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- December 2010
- Article
The Case for Professional Boards
By: Robert C. Pozen
When the world's largest financial institutions had to be rescued from insolvency in 2008, many experts laid the blame at the feet of corporate boards. But insufficient board oversight is a problem that had supposedly been solved in 2002. As the United States... View Details
Keywords: Financial Institutions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Failure; Accounting Audits; Quality; Behavior; Legal Liability; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Performance Effectiveness; United States
Pozen, Robert C. "The Case for Professional Boards." Harvard Business Review 88, no. 12 (December 2010).
- Research Summary
Get in Line: Chapter 11 Restructuring in Crowded Bankruptcy Courts
This paper tests whether Chapter 11 restructuring outcomes are affected by time constraints in busy bankruptcy courts. On average, total bankruptcy filings rise by 32% during economic recessions, leaving bankruptcy judges with far less time per case exactly when... View Details
- 2011
- Working Paper
Fiduciary Duties and Equity-Debtholder Conflicts
By: Bo Becker and Per Stromberg
We use an important legal event as a natural experiment to examine the effect of management fiduciary duties on equity-debt conflicts. A 1991 Delaware bankruptcy ruling changed the nature of corporate directors' fiduciary duties in firms incorporated in that state.... View Details
Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Laws and Statutes; Conflict and Resolution; Welfare or Wellbeing; Delaware
Becker, Bo, and Per Stromberg. "Fiduciary Duties and Equity-Debtholder Conflicts." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 10-070, February 2010. (Revised June 2011, November 2011.)
- 2012
- Article
The Cost and Timing of Financial Distress
By: Christopher Parsons
Assessments of the trade-off theory have typically compared the present value of tax benefits to the present value of bankruptcy costs. We verify that this comparison overwhelmingly favors tax benefits, suggesting that firms are under-leveraged. However, when we... View Details
Parsons, Christopher. "The Cost and Timing of Financial Distress." Journal of Financial Economics 105, no. 1 (July 2012): 62–81.
- January 2017 (Revised January 2019)
- Case
The Rise and Fall of Lehman Brothers
By: Stuart C. Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott
With nearly $700 billion in assets, Lehman was the largest U.S. bankruptcy in history. In 2007, Lehman achieved record earnings of over $4 billion on revenues of $60 billion. By September 2008 the fourth largest investment bank in the world was bankrupt. How had a... View Details
Keywords: Bankruptcy; Financial Distress; Accounting Policies; Business Ethics; Financial Reporting; Volatility; Judgments; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Investment Banking; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Failure; Business and Government Relations; Ethics; Banking Industry; New York (city, NY)
Gilson, Stuart C., Kristin Mugford, and Sarah L. Abbott. "The Rise and Fall of Lehman Brothers." Harvard Business School Case 217-041, January 2017. (Revised January 2019.)
- 2024
- Working Paper
The Real Effects of Bankruptcy Forum Shopping
By: Samuel Antill and Aymeric Bellon
Many non-Delaware firms strategically file for bankruptcy in Delaware. Should this "forum shopping" be allowed? This question has motivated six congressional bill proposals over decades of policy debate. Using a novel natural experiment and Census-Bureau microdata, we... View Details
Antill, Samuel, and Aymeric Bellon. "The Real Effects of Bankruptcy Forum Shopping." Working Paper, December 2024.
- December 2019 (Revised December 2022)
- Case
TXU (A): Powering the Largest Leveraged Buyout in History
By: Trevor Fetter, Erik Snowberg and Rebecca M. Henderson
This case is designed to support a lively discussion about the relative merits of shareholder vs. stakeholder perspectives in the context of a company that provides a vital public service that has important environmental implications. The 2007 purchase of TXU, the... View Details
Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Transformation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Energy Generation; Non-Renewable Energy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Texas
Fetter, Trevor, Erik Snowberg, and Rebecca M. Henderson. "TXU (A): Powering the Largest Leveraged Buyout in History." Harvard Business School Case 320-064, December 2019. (Revised December 2022.)
- 07 Jan 2015
- Research & Ideas
The Quest for Better Layoffs
pursue market changes. And leaders need ways to respond to business cycle changes. We want people to learn about the forces they unleash in the firm when they institute layoffs. We want to change the way layoffs are done." The Case... View Details
- October 2013 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Blackstone and the Sale of Citigroup's Loan Portfolio
By: Victoria Ivashina and David Scharfstein
The credit boom that preceded the 2007-2009 financial crisis led to several lending practices that exposed banks to large risks. In particular, when the financial crisis unraveled, there were several billion dollars' worth of leveraged buyout (LBO) loans that were... View Details
Keywords: Restructuring; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Financial Markets; Investment; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry
Ivashina, Victoria, and David Scharfstein. "Blackstone and the Sale of Citigroup's Loan Portfolio." Harvard Business School Case 214-037, October 2013. (Revised November 2013.)
- December 2021 (Revised January 2023)
- Case
Katerra (A)
By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn
In April 2020, Katerra executives struggled with a series of decisions that would determine the fate of one of the best-funded construction startups in history. Katerra was founded in 2015 by technology-industry executive Michael Marks and commercial real estate... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Construction; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; United States
Hyde, Lindsay N., Thomas R. Eisenmann, and Tom Quinn. "Katerra (A)." Harvard Business School Case 822-021, December 2021. (Revised January 2023.)
