Publications

September 2023
Teaching Note

CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping

By: Willy Shih

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 623-006. Marine transport is the most cost-effective way to move large volumes over long distances, and container shipping is the backbone of international trade in goods. Yet shipping contributed 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions,... View Details

Keywords: Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Ship Transportation; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Regulation; Trade; Energy Conservation; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Europe

September 2023
Supplement

CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping

By: Willy C. Shih

Marine transport is the most cost-effective way to move large volumes over long distances, and container shipping is the backbone of international trade in goods. Yet shipping contributed 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and the deep-sea segment, which... View Details

Keywords: Container Shipping; Trade Links; Decarbonization; Environmental Strategies; Environmental Impact; Globalization; Trade; Environmental Regulation; Supply Chain; Logistics; Shipping Industry; European Union; Asia; North America

24 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 24, 2009

of 102 non-European Union countries, we study variations in the decision to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). There is evidence that more powerful countries are less likely to adopt... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2023
Supplement

CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping

By: Willy Shih

Marine transport is the most cost-effective way to move large volumes over long distances, and container shipping is the backbone of international trade in goods. Yet shipping contributed 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and the deep-sea segment, which... View Details

Keywords: Container Shipping; Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Logistics; Supply Chain; Trade; Environmental Regulation; Governance Compliance; Ship Transportation; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Europe; Asia; North America

March 2020
Article

Which Early Withdrawal Penalty Attracts the Most Deposits to a Commitment Savings Account?

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Jung Sakong

Previous research has shown that some people voluntarily use commitment contracts that restrict their own choice sets. We study how people divide money between two accounts: a liquid account that permits unrestricted withdrawals and a commitment account that is... View Details

Keywords: Quasi-hyperbolic Discounting; Present Bias; Sophistication; Naiveté; Commitment; Flexibility; Savings; Contract Design; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); IRA; Saving; Behavior; Contracts; Design; Interest Rates

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Read Now

The Accounting Review Vol. 89, No. 4 (July 2014), pp. 1517-1543.

If the differences in accounting standards across countries reflect relatively stable institutional differences, why did several countries rapidly adopt IFRS in the 2003–2008 period?... View Details

Teaching Interest

Financial Reporting and Control

By: Suraj Srinivasan

Financial Reporting and Control (FRC) covers topics about how managers can design and use performance measurement systems for external reporting and internal management to build more effective organizations. Throughout their careers, business leaders are required to... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting

December 2018 (Revised August 2022)
Teaching Note

Revenue Recognition at HBP

By: Siko Sikochi and Paul Healy

In early 2014, Corporate Learning, one of three business units at Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), was in the process of revamping its flagship product, Harvard Manage-Mentor (HMM) from version 11.0 (HMM11) to version 12.0 (HMM12). The revamped software would be... View Details

Keywords: Accrual Accounting; Budgets and Budgeting; Revenue Recognition; Financial Reporting; Publishing Industry; Education Industry; United States

2013
Working Paper

Do Display Ads Influence Search?: Attribution and Dynamics in Online Advertising

By: Sunil Gupta

As firms increasingly rely on online media to acquire consumers, marketing managers feel comfortable justifying higher online marketing spend by referring to online metrics such as click-through rate (CTR) and cost per acquisition (CPA). However, these standard online... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing

March 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Worker Rights and Global Trade: The U.S.-Cambodia Bilateral Textile Trade Agreement

Examines the political and economic dimensions of the campaign to improve workers' rights around the world through the inclusion of labor standards in international trade agreements. The U.S.-Cambodia Textile Trade Agreement was the first agreement of its kind to link... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Agreements and Arrangements; Rights; Working Conditions; Globalization; Consumer Products Industry; Cambodia; United States

May 2025
Case

Initial Financial Statements at Blank Corporation: Bridging Content and Commerce

By: Jung Koo Kang, Panje Jayden Kim and David Allen

This accounting case is intended to teach students how to compile an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement. It focuses on Blank Corporation, an innovative South Korean company that bridged content and commerce by selling products directly through... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Statements; Business Startups; Social Media; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Consumer Products Industry; South Korea

24 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

Why It's Best to Take Tests Early in the Day

Here’s a tip for parents of school-aged children. If your kids must take a standardized test, it’s best to do so either first thing in the morning or right after recess. On average, students perform best on tests at the start of the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

17 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Are Companies Getting Away with 'Cheap Talk' on Climate Goals?

Companies regularly set ambitious climate goals, but these plans often end up like many people’s New Year’s resolutions: unmet aspirations that quietly fizzle out. While companies often gain positive media attention by trumpeting plans for reducing greenhouse gas... View Details

Keywords: by Tim Gray

February 2003 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Ernst & Young LLP

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

The history of Ernst & Young provides a platform to discuss the issues related to the sale of the consulting business as well as the founding of the legal unit. It dovetails with the issues raised at Arthur Andersen regarding the role of the Big Four accounting firms... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Conflict of Interests; Accounting Industry

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03 Sep 2020
News

How to Measure a Company’s Real Impact

February 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Electric Car Wars, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

Electric cars had long been championed by environmentalists as a superior solution to the internal combustion engine (ICE), but, despite large government incentives and strong pioneering efforts by a few automakers over the years, electric and hybrid cars and light... View Details

2011
Article

'Deprival Value' vs. 'Fair Value' Measurement for Contract Liabilities: How to Resolve the 'Revenue Recognition' Conundrum

By: Joanne Horton, Richard H. Macve and George Serafeim

Revenue recognition and measurement principles can conflict with liability recognition and measurement principles. We explore here under different market conditions when the two measurement approaches coincide and when they conflict. We show that where entities expect... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value; Deprival Value; Contract Liabilities; Fair Value Accounting; Measurement and Metrics; Profit; Revenue Recognition; Assets; Performance Evaluation; Contracts

SSRN

October 2022
Article

Sovereign Risk, Currency Risk, and Corporate Balance Sheets

By: Wenxin Du and Jesse Schreger

We provide a comprehensive account of the evolution of the currency composition of sovereign and corporate external borrowing by emerging markets from 2003 to 2017. We show that a higher reliance on foreign currency debt by the corporate sector is associated with... View Details

Keywords: Currency; International Finance

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