Publications

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July 2016
Case

'Golden Leash' Pay for Directors at The Dow Chemical Company

By: Ian Gow, Suraj Srinivasan and Neeraj Goyal

In November 2014, The Dow Chemical Company was faced with the prospect of a proxy battle with prominent hedge fund and activist investor Third Point Management. The activist had criticized Dow’s recent performance and advocated that the company split itself to maximize... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Investment Activism; Chemical Industry

July 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Formosa Plastics Group: Business Continuity Forever

Wang Yung-ching, legendary Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist, passed away in 2008. He left behind an estate worth US $5.5 billion, but did not leave a will. The case discusses the potential motivation for Wang, and uses it to study succession planning for family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Governance Controls; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Chemical Industry; Taiwan

March 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Sustainable Development & Socially Responsible Investing: ABB in 2000

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Several investment firms and mutual funds position themselves as providers or facilitators of opportunities for socially responsible investment. This case addresses the impact of these firms on publicly traded companies. Focuses on managers at ABB, a large... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Business Strategy; Capital Markets; Management Teams; Business and Community Relations; Trade; Electronics Industry; Switzerland

April 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Exporting Livability: Investing in New Urban Centers

By: John D. Macomber and Essie Alamsyah

Can Singapore urban design, policy continuity, and system of laws be exported outside of Singapore to accelerate the effective development of new urban agglomerations? Nina Yang, CEO of Sustainable Urban Development at Ascendas-Singbridge, a large real estate company... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Projects; Design; City; Business and Government Relations; Expansion; Real Estate Industry; China; Singapore

February 2023 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Boston, Massachusetts

By: Laura Alfaro, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Zeke Gillman

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Boston, Massachusetts while giving a broad history of the city and surrounding area. View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Economic Growth; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Boston; Massachusetts

Article

Internal Deadlines, Drug Approvals, and Safety Problems

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Danielle Li

Absent explicit quotas, incentives, reporting, or fiscal year-end motives, drug approvals around the world surge in December, at month-ends, and before respective major national holidays. Drugs approved before these informal deadlines are associated with significantly... View Details

Keywords: Health; Economics; Government and Politics; Innovation and Invention; Research; Science; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry

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March 2011
Teaching Note

First Boston's Union Carbide Deal: Acquiring a New Client (TN)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penny Rossano

Teaching Note for 897201. View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation Offer; Investment Banking; Relationships; Revenue; Capital Structure; Chemical Industry

November 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Magna International, Inc. (A)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Yuhai Xuan

Magna International, Inc., a Canadian-based automotive parts manufacturer, is considering whether and how to unwind its dual-class ownership structure. A family trust controlled by the founder owns a 0.65% economic interest in the company but has 66% of the votes via a... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Restructuring; Cost vs Benefits; Governance Controls; Ownership Stake; Family Ownership; Auto Industry; Canada

September – October 2009
Article

U.S. Energy Policy: Overcoming Barriers to Acting

By: Max Bazerman

Energy policy is on everyone's mind these days. The U.S. presidential campaign focused on energy independence and exploration (drill, baby, drill), climate change, alternative fuels, even nuclear energy. But there is a serious problem endemic to America's energy... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Climate Change; Energy Sources; Government and Politics; Cognition and Thinking; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Non-Renewable Energy; Economics; Natural Environment; Energy Industry; United States

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06 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

The Determinants of Corporate Venture Capital Success

Corporate-sponsored venture funds first appeared in the 1960s, about two decades after the first flowering of the venture capital industry. Ever since, they have mirrored the cyclic nature of the industry as a whole. But there are... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner

March 2024
Teaching Note

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST

By: Frank Nagle and David Lane

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 723-357 & 723-368. View Details

Keywords: Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Information Technology Industry; United States

01 Sep 2013
News

Noted & Quoted

“I showed it to [Putin], and he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring.' He put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.” —New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (MBA 1965), on the 2005 disappearance of his $25,000 Super... View Details

Keywords: Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries

December 2004 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Innovation Corrupted: The Rise and Fall of Enron (B)

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Presents a brief historical overview of Enron's rise, its strategic successes and failures, the evolution of its business model, and the organizational processes relied upon by Enron's management to drive and monitor the business. A rewritten version of an earlier... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Risk Management; Management Practices and Processes; Success; Business Model; Strategy; Business History; Governance Controls; Innovation and Management; Failure; Business Processes; Energy Industry; United States

September 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

Apple Pay and Mobile Payments in Australia (B)

By: Feng Zhu, Susan Athey and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Payment Methods; Mobile Payment; Apple; Banks and Banking; Cooperation; Problems and Challenges; Policy; Digital Platforms; Banking Industry; Australia

June 2009 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Mina O'Reilly at Logan Airport's TSA

By: Michel Anteby and Erin McFee

Mina O'Reilly, an officer at Logan Airport's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in Boston, must discipline an employee responsible for a security breach that resulted in a 45-minute terminal closure during peak hours, a potential threat to traveler safety,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Culture; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; Boston