Publications

January 2018 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (C)

By: William C. Kirby, Yuanzhuo Wang and Daniel Fu

This case updates Wanxiang Group's activities since 2012, focusing on its electric vehicle strategy and a transition of the group's leadership. View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Leadership Succession; Strategy; Management Succession; Global Range; Auto Industry; United States; China

November 2016
Article

Spatial Organization of Firms and Location Choices Through the Value Chain

By: Juan Alcacer and Mercedes Delgado

We explore the impact of geographically bounded, intra-firm linkages (internal agglomerations) and geographically bounded, inter-firm linkages (external agglomerations) on firms' location strategies. Using data from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database,... View Details

Keywords: Location Choices; Agglomeration Economies; Value Chain; Organization Theory; Geographic Location; Business Strategy

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27 Nov 2017
News

The NBA-HBS career connection

February 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Background Note

Offshore Corporations: A Brief Introduction

Examines activities of offshore financial centers. The text documents the growth and uses of offshore corporations. View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Business Headquarters

2007
Working Paper

Facts and Fallacies about U.S. FDI in China

By: Lee Branstetter and C. Fritz Foley

Despite the rapid expansion of U.S.-China trade ties, the increase in U.S. FDI in China, and the expanding amount of economic research exploring these developments, a number of misconceptions distort the popular understanding of U.S. multinationals in China. In this... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Expansion; China; United States

November 1995
Case

"Marketing" at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

Describes the history and unique operating principles of the most successful corporate law firm in the country. Closes with a lengthy quotation by Martin Lipton, who is one of the firm's founding partners and who is described in an American Lawyer article as the "Elvis... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Reputation; Business Strategy; Legal Services Industry

2018
Working Paper

Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers

We provide the first large-sample evidence on the behavior and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. We find that on average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms—and target cash in... View Details

Keywords: Patent Trolls; NPEs; PAEs; Innovation; Patents; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Finance

21 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Fixing the Marketing-CEO Disconnect

it very difficult to track the financial impact of marketing investments, and so marketing becomes abstract to both the CEO and board. Q: What are the consequences of not having this alignment? A: When a firm's marketing activities are... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Clubs

Islamic Society

November 2015
Article

The Highest Form of Intelligence: Sarcasm Increases Creativity for Both Expressers and Recipients

By: Li Huang, F. Gino and Adam D. Galinsky

Sarcasm is ubiquitous in organizations. Despite its prevalence, we know surprisingly little about the cognitive experiences of sarcastic expressers and recipients or their behavioral implications. The current research proposes and tests a novel theoretical model in... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Cognition and Thinking

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02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

unbundling that allows customers to pick and choose the content they consume (be it articles, music tracks, or airline tickets), Teixeira identifies the fueling factor in this case as "decoupling"—separating out activities that customers... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Video

Mostafa Terrab

Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO of Morocco-based OCP Group, contextualizes the company’s activities in the Western Sahara region and addresses criticisms on the subject. View Details

24 Sep 2014
News

The ABCs of Addressing Climate Change (From a Business Perspective)

February 2015 (Revised March 2016)
Case

China Shenhua Energy Company

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, G. A. Donovan and Keith Chi-ho Wong

A leading Chinese energy firm, active in coal mining and electric power generation, analyzes coal-to-liquids technology in light of energy security and environmental concerns. View Details

Keywords: Environment; China; CO2; Coal Mining; Electricity; Sustainability; Energy; Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; China; Asia

Article

Wealth-Making in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Britain: Industry v. Commerce and Finance

By: Tom Nicholas

This paper refutes the hypothesis put forward by W.D. Rubinstein that a disproportionately large share of Britain's wealth makers were active in commercial and financial trades in London. We use a data set of businessmen active in nineteenth- and early... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Finance; Commercialization; Mathematical Methods; Wealth and Poverty; Great Britain; London

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April 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine Seger

Designed to generate discussion on the issues of outsourcing from the perspective of a firm thinking about turning over its IS activities to a third-party vendor. View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Management Style; Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Business Strategy; Economic Systems; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Processes; Employment; Emerging Markets; Activity Based Costing and Management; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry