Publications

January 2023
Case

Rentokil: The Terminix Acquisition

By: Ted Berk, Emily R. McComb and Julia Kelley

When announcing their agreement to merge in December 2021, creating a clear leader in global pest control, UK-based Rentokil and Tennessee-based Terminix described extensive benefits of the cross-border combination. The companies touted the advantages of their combined... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business and Shareholder Relations

March–April 2020
Article

An Institutional Approach to Gender Diversity and Firm Performance

By: Letian Zhang

This study examines data from 35 countries and 24 industries to understand the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance. Previous studies report conflicting evidence: some find that gender-diverse firms experience more positive performance and others... View Details

Keywords: Institutional Theory; Cross-cultural; Diversity; Gender; Organizations; Performance; Situation or Environment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

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March 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Shurgard Self-Storage: Expansion to Europe

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Indra Reinbergs

Shurgard, a U.S.-based firm that rents storage facilities to consumers and small businesses, is considering financing options for rapid expansion of its European operations. Five years after entering Europe, Shurgard Europe has opened 17 facilities in Belgium, France,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Valuation; Business Model; Governing and Advisory Boards; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Service Industry; Belgium; France; Sweden; United States; Europe

02 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating in Three Dimensions

CEO would turn to regarding acquisitions. Of course, his CFO would be pivotal. Continuing to map backwards from the CFO, we turned up an analyst in the finance department whom the CFO deeply respected and who would almost certainly do the View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells and Carole A. Winkler

In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States in November 2016 had triggered a national storm of protests, and many attributed Trump’s victory to... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

24 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 24, 2007

case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=407076 PublicationsMultinationals as Arbitrageurs? The Effect of Stock Market Valuations on Foreign Direct Investment Authors:Malcolm C. Baker, Fritz Foley, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers

actually been marked by steady decreases in concentration since World War II. Executives, they write, "need to break free of the biases that lead them to pursue larger and larger cross-border deals. There are better, more profitable... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Fariborz Ghadar

08 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 8, 2007

occur relatively quickly when the underlying repugnance changes. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-077.pdf An Empirical Approach to Understanding Privacy Valuation Authors:Luc Wathieu and Allan Friedman Abstract The... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

30 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 30

Investment Promote Growth? By: Alfaro, Laura Abstract—Among the prominent economic trends in recent decades is the exponential increase in flows of goods and capital driven by technological progress and a falling number of restrictions. A key driver of this phenomenon... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2016
Supplement

FANUC Corporation: Reassessing the Firm's Governance and Financial Policies Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Akiko Kanno

In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a US-based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Valuation; Investment Funds; Policy; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Investment Activism; Change Management; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan; United States

12 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 12, 2006

Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=407057 Factors That Influence Cross-Border Equity Investment Harvard Business School Note 107-020 Purchase this note:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 12, 2018

ethnic migrant inventors in cross-border transfer of knowledge previously locked within the cultural context of their home regions. Using a unique dataset of Chinese and Indian herbal patents filed in the United States, we find that an... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

22 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 22, 2019

mandated language change at a Chilean subsidiary of a large U.S. multinational organization. The engineering-focused subsidiary aiming to facilitate cross-border interactions embedded language acquisition experts to transition all... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

FANUC Corporation: Reassessing the Firm's Governance and Financial Policies

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a U.S.–based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Funds; Economic Policy; Investments; Government Policy; Deregulation; Financial Management; Valuation; Investment Funds; Policy; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Investment Activism; Change Management; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan; United States

18 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

The Bias of Wall Street Analysts

begun investigating the impact of accounting method choices in cross-border investments. Ann Cullen: After the scandals of the past few years, the potential for brokerage research deception is obviously something the Securities and... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

07 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 7

crises and of the response of western and central Europe to their gas dependence-I find that firms are driving these political outcomes; those firms are motivated by profits but employ sociological conventions along their ways; and firms generally seek the necessary... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 8

environments. Further, this effect is larger when (i) there are greater cross-border frictions between the parent and subsidiary and (ii) the parents are relatively more involved in their subsidiaries' investment decision-making process.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 4

Is mixed bundling more effective than pure bundling or pure components? Does correlation in consumer valuations make bundling more or less effective? Does bundling serve as a complement or substitute to network effects? To address these... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 2024
Teaching Note

Beamery: Using Skills and AI to Modernize HR

By: Boris Groysberg, David Lane, Susan Pinckney and Alexis Lefort

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 424-004. Unicorn human relationships startup Beamery evaluates it growth versus depth strategy as its strategic partners and customers could become future competitors in a quickly changing AI based human resources and talent management... View Details