvement in negotiating an interim Afghani government after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. As a result of these efforts, Brahimi... View Details

Keywords: Contemporary History; Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Leadership Style; Cognition and Thinking; Conferences; Afghanistan

2004
Other Teaching and Training Material

Great Negotiator 2002: Lakhdar Brahimi

By: James K. Sebenius and Kristin Schneeman

The Program on Negotiation honored Ambassador Brahimi in events on October 2, 2002. These began with an in-depth faculty-moderated discussion with a group of students, faculty, and guests at Harvard Business School. On the evening of the 2nd, Ambassador Brahimi... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Learning; Strategy; Afghanistan

January – February 2009
Article

Transformation: The Quiet Role of Coalitional Leadership

By: Stephen Friedman and James K. Sebenius

Keywords: Transformation; Alliances; Leadership

June 1983
Article

Don't Bet on It: Contingent Agreements with Asymmetric Information

By: James K. Sebenius and John Geanakoplos

Keywords: Information; Agreements and Arrangements

April 1999
Case

Steve Perlman and WebTV (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ron Fortgang

The dynamics of a linked series of internal and external negotiations involved in launching, growing, and selling a high-tech, Internet start-up are explored. Steve Perlman unfurled an impressive new technology, recruited a top technical and management team, secured... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Alliances; Internet; Communications Industry