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December 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

France Télécom (A): A Challenging Restructuring

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Ashley V. Whillans

These cases explore the impacts of industry shocks, resulting corporate actions that had a devastating impact on employees, and the legal conviction of corporate leaders for “institutional harassment."

This case series follows the evolution of France... View Details

December 2020
Supplement

France Télécom (B): A Wave of Staff Suicides

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Ashley V. Whillans

In the B case we learn that at least 19 France Telecom employees took their own lives between 2006 and 2009, 12 others attempted suicide, and eight suffered from serious depression for reasons reportedly related to work. Some of these deaths occurred in public places,... View Details

December 2020
Supplement

France Télécom (C): An Unprecedented Trial

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Ashley V. Whillans

In the C case we learn that former CEO Didier Lombard, Deputy Chief Executive Louis-Pierre Wenes, Human Resources Head Olivier Barberot and France Telecom itself were charged for institutional harassment by French authorities, a first for a CAC 40 company. In December... View Details

February 2021
Article

Rethinking the Role of the EU in European Competitiveness

By: Christian H.M. Ketels and Michael E. Porter

The aim of this conceptual paper is to delineate the scope and give directives towards higher levels of competitiveness and prosperity for EU members. The EU integration history and challenges are retraced and the EU’s current competitiveness context is presented. In a... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; Public Policy; Competitive Advantage; Government Administration; European Union

October 2020
Case

Fiscal Responses to COVID-19

By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella, Vincent Pons and Galit Goldstein

For the first half of 2020, the COVID-19 crisis seemed on the verge of spiraling out of control. The business world struggled to figure out what COVID meant for macroeconomics. Extended restrictions limiting human interaction meant an end to normal economic production,... View Details

Keywords: Fiscal Policy; COVID; COVID-19; Economic Analysis; Economic Downturn; Economic Conditions; Economic Governance; Economic Systems; Economy; Health Pandemics; Finance; Policy; United States; Germany; France; European Union

2020
Working Paper

Short-Termism, Shareholder Payouts, and Investment in the EU

By: Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang

Investor-driven “short-termism” is said to harm EU public firms' ability to invest for the long term, prompting calls for the EU to better insulate managers from shareholder pressure. But the evidence offered—in the form of rising levels of repurchases and dividends—is... View Details

Keywords: Short-termism; Quarterly Capitalism; EU; Dividends; Equity Issuances; Equity Compensastion; Capital Flows; Capital Distribution; R＆D; Innovation; Investment; Corporate Governance; Investment Return; Acquisition; European Union

SSRN

February 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Getting Brexit Done

By: Alberto Cavallo

In the early hours of Friday, December 13, 2019, a triumphant Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, stood in front of his supporters and declared, “We did it – we pulled it off, didn’t we? We broke the deadlock, [. . .] we smashed the roadblock. [. . .] This election... View Details

Keywords: Economic Integration; Brexit; Economics; Trade; Political Elections; Government Administration; Policy; Negotiation; Globalized Economies and Regions; Problems and Challenges; European Union; Europe

January 2020
Supplement

Brexit: A Withdrawal Agreement? — Boris Johnson

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

The UK was due to leave the EU in March 2019 after a referendum vote in June 2016. Following additional extensions and multiple failed attempts to reach an agreement with Parliament, Theresa May stepped down as Conservative Party leader and was replaced by Boris... View Details

Keywords: Brexit; Government and Politics; International Relations; United Kingdom; European Union

2019
Working Paper

The Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on Internet Interconnection

By: Ran Zhuo, Bradley Huffaker, KC Claffy and Shane Greenstein

The Internet comprises thousands of independently operated networks, where bilaterally negotiated interconnection agreements determine the flow of data between networks. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes strict restrictions on... View Details

Keywords: Personal Data; Privacy Regulation; GDPR; Interconnection Agreements; Internet and the Web; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; European Union

October 2019 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Serbia at a Crossroads

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Federica Gabrieli and Jyotika Banga

