Publications

01 Feb 1998
News

Running Up the Score

players. Significantly for the sports industry's economics, TV revenues helped fuel the explosion in player salaries. Like everyone else, athletes gaped at the size of TV View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

Blog

Celebrating 100 Years of the HBS Case Method

casebook, entitled A Selection of Cases on the Law of Contracts, a collection of settled cases that would illuminate the current state of contract law. Students read View Details

24 Oct 2023
HBS Case

From P.T. Barnum to Mary Kay: Lessons From 5 Leaders Who Changed the World

industry pioneer Mary Kay Ash learned about hard work, strict priorities, and the power of positive reinforcement firsthand. When she was seven, her father contracted tuberculosis, becoming housebound and... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

08 Jan 2001
What Do You Think?

Have We Extended the Boundaries of the Firm Too Far?

costs for those wishing to engage in partnering. Thus, Cisco relies on contract manufacturers for most of the final assembly of its products and nearly all of its basic production, employing View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

Deconstructing the Price Tag

cost transparency caveats for retailers. A firm may not want to share production costs if the cost structure provides a competitive advantage. In addition, contracts with suppliers may prevent making certain... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

March 2008
Article

Can Civil Law Countries Get Good Institutions? Lessons from the History of Creditor Rights and Bond Markets in Brazil

By: Aldo Musacchio

Does a legal tradition adopted in the distant past constrain a country's ability to provide the protection that investors need for financial markets to develop? This paper contributes to the literature that studies the connection between law and finance by looking at... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Financial Markets; Investment; Code Law; Contracts; Law Enforcement; Size; Brazil

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Read Now

04 Mar 2009
Op-Ed

Credit is Not the Bogey

afford the payments—indeed, to buyers who have no "rainy day" savings. Underwriting must once again deserve the name. Micro-print contracts must be transparent and... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas & Eric S. Belsky; Construction; Real Estate; Financial Services

01 Dec 2008
News

Lesson from the Fall

question the wisdom of using its own stock to hedge merchant investments rather than contracts with bona fide counterparties. It failed to monitor the conflicts of interest... View Details

Keywords: Malcolm S. Salter; Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

2011
Article

Incentive Compensation and the Likelihood of Termination: Theory and Evidence from Real Estate Organizations

By: Christopher Parsons, G. Hallman and J. Hartzell

We analyze two managerial compensation incentive devices: the threat of termination and pay for performance. We first develop a simple model predicting that these devices are substitutes: when termination incentives are low, optimal contracts provide stronger... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Real Estate Industry

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01 Dec 2008
News

Back to the Future

contract the demand for goods and services. In short, the economic consequences would likely be a major recession, or possibly even a depression.” Drilling Down Now a resident... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining

20 Dec 2022
News

Singing to the Corn

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Hi, my name is Julia Hanna. I'm a writer for the HBS Alumni Bulletin, and in July I flew from Boston to Omaha to spend a day with Taylor Keen (MPA 1996/ MBA 1997), a professor of entrepreneurship at... View Details

11 Aug 2014
HBS Case

The Business of Behavioral Economics

Behavioral Economics. Here's how StickK works. The user selects a goal—like losing weight—and pledges a certain amount of money toward achieving it. Then a referee—often a friend—is chosen and a contract... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Health

January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

Luotang Power: Variances Explained (Brief Case)

By: Robert Simons and Craig Chapman

The primary objective is to explore the concepts of variance analysis in performance from one year to the next and the predictability of contracting counterparts to extract value from contract positions where they can. The general manager of a coal-fired power plant... View Details

Keywords: Variance Analysis; Strategy And Execution; Profitability Analysis; Management Control Systems; Contracts; Valuation; Energy Generation; Accounting; Performance Evaluation; China

October 1994
Background Note

Note on Crude Oil and Crude Oil Derivatives Markets

By: Andre F. Perold, Wai Lee and Kuljot Singh

Briefly describes the crude oil markets and common derivatives contracts written on oil. The contracts are oil forward and futures contracts, and over-the-counter oil price swaps. View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Futures and Commodity Futures; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Contracts; Energy Industry

17 Apr 2022
Book

How to Avoid the 'Ethical Slide' That Leads Companies Astray

tempting to shoplift a small item, the opportunity to make millions of dollars by insider trading or cheating on a large contract is far more enticing.) As a result, businesspeople must always remain aware... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

September 2019
Case

Teaming Up to Win the Rail Deal at GE (A)

By: Amy Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati and Rachna Tahilyani

In 2012, Nalin Jain, then head of GE aviation for South Asia, was given the added responsibility for GE’s transportation business in India, including bidding for a $2.5 billion contract to manufacture, service and maintain 1,000 diesel locomotives for state owned... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Groups and Teams; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; India

July 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Rocky Mountain Condiments: Close Encounters with the Legal System for the First Time

By: Lena G. Goldberg

The founder of a Colorado start-up focused on developing a line of condiments confronts a host of legal issues that threaten the viability of her young enterprise. She is suing a co-packer for, among other things, breach of contract, theft of recipes and trade secrets,... View Details

Keywords: Law And Regulation; Start-ups; Founders' Agreements; Cross-Border Jurisdiction; Torts; Consumer Protection; Non-disclosure Agreements; Intellectual Property Protection; Fraud; Legal Remedies; Law; Lawsuits and Litigation; Laws and Statutes; Business Startups; Contracts; Intellectual Property; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Culture at Google

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Amy Klopfenstein and Sarah Mehta

Beginning in 2017, technology (tech) company Google faced a series of employee-relations issues that threatened its unique culture of innovation and open communication. Issues included protests surrounding Google’s contracts with the U.S. government, restrictions of... View Details