Publications

August 2008
Article

The Implications of Unverifiable Fair-value Accounting: Evidence from the Political Economy of Goodwill Accounting

By: Karthik Ramanna

I study the evolution of SFAS 142, which uses unverifiable fair-value estimates to account for acquired goodwill. I find evidence consistent with the FASB issuing SFAS 142 in response to political pressure over its proposal to abolish pooling accounting. The result is... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Fair Values; Politics; Standard Setting; Fair Value Accounting; Goodwill Accounting; Government Legislation; Agency Theory

December 1982 (Revised April 1998)
Case

U.K. and the Gold Standard in 1925, The

Describes the issues and priorities involved in countries' use of the gold standard as the basis for managing their money supply. The setting of the United Kingdom in 1925 permits a real-world exploration of the important tradeoffs in "going back on gold" versus moving... View Details

Keywords: Money; Currency Exchange Rate; Standards; Cost vs Benefits; United Kingdom

24 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Who Sets Your Benchmarks?

pursuing your goals accordingly. In this excerpt, he discusses the unfortunate and all-too-common tendency to focus on extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivators. Who Sets Your Benchmarks? From, What You're Really Meant to Do: A Road Map... View Details

November 2004
Case

ClozeX Medical (A): The New Standard of Wound Closure

By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis

Describes a set of decisions confronting the founder of a company with a revolutionary new wound-closure product. He must decide how to finance and exploit his venture. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Medical Specialties; Corporate Finance; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2017
Supplement

Uncommon Schools (B): Seeking Excellence at Scale through Standardized Practice

By: John J-H Kim and Sarah McAra

The (B) case provides an update to the (A) case by illustrating how charter school management organization Uncommon Schools responded to the disparity in its students’ 2013 standardized test results. In 2015, CEO Brett Peiser and his management team decided to align... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Teaching; Talent And Talent Management; Innovation; Education; Early Childhood Education; Middle School Education; Organizational Structure; Performance Consistency; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Education Industry

Read Now

October 2009 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

Genzyme Center (A), (B) & (C)

By: Michael W. Toffel

Teaching Note for [610008], [610009], and [610010]. View Details

Keywords: Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Environmental Operations; Environmental Protection; Environmental Regulation; Standard Setting; Standards; Environmental Accounting; Engineering; Governance; Energy; Economics; Operations; Projects; Social Enterprise; Infrastructure; Construction Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Real Estate Industry

Third Quarter 2018
Article

Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey

By: Amir Amel-Zadeh and George Serafeim

Using survey data from a sample of senior investment professionals from mainstream (i.e., not SRI funds) investment organizations, we provide insights into why and how investors use reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Relevance to... View Details

Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Sustainability; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Metrics; Standard Setting; Accounting Standards; Finance; Investment; Information; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Performance Effectiveness; Strategy

April 2012
Article

The Impact of Relative Standards on the Propensity to Disclose

By: Alessandro Acquisti, Leslie John and George Loewenstein

Two sets of studies illustrate the comparative nature of disclosure behavior. The first set investigates how divulgence is affected by signals about others' readiness to divulge. Study 1A shows a "herding" effect, such that survey respondents are more willing to... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Surveys; Management Practices and Processes; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Judgments; Consumer Behavior; Standards

17 Jan 2020
In Practice

6 Traits That Set Top Business Leaders Apart

delegate responsibility for designing and implementing plans to achieve those ends to the maximum degree possible." Joseph B. Fuller (@JosephBFuller), professor of management practice and co-leader of the HBS Managing the Future of Work initiative. 5.They View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

2014
Working Paper

Agenda Setting at the FASB: Evidence from the Role of the FASAC

By: Abigail Allen

I examine the extent to which the FASB's agenda determination is a function of the contemporaneous preferences of its primary constituents: auditors, preparers, and financial statement users. Using the FASB's consultation with the FASAC as a lens through which to view... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Accounting Industry; United States

Read Now

14 Jan 2019
Op-Ed

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

ultimately set the new standard of leadership in this era, never wavering from their purpose and values. They became role models for the business community by serving society through their organizations,... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health; Banking; Food & Beverage; Consumer Products

March 2004
Article

How Do You Stop the Books From Being Cooked? A Management Control Perspective on Financial Accounting Standard Setting and the Section 404 Requirement of the Sarbanes/Oxley Act

By: S. Datar and M. G. Alles

Keywords: Governance Controls; Accounting; Standards

December 2005
Article

Up to Code: Does Your Company's Conduct Meet World-Class Standards?

By: Lynn Paine, Rohit Deshpandé, Joshua D. Margolis and Kim Eric Bettcher

Codes of conduct have long been a feature of corporate life. Today, they are arguably a legal necessity—at least for public companies with a presence in the United States. But the issue goes beyond U.S. legal and regulatory requirements. Sparked by corruption and... View Details

Keywords: Business Ethics; Standards Of Conduct; Globalized Firms and Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance

23 Apr 2024
In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

With each month clocking record-breaking temperatures across the planet, this Earth Day reflected the renewed urgency of regulators and businesses to find climate-change solutions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted new rules that will mandate... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

June 2023
Case

Accounting for Loan Losses at JPMorgan Chase: Predicting Credit Costs

By: Jonas Heese, Jung Koo Kang and James Weber

The case examines the accounting for loan losses at a large bank, how a bank sets its Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) on its financial statements. ALLL, and the rules that set them, determine when banks would and would not extend loans, which significantly... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Standards; Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Banking Industry; United States

2014
Case

Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant Group

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Weiku Wu and Jia Guo

Since the establishment of the first Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant in Beijing in 1996, Wang Gang and his wife Liang Di have opened more than 100 chain restaurants in China and foreign countries, and set up the group headquarters, logistics center, R&D center and central... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Management; Standardization; Strategy; Restaurants; China; China

2014
Teaching Note

Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant Group (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Weiku Wu and Jia Guo

Since the establishment of the first Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant in Beijing in 1996, Wang Gang and his wife Liang Di have opened more than 100 chain restaurants in China and foreign countries, and set up the group headquarters, logistics center, R&D center and central... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Management; Standardization; Strategy; China; Restaurants; China

2018
Working Paper

Ratcheting, Competition, and the Diffusion of Technological Change: The Case of Televisions Under an Energy Efficiency Program

By: Tomomichi Amano and Hiroshi Ohashi

In differentiated goods markets with societal implications, quality standards are commonly implemented to avoid the under-provision of innovation. Firms have clear incentives to engage in strategic behavior because policymakers use market outcomes as a benchmark in... View Details

Keywords: Product Differentiation; Energy Efficiency Standards; Ratcheting; Diffusion Of Innovation; Technological Innovation; Competition; Quality; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy