Publications

29 Jun 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Trade Credit and Taxes

Keywords: by Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley & James R. Hines

12 Mar 2015
Working Paper Summaries

What Courses Should Law Students Take? Harvard’s Largest Employers Weigh In

Keywords: by John C. Coates, Jesse M. Fried & Kathryn E. Spier; Legal Services; Education

July 2016 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Cyber Breach at Target

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and Neeraj Goyal

In November and December of 2013, Target Corporation suffered one of the largest cyber breaches to date. The breach that occurred during the busy holiday shopping season resulted in personal and credit card information of approximately 110 million Target customers... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Credit Cards; Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crisis Management; Retail Industry

April 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Boardroom Change in Norway

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton

In 2003, the Norwegian Parliament amended the Public Limited Companies Act in order to achieve greater representation of women on corporate boards. According to the amendment, all state-owned companies and public limited companies were required to have at least 40%... View Details

Keywords: Laws and Statutes; Gender; Corporate Governance; Norway

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

shows. Despite scrutiny of overdraft fees during the financial crisis more than a decade ago, some banks still reorder checking account debits so that the largest amounts, rather than the earliest debits posted, are withdrawn first.... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

Research Summary

Understanding and Managing Information Intermediaries

Brian Bushee is investigating whether information intermediaries such as institutional investors and financial analysts are sophisticated and efficient users of accounting information and whether these intermediaries' decisions influence the choices made by... View Details

17 Jan 2023
Book

Good Companies Commit Crimes, But Great Leaders Can Prevent Them

In a fraught ethics and legal climate, leaders need to know how to steer clear of trouble more than ever. Corporate Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions, released in September, offers a comprehensive resource on everything from the... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

09 May 2017
What Do You Think?

Should Management Be Primarily Responsible to Shareholders?

value. The rationale for this includes the arguments that managers can be held legally accountable while shareholders “have no legal duty to protect or serve the companies whose shares they own,” managers and directors are better... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2017 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Summa Equity: Building Purpose-Driven Organizations

By: George Serafeim

In 2015, Reynir Indahl left top Nordic private equity firm Altor Equity Partners to found Summa Equity (Summa). After long contemplation following the financial crisis, Indahl was convinced the financial system was producing negative externalities and that the current... View Details

25 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Ewa Sletten; Accounting

April 2025
Case

Japan Industrial Partners Powers the Leveraged Buyout of Toshiba

By: Brian K. Baik, Joseph Pacelli and James Barnett

The case explores Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) $14 billion takeover of Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba). JIP was a private equity firm that took over the troubled electronics corporation in late 2023. The deal, which had been labeled one of the largest leveraged... View Details

21 Jul 2021
Research & Ideas

What Does an ESG Score Really Say About a Company?

Receiving more information can clarify the complex, but not when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores. A recent study shows that the more information a company discloses about its ESG practices, the more rating agencies disagree on how well... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

2006
Article

Voluntary Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: Coordinating Duties of Rescue and Justice

By: Nien-he Hsieh

This paper examines the extent to which the voluntary adoption of codes of conduct by multinational corporations (MNCs) renders MNCs accountable for the performance of actions specified in a code of conduct. In particular, the paper examines the ways in which codes of... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures

Find at Harvard

September 2016 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Joan Bavaria and Multi-Dimensional Capitalism

By: Geoffrey Jones and Seema Amble

The case examines the career of Joan Bavaria, a pioneer of socially responsible investing and founder of Trillium Asset Management and Ceres, the nonprofit organization advocating for sustainability leadership. It describes her personal journey from art student and... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Personal Development and Career

2016
Working Paper

The Attenuating Effect of Banking Relationships on Credit Market Disruption

By: Stefan Dimitriadis and Mike Horia Teodorescu

This article examines how the relationship between banks and corporations moderates the effect of credit market disruptions. The 2008-09 financial crisis led to a dramatic restriction in the supply of credit to corporations via the syndicated loan market... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Relationships; Financial Markets; System Shocks; Banking Industry; United States

17 Nov 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Network Effects in Countries’ Adoption of IFRS

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Ewa Sletten

20 Sep 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Larry Fink at BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim; Financial Services

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

Most managers think the legal department is that office down the hall where they go to keep out of trouble or write a binding patent agreement. And that's shortsighted, says Harvard Business School professor Constance Bagley. A company that makes proactive use of the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

July–August 2011
Article

Putting Business Models Under the Microscope

By: K. Merchant, Tatiana Sandino and D. Huelsbeck

The article provides advice for financial managers on evaluating business models for corporate performance measurement. Emphasis is given to a study sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) that examined the business model of a medical... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Financial Management; Performance Evaluation