Publications

January 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Product Proliferation and Preemption

Examines whether product proliferation can be used as a preemptive device--as alleged in the FTC's 1982 complaint against four manufacturers of ready-to-eat cereals. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Supply and Industry; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry

26 Mar 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How Do Great Leaders Overcome Adversity?

Keywords: Re: Anthony Mayo

March 2021 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Wirecard: The Downfall of a German Fintech Star

By: Jonas Heese, Charles C.Y. Wang and Tonia Labruyere

Wirecard was a German fintech company, member of the DAX30, that provided payment processing and related services. Wirecard had enjoyed large growth rates over the years and most investors and analysts were enthusiastic about the company's prospects. Wirecard's... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Fraud; Scandal; Accounting Audits; Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; Financial Services Industry; Germany; Singapore; Dubai

Article

Paper Versus Practice: A Field Investigation of Integrity Hotlines

By: Eugene Soltes

In an effort to motivate firms to more rapidly detect potential misconduct, legislators, regulators, and enforcement agencies incentivize firms to have integrity or “whistleblowing” hotlines. These hotlines provide individuals an opportunity to report alleged... View Details

Keywords: Hotlines; Compliance Programs; Corporate Misconduct; Governance Compliance; Programs; Performance

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August 2012
Supplement

William Jeffrey: Performance at Bay Colony (B)

By: Lena G. Goldberg

The decision-making process, policies and procedures, and legal obligations of the Board, the company's inside counsel and the company's outside counsel are explored in connection with on-boarding, investigating alleged misconduct of, and terminating a company's CEO,... View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Managing People; Employment Law; Business or Company Management; Law; Leadership; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employment; Corporate Governance; Financial Services Industry; Massachusetts

June 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Supplement

Rossin Greenberg Seronick & Hill, Inc. (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Teaching objectives: 1) to show how aggressive marketing can lead to allegations of misconduct, 2) to consider responses under crisis management, and 3) to explore the importance of credibility within marketing communications. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Marketing Communications; Advertising; Crisis Management; Advertising Industry

April 2008 (Revised August 2008)
Supplement

Leading Citigroup (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Aldo Sesia

The (B) case describes the actions taken by Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince and his management team to right the company in the wake of the controversies and alleged misdeeds described in the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Leadership; Management Teams; Organizational Culture

September 2019 (Revised December 2023)
Case

Accounting Fraud at Tesco Stores (A)

By: Jonas Heese, Suraj Srinivasan and Julia Kelley

This case describes the accounting fraud at Tesco Stores Limited (TSL), which was discovered by a senior accountant in TSL’s finance department. The accountant was concerned about TSL’s handling of commercial income, which, according to the accountant, overstated... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Crime and Corruption; Organizational Culture; Corporate Accountability

May 1996 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Enron Development Corporation: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B)

By: Krishna G. Palepu, V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarayu Srinivasan

A new administration/government takes power in a state in India and cancels a power project agreed upon/created by the previous state government and an American-based energy company. The project cancellation is based on allegations of irregularities, exorbitant costs,... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Conflict Management; Energy Industry; India; United States

01 Dec 2003
What Do You Think?

Is This the Twilight Era for the Managed Mutual Fund?

a shadow over the entire industry. The alleged problems include managers of fund families who allocate investments among individual funds in which they may have a management or ownership stake. This allows some investors (particularly... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

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

February 1997
Case

Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

A new administration takes power in a state in India and cancels a power project agreed upon by the previous state government and a U.S.-based energy company. The project cancellation is based on allegations of irregularities, exorbitant costs, and political pressures. View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Fairness; Cost; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Government and Politics; Contracts; Market Entry and Exit; Negotiation Process; Conflict Management; Energy Industry

2018
Working Paper

Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers

We provide the first large-sample evidence on the behavior and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. We find that on average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms—and target cash in... View Details

Keywords: Patent Trolls; NPEs; PAEs; Innovation; Patents; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Finance

Read Now

08 May 2013
News

Next Wal-Mart CEO Faces Challenges Sam Walton Never Saw

01 Oct 2016
News

Why it's misguided for Wells Fargo to ban sales goals after its fraud scandal

July 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Raymond Jefferson: Trial by Fire

By: Anthony Mayo and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the spring of 2021, Raymond (Ray) Jefferson applied for a job in President Joseph Biden’s administration. Ten years earlier, false allegations were used to force him to resign from his prior U.S. government position as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Personal Development and Career; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores in 2003

By: Pankaj Ghemawat, Stephen P. Bradley and Ken Mark

Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation... View Details

Keywords: Wages; Fairness; Corporate Strategy; Operations; Labor Unions; Problems and Challenges; Gender; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States

July 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Case

McKinsey & Co. - Protecting its Reputation (A)

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

On Tuesday March 15, 2011, all 1,200 global Partners of McKinsey & Co. gathered at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center near Washington, DC for their annual Partners' conference. The atmosphere was tense as Partners, in addition to their normal agenda,... View Details

Keywords: Board; McKinsey; Consulting Firms; Risk; Risk Assessment; Partnerships; Insider Trading; Confidentiality; Personal Investing; Reputation; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Management Practices and Processes; Risk Management; Consulting Industry; United States; California