- Article
Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors
By: Susan Helper and Rebecca Henderson
General Motors was once regarded as one of the best managed and most successful firms in the world, but between 1980 and 2009 its share of the U.S. market fell from 62.6% to 19.8%, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt. In this paper we argue that the conventional... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; United States
Helper, Susan, and Rebecca Henderson. "Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors." Journal of Economic Perspectives 28, no. 1 (Winter 2014): 49–72.
- November 1984 (Revised December 1988)
- Case
Gulf Oil Corp.--Takeover
Gulf Oil was pressured into liquidation while under attack by Boone Pickens of Mesa Petroleum Co. Gulf management was unsure whether to sell out or take the firm private. A suitor, Standard Oil of California, tries to decide how much, if anything, to bid for the... View Details
Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Bids and Bidding; Acquisition; Energy Sources; Energy Industry; United States
Rock, Kevin F. "Gulf Oil Corp.--Takeover." Harvard Business School Case 285-053, November 1984. (Revised December 1988.)
- 2014
- Working Paper
Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors
By: Susan Helper and Rebecca Henderson
General Motors was once regarded as one of the best managed and most successful firms in the world, but between 1980 and 2009 its share of the US market fell from 62.6 to 19.8 percent, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt. In this paper we argue that the conventional... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Decision Making; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry
Helper, Susan, and Rebecca Henderson. "Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 14-062, January 2014. (NBER Working Paper Series, No. 19867, January 2014.)
- October 2009 (Revised November 2011)
- Case
Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo
By: Guhan Subramanian and Nithyasri Sharma
In late September 2008, amidst the spiraling financial crisis, many firms on Wall Street were in a precarious position. One such institution was Wachovia, which entered acquisition talks with Citigroup and Wells Fargo. This case describes the development of these... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Banking Industry; United States
Subramanian, Guhan, and Nithyasri Sharma. "Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo." Harvard Business School Case 910-006, October 2009. (Revised November 2011.)
- March 2006 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
International Place (A): Boston Real Estate Playoff
First International Place, one of Boston's premier office buildings, was the subject of a control contest in 2005, as the New York real estate firm Tishman Speyer purchased the mortgage on the property through a sealed bid auction process and then sought to foreclose... View Details
Goetzmann, William N., and Irina Tarsis. "International Place (A): Boston Real Estate Playoff." Harvard Business School Case 206-088, March 2006. (Revised April 2006.)
- 2025
- Working Paper
Healthcare Provider Bankruptcies
By: Samuel Antill, Ashvin Gandhi, Jessica Bai and Adrienne Sabety
Healthcare firms are filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at record rates. We find that bankruptcies increase healthcare staff turnover, worsen care, and harm patients. Using a difference-in-differences design, we estimate that a bankruptcy filing immediately increases... View Details
Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Retention; Health Industry
Antill, Samuel, Ashvin Gandhi, Jessica Bai, and Adrienne Sabety. "Healthcare Provider Bankruptcies." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 33763, May 2025.
- 2023
- Working Paper
Life After Death: A Field Experiment with Small Businesses on Information Frictions, Stigma, and Bankruptcy
By: Shai Benjamin Bernstein, Emanuele Colonnelli, Mitchell Hoffman and Benjamin Iverson
In a randomized control trial (RCT) with U.S. small businesses, we document that a large share of firms are not well-informed about bankruptcy. Many assume that bankruptcy necessarily entails the death of a business and do not know about Chapter 11 bankruptcy, where... View Details
Bernstein, Shai Benjamin, Emanuele Colonnelli, Mitchell Hoffman, and Benjamin Iverson. "Life After Death: A Field Experiment with Small Businesses on Information Frictions, Stigma, and Bankruptcy." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 30933, February 2023.
- March 2009 (Revised November 2009)
- Case
WL Ross and Plascar
By: C. Fritz Foley and Linnea Meyer
How can distressed investors take advantage of the procedures governing an international bankruptcy? Wilbur L. Ross, chairman and CEO of the private equity firm WL Ross & Co., LLC, has the opportunity to bid for debt and equity claims on Plascar Industria e Comercio... View Details
Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries
Foley, C. Fritz, and Linnea Meyer. "WL Ross and Plascar." Harvard Business School Case 209-091, March 2009. (Revised November 2009.)
- March 2000 (Revised April 2003)
- Case
Iridium LLC
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Fuaad Qureshi and William J Olson
This case involves part of a module on financing large projects in the elective curriculum course entitled "Large-Scale Investment." It is set in August 1999, just after Iridium, a global communications firm, declared bankruptcy. Although the case describes Iridium's... View Details
Keywords: Project Finance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Communications Industry; Technology Industry
Esty, Benjamin C., Fuaad Qureshi, and William J Olson. "Iridium LLC." Harvard Business School Case 200-039, March 2000. (Revised April 2003.)
- December 2024
- Article
Are Bankruptcy Professional Fees Excessively High?
By: Samuel Antill
Chapter 7 is the most popular bankruptcy system for U.S. firms and individuals. Chapter 7 professional fees are substantial. Theoretically, high fees might be an unavoidable cost of incentivizing professionals. I test this empirically. I study trustees, the most... View Details
Antill, Samuel. "Are Bankruptcy Professional Fees Excessively High?" Review of Financial Studies 37, no. 12 (December 2024): 3595–3647. (RFS Rising Scholar Best Paper Award; Lead Article and Editor's Choice.)