Publications

March 1993
Supplement

Burroughs Wellcome and AZT (B)

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Describes Burroughs Wellcome's response to protests over the pricing of its AIDS drug AZT in September 1989. Also presents short-term reactions by government officials, AIDS activists, and investors to Burroughs Wellcome's strategy. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Health Pandemics; Multinational Firms and Management; Price; Crime and Corruption; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Pharmaceutical Industry

February 1992 (Revised October 1996)
Case

CUC International, Inc. (A)

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Paul M. Healy

The case series examines the role of financial reporting and corporate finance policies as vehicles for communication between managers and outside investors. This case describes management's concern that the company's stock is undervalued because analysts viewed the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Stocks; Financial Management; Decisions; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Management Style; Management Practices and Processes; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value; Financial Services Industry

November 1991
Case

Investor Relations at Work: Situations in the Financial Marketplace

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations; Communication

Find at Harvard

September 1991 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Burroughs Wellcome and AZT (A)

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Burroughs Wellcome Co., developer of AZT, the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), finds itself under siege in September 1989 by AIDS activists and various segments of the U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Ethics; Business and Government Relations; Communication Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Monopoly; Intellectual Property; Research and Development; Price; Pharmaceutical Industry; London

August 1990
Case

NASA After Challenger: Restoring an Image

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

In the days following the loss of the space shuttle Challenger and its crew in January of 1986, NASA officials were unwilling to communicate with the media or the public. A siege mentality took hold, and the press and public responded with intense criticism and... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Policy; Business and Community Relations; Situation or Environment; Conflict Management

April 1990
Case

Gillette vs. Coniston: Communications in a Proxy Fight

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Communication; Governing and Advisory Boards

Find at Harvard

June 1989 (Revised July 1989)
Case

Coniston vs. Gillette: Communications in a Proxy Fight

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Communication; Governing and Advisory Boards

Find at Harvard

August 1988 (Revised August 1989)
Case

Poletown Dilemma, The

By: Thomas R. Piper

Senior management of General Motors must select a site for a new assembly plant to replace two plants located in Detroit. The economics strongly favor a site in an adjacent state. However, a relocation would have substantial, negative impact on the existing work force,... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Offices; Management Teams; Restructuring; Economics; Auto Industry; Michigan

1988
Chapter

Trade Associations and Public Relations

By: R. S. Tedlow

Keywords: Non-Governmental Organizations; Business and Community Relations; Public Relations Industry

Teaching Interest

Driving Digital Strategy (DIGS)

By: Sunil Gupta

Digital technologies have changed the way consumers search for information, communicate with each other, and buy products. Rapid changes in technology and consumer behavior have had a profound impact on business models and marketing practices. This program equips... View Details

Forthcoming
Article

Dynamic Silos: Increased Modularity and Decreased Stability in Intra-organizational Communication Networks During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Tiona Zuzul, Emily Cox Pahnke, Jonathan Larson, Christopher White, Patrick Bourke, Nicholas Caurvina, Neha Parikh Shah, Fereshteh Amini, Youngser Park, Joshua Vogelstein, Jeffrey Weston and Carey E. Priebe

Workplace communications around the world were drastically altered by COVID-19, related work-from-home orders, and the rise of remote work. To understand these shifts, we analyzed aggregated, anonymized metadata from over 360 billion emails within 4,361 organizations... View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; COVID-19; Communication Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Read Now

Forthcoming
Article

It Takes Two to Untangle: Illuminating How and Why Some Workplace Relationships Adapt While Others Deteriorate After a Workplace Microaggression

By: Summer R. Jackson and Basima A. Tewfik

Although scholars largely assume that workplace microaggressions negatively impact the work relationship between the target and the perpetrator, relational deterioration is not the only observable relational outcome. Indeed, there are instances of relational... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Interpersonal Communication; Motivation and Incentives; Relationships; Conflict and Resolution

Read Now

Forthcoming
Article

Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact

By: Michelle A. Kinch and Ryan W. Buell

Prior research in social psychology has shown that when people feel anxious, they seek advice from others. However, companies that operate in high-anxiety settings (like financial services, health care, and education) are increasingly deploying self-service... View Details

Keywords: Anxiety; Self-service; Empirical Operations; Behavioral Operations; Communication Technology; Behavior; Customer Focus and Relationships; Trust; Satisfaction; Financial Services Industry

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Jill J. Avery

Creating Brand Value (MBA elective course)

Overview:

In the consumer/retail space, brands are often companies’ most valuable assets and sources of their sustainable competitive advantage. But, managing brands to achieve their full value potential... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Debora L. Spar

My work focuses generally on the intersection between technological change and societal structures, and on the many areas in which business both shapes and is shaped by societal norms. View Details

Keywords: Technological And Scientific Innovation; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Business ＆ Government Relations; Business And Community; Capitalism; Reproduction; Technological Innovation; Government and Politics; Gender; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Education Industry; United States; Europe; Africa; Asia

Research Summary

The "New" Corporate Communications

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Stephen A. Greyser continues to explore the issues and problems organizations face as they attempt to communicate effectively with a variety of constituencies. Greyser's work and the course to which it contributes are structured around the business-media-publics... View Details

Simulation

The Heinz Endowments: Bringing the Arts to Life

By: Gerald Zaltman

Keywords: Arts; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving