Publications

Find at Harvard

2021
Working Paper

The Origins of CE Marking: Standards, Business, and the European Market in the 1980s–1990s

By: Grace Ballor

Many products—from consumer electronics to machinery to children’s toys—bear the CE Mark, the symbol of conformity to the ‘essential requirements’ of European standards governed by the process of CE Marking. This working paper traces the development of the system of... View Details

Keywords: Business And Government; Market Liberalization; Standards; Markets; Trade; Integration; Business History; Globalization; Business and Government Relations; Europe; European Union

Read Now

April 2012
Case

Credit Rating Agency Reform in the US and EU

By: Robert C. Pozen and Brian Conroy

The purpose of this note is to explore reform options for the credit rating industry. The note examines the ways in which credit rating agencies contributed to the recent financial crisis, particularly through ratings of securitized products and sovereign debt. It... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Financial Condition; Standards; Financial Crisis; Corporate Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States; European Union

August 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Batson International, S.A. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

Management seeking to make up a shortfall in interim period earnings is seeking an accounting solution to close the gap. View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Financial Management; Standards; United States

July 2008
Supplement

The Politics and Economics of Accounting for Goodwill at Cisco Systems (B)

By: Karthik Ramanna

Studies the role of Cisco in setting current US accounting standards for acquisitions and goodwill. Students are asked to analyze an acquisition in the context of an ongoing political debate on mergers accounting. View Details

Keywords: Goodwill Accounting; Standards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business and Government Relations; United States

July 2008
Case

The Politics and Economics of Accounting for Goodwill at Cisco Systems (A)

By: Karthik Ramanna

Studies the role of Cisco in setting current U.S. accounting standards for acquisitions and goodwill. Students are asked to analyze an acquisition in the context of an ongoing political debate on mergers accounting. View Details

Keywords: Goodwill Accounting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Standards; Business and Government Relations; United States

2003
Chapter

Designing Sustainability at BMW Group: The Designworks/USA Experience

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney

This case study describes how an industrial design company developed a Sustainability Management System (SMS) standard, designed and implemented an SMS throughout its business, and then became the first company in the world to achieve third-party SMS certification. The... View Details

Keywords: Design; Governance Compliance; Management Practices and Processes; Standards; Environmental Sustainability; United States

Read Now

25 Feb 2020
News

Research Brief: May I Ask Your Advice?

potential. Whillans explains that our exposure to feedback most often occurs in a setting like a performance evaluation, where someone either has or has not passed a measurable threshold. As a result, we limit ourselves to examining what... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

01 Jun 2015
News

Five-Star Research

measurable impact on a business’s bottom line. For Luca, who has authored several studies on the topic—and is himself an occasional Yelp critic—online reviews are “one of the most powerful information sources that has emerged in decades,... View Details

Keywords: April White; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

01 Apr 2002
News

Underwater Options May Not Sink Incentives

Executive Stock Options Still Align Incentives?" by Meulbroek and HBS assistant professor Li Jin. Their study uses the option delta, which measures how a single option's value is affected by a change in the stock price. Calculating this... View Details

Keywords: Lisa Muelbroek; Li Jin; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

05 Apr 2004
What Do You Think?

Should We Brace Ourselves for Another Era of M&A Value Destruction?

in an asymmetrical fashion (for example, through stock options), it is in their financial best interest to do M&A to add volatility to their business." Is M&A part of the natural Darwinian process of business, or is it rigged to produce inferior species of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

30 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Do Social Movements Sway Voters? Not Really, Except for One

researchers measured changes in people’s attitudes before, during, and after protests on a variety of topics, including environmental protection, gender equality, gun control, immigration, national and international politics, and racial... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Jan 2017
News

Personalizing Women’s Path to Success

Institute founded in honor of the iconic Chicago industrialist, which supports entrepreneurial projects that give back to the community or world. “I realized that project was me,” Skeete Tatum recalls. “There are millions of women who are looking for how they can bring... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

Web

Blog | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Impact Measurement Inclusive Finance International Development K-12 Education Leadership Fellows Leadership in Challenging Times MBA Programs Microfinance Non Profit Management Nonprofit Supportive Services Public Sector Public-Private... View Details

November 2010 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Computerized Provider Order Entry at Emory Healthcare

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, F. Warren McFarlan, Mark Keil, Andrew Katz, Michael Morgan and David LaBorde

The Computerized Provider Order Entry at Emory Healthcare case presents one hospital system's efforts to implement computerized provider order entry (CPOE) across all of its hospitals and the challenges they faced in doing so. Issues such as standardization of care,... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Information Management; Management Systems; Standards; Service Delivery; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Projects; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Health Industry

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