Publications

February 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Mobile Energy Services Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

When Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap became CEO of the Scott Paper Co., the company owned a large, vertically integrated production facility in Mobile, Alabama. Dunlap sold part of the production facility, a cogeneration power plant (later known as Mobile Energy Services Co.), to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Risk and Uncertainty; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Investment; Projects; Vertical Integration; Energy Sources; Bonds; Ownership; Restructuring; Energy Industry; Alabama

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March 1996 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Singapore's Trade in Services

By: Debora L. Spar

Focuses on the efforts of Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) to grow the tiny island almost wholly through an expansion of its service economy. Between 1965 and 1990, Singapore achieved a remarkable rate of growth, largely by opening its economy to foreign... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Service Operations; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics; Service Industry; Singapore

2025
Working Paper

Centralized Governance in Decentralized Organizations

By: Lin William Cong, Daniel Rabetti, Charles C.Y. Wang and Yu Yan

We systematically document governance centralization in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and study its drivers and economic implications. Using multiple data sources and granular on-chain transactional data, we compare our findings to those in corporate... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Governance; Voting; Organizations; Financial Services Industry

SSRN

Forthcoming
Article

Geographies of Discontent: Public Service Deprivation and the Rise of the Far Right in Italy

By: Simone Cremaschi, Paula Rettl, Marco Cappelluti and Catherine E. De Vries

Electoral support for far-right parties is often linked to geographies of discontent. We argue that public service deprivation, defined as reduced access to public services at the local level, plays an important role in explaining these patterns. By exploiting an... View Details

Keywords: Election Outcomes; Electoral Behavior; Political Affiliation; Political Culture; Public Service; Political Elections; Policy; Government and Politics; Surveys; Geographic Location; Immigration; Europe; Italy

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Forthcoming
Article

You've Got Mail! The Late 19th-Century U.S. Postal Service Expansion, Firm Creation, and Firm Performance

By: Astrid Marinoni and Maria P. Roche

This paper examines the impact of the expansion of the US Postal Service in the late 19th century on firm creation and performance. Utilizing newly digitized archival data on historic business establishments, post office locations, and road networks in California,... View Details

Keywords: Institutional Innovation; Knowledge Exchange; US Postal Service; Firm Performance; Infrastructure; Expansion; Government Administration; Communication; Business History; Entrepreneurship; Public Administration Industry; California

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November 2020
Supplement

Improving Access at VA (Update)

By: Ryan W. Buell

In November 2020, Chief Veterans Experience Officer, Lynda Davis, and Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer, Barbara C. Morton reflect on a busy four years leading the Veterans Experience Office at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The case provides an update... View Details

Keywords: Government; Service Management; Leading Change; Transformation; Service Operations; Management; Health Care and Treatment; Government Administration; Performance Improvement; Public Administration Industry; United States

August 2015
Article

A Comparative-Advantage Approach to Government Debt Maturity

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson and Jeremy C. Stein

We study optimal government debt maturity in a model where investors derive monetary services from holding riskless short-term securities. In a setting where the government is the only issuer of such riskless paper, it trades off the monetary premium associated with... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Debt Securities

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Research Summary

Current Research: Issues in Corporate Governance

Effectiveness of shareholder voting

Reform of shareholder voting is a key component of legislation arising from the financial crisis of 2008. Professor Gow examines the effect of shareholder voting on corporate actions, particularly on... View Details

14 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Time that Government Reopens for Business

DC. Jim Aisner: The newspapers point out that a federal government shutdown has occurred 17 times before, but that really doesn't provide much solace, does it? Joe Fuller: The thing that's particularly unnerving about this shutdown is its... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

November 1989 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Automation Consulting Services

By: Robert Simons and Hilary Weston

Illustrates the management control challenges that are associated with rapid growth and geographic expansion. Situated at an offsite Executive Committee Retreat. The three founding partners of a specialized consulting firm are grappling with several difficult questions... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Expansion; Consulting Industry

15 Sep 2020
Working Paper Summaries

State and Local Government Employment in the COVID-19 Crisis

Keywords: by Daniel Green and Erik Loualiche

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

lack of trust in government officials," he explained. "There is no point in adding services over a foundation we don't trust. The number-one priority of Data.gov should be to restore confidence in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

RCP Terms of Service - Research Computing Services

Usage and Policies RCP Terms of Service 19ms Please note that the RCS Terms of Service differ for internal (HBS) users and external (non-HBS) users, i.e., guests. Internal User Agreement for the HBS Research... View Details

HBSGrid Terms of Service - Research Computing Services

Usage and Policies HBSGrid Terms of Service 41ms To obtain access to Harvard Business School’s technology resources through Research Computing Services (RCS), you must acknowledge this agreement either... View Details

12 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Corporate Innovation Increasingly Benefits from Government Research

shrinking human services than the long-term benefits of research spending, whose outcomes might be years away. “Voters don’t get as angered about such cuts.” The research can’t predict what would happen if the US View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2011
Case

Strategy and Governance at Yahoo! Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan, David Lane and Ian McKown Cornell

Yahoo! faces a number of governance and strategic challenges in late 2011 as it tries to compete with rivals such as Google and find ways to monetize its shareholding and business links with Alibaba Group in China and Yahoo! Japan. The company is now valued at almost... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Corporate Governance; Web Services Industry

13 May 2019
Research & Ideas

The Unexpected Way Whistleblowers Reduce Government Fraud

contracts.” In fixed-price contracts, the supplier provides a product or service to the government at a fixed price. In cost-plus contracts, the supplier bills the government... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Service; Service

08 Jan 2025
News

Mapping Pain Points at the IRS

federal government. NASA sends people to space; the Federal Aviation Administration keeps air travel safe; the Department of Defense protects our country; the National Park Service cares for our natural and cultural resources—things we... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers; IRS; customer service; government service; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

March 2006
Background Note

Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations

By: Frances X. Frei and Amy C. Edmondson

Explores ways in which service firms can influence the behavior of their customers. Drawing from research on employee motivation and applying it to customer motivation, the note describes two levels of managerial control: instrumental control, which shapes behavior... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Governance Controls; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Service Industry