In the fall of 2018, Serbia found itself at a crossroads yet again. Following the Balkan Wars of the 1990s and the collapse of Yugoslavia, the country had embarked on a slow and arduous process of accession to the European Union (EU). This had been further hampered by... View Details

Keywords: Geopolitics; EU Accession; Economic Systems; Government and Politics; War; Social Issues; Serbia

August 2019
Case

Huawei and the U.S.-China Trade War

By: Elie Ofek and John Masko

In 2019, Chinese smartphone maker and telecommunications empire Huawei was preparing to launch its new flagship smartphone series, the Mate 30. After years of explosive growth, the previous 18 months had been a challenge for the company. In early 2018, Huawei’s planned... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Global Strategy; International Relations; National Security; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Infrastructure; Volatility; Adaptation; Telecommunications Industry; China; United States; European Union

August 2019
Case

The United States and Russia: Gas Rivals in Europe?

By: Rawi Abdelal, Galit Goldstein and Paul Apostolicas

Though the shale revolution transformed the U.S. into the largest producer of petroleum products, it was unclear how much success American exporters would find selling liquefied natural gas on the European energy market. Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian energy... View Details

2019
Chapter

Origins and Development of Global Business

By: Geoffrey Jones

This chapter explores how business enterprises have been powerful actors in the spread of global capitalism between 1840 and the present day. Emerging out of the industrialized Western economies, global firms created and co-created markets and ecosystems through their... View Details

Keywords: Global Business; Multinational; Globalization; Business History; Strategy; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America; Oceania

July 2019
Article

Market Reaction to Mandatory Nonfinancial Disclosure

By: Jody Grewal, Edward J. Riedl and George Serafeim

We examine the equity market reaction to events associated with the passage of a directive in the European Union (EU) mandating increased nonfinancial disclosure. These disclosures relate to firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and would be... View Details

Keywords: Nonfinancial Information; Nonfinancial Performance; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Investor Behavior; Disclosure; Disclosure Regulation; Regulation; Sustainability; Corporate Performance; Information; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Performance; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance; Outcome or Result

SSRN

February 2019
Editorial

Introduction To: The Euro at Twenty

By: Laura Alfaro and Paul R. Bergin

The article introduces a special volume on the “Euro at Twenty” as the currency was first introduced January 1, 1999. The volume includes papers by renowned leaders and thinkers: Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank; Claudia Buch,... View Details

Keywords: The Euro; Currency; Europe; European Union

2018
Working Paper

Towards a New Approach for Upgrading Europe's Competitiveness

By: Christian Ketels and Michael E. Porter

The traumatic experience of the European sovereign debt crisis, followed by the outcome of the British referendum on leaving the European Union, has sent shockwaves through Europe. For the first time since the signing of the Treaties of Rome six decades ago, the very... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; Economy; Policy; Problems and Challenges; Europe; European Union

2018
Working Paper

UK Competitiveness after Brexit

By: Michael E. Porter

On June 23rd, 2016 52% of UK voters opted to put their country on the path to leave the European Union by March 29, 2019. This result was a surprise to many, and went against the advice of the vast majority of economic experts and business leaders. Two years later, and... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; International Relations; Trade; Economy; Strategy; United Kingdom

May 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Case

The Powers That Be (Internet Edition): Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Julia Kelley and Nathaniel Schwalb

As of early 2018, five U.S. technology companies—Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft—were among the largest companies in the world. Similarly, three Chinese technology firms—Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, or BAT—had emerged as global players due in part to the... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Business Ventures; Customers; Analytics and Data Science; Safety; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry

March 2018
Case

EKOL Logistics: Thinking Outside the Box

By: Willy C. Shih and Esel Çekin

This case describes Ekol, an intermodal transportation and logistics company, and how it manages capacity planning. Its busiest routes linked motor vehicle assemblers in Germany and Turkey with many of their parts suppliers, but it had also developed key links in... View Details