Publications

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July 2010
Supplement

Post-Crisis Compensation at Credit Suisse (B)

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

The (B) case describes how Credit Suisse management allocated the cost of the 25% U.K. banker's tax among shareholders, U.K. managing directors, and the other employees globally. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Cost; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Taxation; Compensation and Benefits; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Switzerland; United Kingdom

2008
Working Paper

CEO and CFO Career Penalties to Missing Quarterly Analysts Forecasts

By: Rick Mergenthaler, Shiva Rajgopal and Suraj Srinivasan

We find that missing the quarterly analyst consensus earnings forecast is associated with career penalties in the form of a reduced bonus, smaller equity grants, and a greater chance of forced dismissal for both CEOs and CFOs during the period 1993-2004. These results... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Managerial Roles; Personal Development and Career

SSRN

March 2002
Case

Akamai's Underwater Options (B): The Decision

By: Brian J. Hall, Houston Lane and Jonathan Lim

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Stock Options; Attitudes; Compensation and Benefits

14 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

How Can Start Ups Grow?

size nor a track record of good performance. Although the benefits of status are crucial to their performance, they are unable to avail of them. An alternate way of acquiring status is through high-status affiliations. When a young,... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

December 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Forecasting ClimaCell

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Christopher Stanton and James Barnett

A weather technology startup, ClimaCell considers the R&D trade-offs and financing implications of pursuing a proposed contract with a major automobile maker, rather than continuing its focus on building a scalable, all-purpose weather prediction engine. View Details

Keywords: Weather; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Startups; Research and Development; Finance; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Making; Strategy; United States; Israel; Massachusetts; Colorado

February 2007 (Revised March 2007)
Case

UBS and Climate Change--Warming Up to Global Action?

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Forest L. Reinhardt and Elizabeth Raabe

Marco Suter, Executive Vice-Chairman, UBS Board of Directors, carefully studied the chart on his desk. It showed the public commitment of major financial institutions to help mitigate global warming. Evidently, UBS lagged behind its competitors. The graph was part of a... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Energy Conservation; Cost vs Benefits; Law; Financial Institutions; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Accountability; Financial Services Industry

November 2005 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Tad O'Malley: December 2004

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon and Sean Klimczak

Tad O'Malley, a second-year student at Harvard Business School, must choose among three offers from private equity firms. Each firm presents a unique combination of history, culture, and compensation. Traces Tad's strategy in obtaining these offers and lets students... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Job Offer; Negotiation Tactics; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career

February 1998
Case

Lyondell Petrochemical Company

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Daniel P. Erikson

In August 1994, Lyondell Petrochemical Co.'s corporate parent and largest single shareholder effectively shed its stock, resulting in the resignation of 5 of its 11 directors. The remaining outside directors immediately acted to overhaul the executive compensation plan... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Design; Business or Company Management; Management Teams; Mining Industry

Find at Harvard

2025
Chapter

Employer-Based Short-Term Savings Accounts

By: Sarah Holmes Berk, John Beshears, Jay Garg, James J. Choi and David Laibson

We study the introduction of a choice architecture design intended to increase short-term savings among employees at five U.K. firms. Employees were offered the opportunity to opt into a payroll deduction program that auto-deposits funds from each paycheck into a... View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Compensation and Benefits; Well-being; Behavior; Investment Funds; Employees; United Kingdom

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December 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Income Inequality and the CEO Pay Ratio at TJX Cos

By: Ethan Rouen and Akari Furukawa

TJX Companies reported a CEO pay ratio of 1,596-to-1 in 2019, leaving board chair Carol Meyrowitz with a host of questions about whether, and how, she could take action to address concerns raised by having one of the highest pay ratios in the S&P 500. As a retail... View Details

Keywords: CEO Pay Ratio; Income; Equality and Inequality; Executive Compensation; Corporate Disclosure; Business and Stakeholder Relations

2000
Other Unpublished Work

Do Executive Stock Options Encourage Risk-Taking?

By: Randolph B. Cohen, Brian J. Hall and Luis M. Viceira

Executive stock options create incentives for executives to manage firms in ways that maximize firm market value. Since options increase in value with the volatility of the underlying stock, executive stock options provide managers with incentives to take actions that... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Motivation and Incentives; Stock Options; Executive Compensation

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April–May 2012
Article

Resources or Power? Implications of Social Networks on Compensation and Firm Performance

By: Joanne Horton, Yuval Millo and George Serafeim

Using a sample of 4,278 listed UK firms, we construct a social network of directorship-interlocks that comprises 31,495 directors. We use social capital theory and techniques developed in social network analysis to measure a director's connectedness and investigate... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Compensation and Benefits; Performance; Relationships; Resource Allocation; United Kingdom

May 2008 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Tribune Company, 2007

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Eric Seth Gordon

This case describes the proposed acquisition of Tribune Company by Sam Zell in 2007. Tribune Company is one of the largest newspapers and broadcasting companies in the United States. Zell's proposed acquisition is unusual in several respects. It is two-tiered, employs... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Markets; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Negotiation Offer; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry

April 2002
Case

The Cardon Family

By: William J. Poorvu and Melissa Yin-Yin Lam

Wil Cardon is the third-generation steward of his family's real estate land development business. He grapples with issues of business structure, intergenerational business, compensation, and family values. This case includes in-depth discussion of the land development... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Compensation and Benefits; Family and Family Relationships; Real Estate Industry

April 2001
Teaching Note

Marshall Industries TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Elliot N. Maltz and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-899-239). For book only - not listed on case. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Transformation; Service Delivery; Technological Innovation; Compensation and Benefits; Distribution Industry