Publications

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April 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Conflicts of Interest at Uptown Bank

By: Jonas Heese

In 2013, two employees debated whether to blow the whistle on their employer, Bell Bank, after completing an internal review that revealed undisclosed conflicts of interest. Bell Bank’s Asset Management business disproportionately invested clients’ money in Bell Bank’s... View Details

23 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research: May 23, 2017

Corporate Debt in Emerging Markets By: Alfaro, Laura, Gonzalo Asis, Anusha Chari, and Ugo Panizza Abstract—This paper documents a set of stylized facts about leverage and financial fragility in the nonfinancial View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

2010
Working Paper

The Many Faces of Nonprofit Accountability

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

What does it mean for a nonprofit organization to be accountable? Nonprofit leaders tend to pay attention to accountability once a problem of trust arises—a scandal in the sector or in their own organization, questions from citizens or donors who want to know if their... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Performance Evaluation; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Strategy

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December 1999
Case

Brierley Investments Limited

By: Paul M. Healy

Brierley's is an investment company that has performed poorly in the New Zealand market. Management has prepared a report of the intrinsic value of the company's investments. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance Evaluation; Investment; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; New Zealand

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

both host and home governments, and the international legal framework. The second was the market and resources of the host country. The third factor was competition from local firms. The impact of these factors on corporate strategies is... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 11, 2007

perceived as value-destroying and may not improve a firm's competitive advantage. Bank Debt and Corporate Governance Authors:Victoria Ivashina, Vinay Nair, Anthony Saunders, Nadia Massoud, and Roger Stover Periodical:Review of Financial... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 12

the need for change puts itself at a distinct disadvantage to one that tracks the Four Rs along with indicators of learning and innovation. The Rise and Consequences of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Authors:Ioannis Ioannou and George... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Showdown at Cracker Barrel

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Tim Gray

In the fall of 2011, activist investor, Sardar Biglari, has acquired nearly 10% ownership in the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. He believes that the board and senior management have failed and the company has underperformed relative to its peers. When he is denied a... View Details

14 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The New Measures for Improving Nonprofit Performance

learning of the entrepreneur and building the business, but it's controversial because some people say Acumen should be measuring outcomes. Ultimately, it does want a sense of those outcomes—but building the organization is the high priority now. The second is the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

November 2005 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Cutter & Buck (A)

By: William A. Sahlman and Victoria Winston

Only three short months into her new position as CEO of publicly traded golf apparel manufacturer Cutter & Buck, Fran Conley discovers accounting irregularities that call into question the reliability of this company's financial statements. Working closely with her... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Disclosure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Going Public

October 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST (B)

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case, describing actions taken by SolarWinds as well as by regulatory agencies in the aftermath of the immediate crisis. The case also includes reflections by SolarWinds managers on the choices they made with respect to disclosure, media relations,... View Details

Keywords: Cyberattacks; Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Legal Liability; Governance Compliance; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology Industry; United States

11 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Shrinking the Racial Wealth Gap, One Mortgage at a Time

and approved, but when minority loan officers shepherd those applications, approval rates increase significantly, says Adi Sunderam, the Willard Prescott Smith Professor of Corporate Finance at Harvard Business School, in the working... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

22 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 22

Corporate Finance Attracting Long-Term Investors Through Integrated Thinking and Reporting: A Clinical Study of a Biopharmaceutical Company By: Knauer, Andrew, and George Serafeim Abstract—Faced with a large percentage of investors that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Mapping Polluters, Encouraging Protectors

Citizens, industrial polluters, and scholars do not usually see eye to eye—but that may change with a new Web site that monitors corporate environmental performance in the United States. According to the university professors who created... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Manufacturing; Chemical

07 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 7

case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/112006-PDF-ENG Business Intelligence Advisors (BIA), Inc.: Finding the Hidden Meaning in Corporate Disclosures Lauren H. Cohen and Christopher MalloyHarvard... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

Review 90, nos. 7-8 (July-August 2012) Abstract The article argues that U.S. taxation reform should reduce corporate taxes, incorporate an awareness of the global marketplace, and generate revenue-neutral incentives for innovation.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Supplement

Goldman Sachs: A Bank for All Seasons (C)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Tiffany Lynne Obenchain

After posting its first-ever quarterly loss in 2008, Goldman Sachs surpassed market expectations for the first quarter of 2009 but came under intensive fire for, among other things, announcing its intention to repay TARP thereby avoiding its compensation limitations. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Investment Banking; Corporate Disclosure; Policy; Executive Compensation; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry