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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,398)
- News (178)
- Research (1,033)
- Events (9)
- Multimedia (5)
- Faculty Publications (747)
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- Research Summary
Corruption
By: Paul M. Healy
World Bank estimates indicate that as much as $1 trillion is paid in bribes throughout the world in a given year. Corruption has been shown to slow economic development. My research focuses on how corruption affects multinational companies. It discusses differences... View Details
- 05 Jan 2010
- First Look
First Look: January 5
Working PapersThe Global Networks of Multinational Firms Authors:Laura Alfaro and Maggie Chen Abstract In this paper we characterize the topology of global multinational networks and examine the macro and... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- August 2007 (Revised October 2022)
- Case
Ken Durham and Unilever as a 'Multi-Local Multinational'
By: Geoffrey Jones and Stephanie Decker
Explores the opportunities and threats to Unilever's global business in 1978 based on the commercial and political challenges faced by three of its subsidiaries, Lever Brothers in the United States, Hindustan Lever in India, and United Africa Company in West Africa.... View Details
Keywords: Business Divisions; Local Range; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Style; Competitive Strategy; Africa; India; United States
Jones, Geoffrey, and Stephanie Decker. "Ken Durham and Unilever as a 'Multi-Local Multinational'." Harvard Business School Case 808-025, August 2007. (Revised October 2022.)
- March 2010
- Article
Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Growth? Exploring the Role of Financial Markets on Linkages
By: Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Areendam Chanda and Selin Sayek
Do multinational companies generate positive externalities for the host country? The evidence so far is mixed varying from beneficial to detrimental effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on growth, with many studies that find no effect. In order to provide an... View Details
Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Financial Markets; Value; Stock Shares; Development Economics
Alfaro, Laura, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Areendam Chanda, and Selin Sayek. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Growth? Exploring the Role of Financial Markets on Linkages." Journal of Development Economics 91, no. 2 (March 2010): 242–256. (Also Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 07-013 and NBER Working Paper No. w12522.)
- March 2003 (Revised July 2004)
- Case
Sustainable Development at Shell (B)
The case describes the complex and challenging process by which social and environmental concerns are integrated into the existing strategy of a large, multinational firm. This case focuses on a specific business within Shell Chemicals, the Close Looped Cleaning... View Details
Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Growth and Development Strategy; Energy Industry
Wei-Skillern, Jane. "Sustainable Development at Shell (B)." Harvard Business School Case 303-072, March 2003. (Revised July 2004.)
- January 2001 (Revised August 2003)
- Case
Diageo plc
A major U.K.-based multinational is reevaluating its leverage policy as it restructures its business. The treasury team models the tradeoffs between the benefits and costs of debt financing, using Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the savings from the interest tax... View Details
Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Multinational Firms and Management; Capital Structure; Restructuring; United Kingdom
Chacko, George C., Peter Tufano, and Joshua Musher. "Diageo plc." Harvard Business School Case 201-033, January 2001. (Revised August 2003.)
- June 1991 (Revised June 1993)
- Case
Becton Dickinson (B): Global Management
By: Michael Beer
The president of Becton Dickinson (BD) and his top management team struggle with issues of: 1) how to manage the top of the organization, focusing on leadership style, the committee structure, and the role of sector presidents, and 2) how to manage a multinational... View Details
Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Human Resources; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Health Industry
Beer, Michael. "Becton Dickinson (B): Global Management." Harvard Business School Case 491-152, June 1991. (Revised June 1993.)
- July 1989 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
Kanthal (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Multinational company needs an improved cost system to determine the profitability of individual customer orders. Its strategy is to have significant sales and profitability growth without adding additional administrative and support people. The new cost system... View Details
Keywords: Cost Accounting; Earnings Management; Cost Management; Financial Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Business or Company Management; Customer Relationship Management; Sales; Business Strategy; Profit; Electronics Industry
Kaplan, Robert S. "Kanthal (A)." Harvard Business School Case 190-002, July 1989. (Revised April 2001.)
- April 1993 (Revised September 1996)
- Case
ABB Deutschland (A)
By: Hugo Uyterhoeven
Describes Europe's most famous postwar multinational merger between Asea of Sweden and Brown Boveri of Switzerland. Gives background on both companies and focuses particularly on BBC's geographic organization, its corporate culture, and the relationship between its... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Behavior; Business Strategy; Sweden; Switzerland
Uyterhoeven, Hugo. "ABB Deutschland (A)." Harvard Business School Case 393-130, April 1993. (Revised September 1996.)
- January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
Generation Investment Management
By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris and David Allen
In September 2021, the sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management (Generation) considered whether to add Schneider Electric to the focus list of companies in which it was prepared to invest. Dedicated to promoting a sustainable world through its... View Details
Keywords: Sustainable Investing; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Private Equity; Public Equity; Financial Markets; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Institutional Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom; England; London
Gandhi, Vikram S., Michael Norris, and David Allen. "Generation Investment Management: Sustainable Investing in a Warming World." Harvard Business School Case 324-043, January 2024. (Revised May 2024.)
- December 2002
- Article
Business Enterprises and Global Worlds
By: G. Jones
The role of business enterprise in integrating economies is one of the central historical themes of the last two centuries. Although globalization—both in its current iteration and in its nineteenth-century form—has been widely studied, the role of the firm, as opposed... View Details
Keywords: Macroeconomics; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizations; Emerging Markets; Behavior; Business Ventures; United States
Jones, G. "Business Enterprises and Global Worlds." Enterprise & Society 3, no. 4 (December 2002): 581–605.
- July 2003 (Revised September 2003)
- Case
Refinancing of Shanghai General Motors (B), The
By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen
This case provides the outcome to "The Refinancing of Shanghai General Motors (A)" in which the CFO of General Motors' joint venture in Shanghai, Shanghai General Motors (SGM), wants to refinance almost $900 million of project finance it raised to begin operations. The... View Details
Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Joint Ventures; Financing and Loans; Auto Industry; Shanghai
Desai, Mihir A., and Mark Veblen. "Refinancing of Shanghai General Motors (B), The." Harvard Business School Case 204-025, July 2003. (Revised September 2003.)
- 2019
- Article
The Frequency of Corporate Misconduct: Public Enforcement versus Private Reality
By: Eugene F. Soltes
Perceptions about the frequency of misconduct—among the public, academics and even
regulators—have largely been formed by examining enforcement statistics, which rely on the detection and sanctioning of the misconduct. This study aims to illuminate the real occurrence... View Details
Soltes, Eugene F. "The Frequency of Corporate Misconduct: Public Enforcement versus Private Reality." Journal of Financial Crime 26, no. 4 (2019): 923–937.
- Research Summary
Profitable Souls: Foreign Investment and the Fate of Human Rights
By: Debora L. Spar
This is a project about foreign investment, about what happens when big multinational firms invest in small, poor, and often nasty places. Typically, most observers assume that this is a largely negative relationship: that multinationals exploit the local population,... View Details
- December 2019 (Revised June 2025)
- Case
Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi
The case concerns the sale of Mãe Terra, one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods, to the consumer goods giant Unilever in 2017. Working with Unilever management, Mãe Terra’s CEO Alexandre Borges must determine whether and how to keep Mãe Terra's B... View Details
Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America
Paine, Lynn S., Ruth Costas, and Priscilla Zogbi. "Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)." Harvard Business School Case 320-075, December 2019. (Revised June 2025.)
- July 2010 (Revised September 2023)
- Case
Werner von Siemens and the Electric Telegraph
By: Geoffrey Jones and Bjoern von Siemens
This case describes the nineteenth century founding by Werner Siemens of the Siemens electrical business in Germany. Werner's dual role as inventor and entrepreneur is explored as he created one of the world's first multinational enterprises, whose growth initially... View Details
Keywords: Business Organization; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Growth and Development Strategy; Electronics Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Germany
Jones, Geoffrey, and Bjoern von Siemens. "Werner von Siemens and the Electric Telegraph." Harvard Business School Case 811-004, July 2010. (Revised September 2023.)
- June 2009
- Article
Level Playing Fields in International Financial Regulation
By: Lucy White and Alan Morrison
We analyze the desirability of level playing fields in international financial regulation. In general, level playing fields impose the standards of the weakest regulator upon the best-regulated economies. However, they may be desirable when capital is mobile because... View Details
Keywords: Economy; International Finance; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Standards; Banking Industry
White, Lucy, and Alan Morrison. "Level Playing Fields in International Financial Regulation." Journal of Finance 64, no. 3 (June 2009): 1099–1142.
- July 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
Lenovo: Building A Global Brand
By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Announced in December 2004, the $1.75 billion acquisition of IBM's PC division by Lenovo, China's largest PC maker, made headlines around the world. A relative upstart in the business, Lenovo acquired the division of IBM that invented the PC in 1981. While Lenovo was... View Details
Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Information Infrastructure; Global Strategy; Acquisition; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Computer Industry; China
Quelch, John A., and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "Lenovo: Building A Global Brand." Harvard Business School Case 507-014, July 2006. (Revised October 2006.)
- 2010
- Book
Winning in Emerging Markets: A Road Map for Strategy and Execution
By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Richard Bullock
The best way to select emerging markets to exploit is to evaluate their size or growth potential, right? Not according to Krishna Palepu and Tarun Khanna. In 'Winning in Emerging Markets,' these leading scholars on the subject present a decidedly different framework... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Emerging Markets; Organizations; Opportunities; Business Strategy
Khanna, Tarun, Krishna G. Palepu, and Richard Bullock. Winning in Emerging Markets: A Road Map for Strategy and Execution. Boston: Harvard Business Press, 2010.
- March 2004 (Revised May 2005)
- Case
Foreign Exchange Hedging Strategies at General Motors
By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen
How should a multinational firm manage foreign exchange exposures? Examines transactional, translational, and competitive exposures. Describes General Motors' corporate hedging policies, its risk management structure, and how accounting rules impact hedging decisions.... View Details
Keywords: Risk Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Currency Exchange Rate; Investment; Financial Markets; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Argentina; Japan; Canada; United States
Desai, Mihir A., and Mark Veblen. "Foreign Exchange Hedging Strategies at General Motors." Harvard Business School Case 204-024, March 2004. (Revised May 2005.)