Publications

2010
Working Paper

Corporate Governance and Internal Capital Markets

We exploit an exogenous shock to corporate ownership structures created by a recent tax reform in Germany to explore the link between corporate governance and internal capital markets. We find that firms with more concentrated ownership are less diversified and have... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Capital Markets; Corporate Governance; Taxation; Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Diversification; Germany

29 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Is the Digital Age Making Us Petty?

to remember that in fact there’s a lot to be gained by moving in the opposite direction, which is keeping less track of things, especially interpersonally,” Zhang says. “We benefit when we treat our friends in a communal way, rather than... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

October 1995 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Andersen Consulting - EMEAI: Reorganization for Revitalization

By: Ashish Nanda and Michael Y. Yoshino

Vernon Ellis, managing partner of Andersen Consulting -- Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India (AC -- EMEAI), is considering how best to reorganize. AC -- EMEAI has grown rapidly over the past five years to become Europe's largest consulting operation. However, Ellis... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business or Company Management; Organizational Design; Growth Management; Cost vs Benefits; Leading Change; Management Teams; Consulting Industry; Europe; Africa; India; Middle East

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

SSRN

November–December 2014
Article

Accountable? The Problems and Solutions of Online Ad Optimization

By: Benjamin Edelman

Online advertising might seem to be the most measurable form of marketing ever invented. Comprehensive records can track who clicked what ad—and often who saw what ad—to compare those clicks with users' subsequent purchases. Ever-cheaper IT makes this tracking... View Details

Keywords: Online Advertising; Fraud; Optimization; Incentives; Digital Marketing; Contracts; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Design

2009
Working Paper

The Impact of Private Equity Ownership on Portfolio Firms' Corporate Tax Planning

By: Brad Badertscher, Sharon P. Katz and Sonja Olhoft Rego

This study investigates whether private equity (PE) firms influence the tax practices of their portfolio firms. Prior research documents that PE firms create economic value in portfolio firms through effective governance, financial, and operational engineering. Given... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Taxation; Ownership Stake; Value Creation

08 Mar 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Customer-Driven Misconduct: How Competition Corrupts Business Practices

Keywords: by Victor Manuel Bennett, Lamar Pierce, Jason A. Snyder & Michael W. Toffel; Auto

11 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 11

themselves (e.g., inbound marketing), (3) outsourcing content creation (e.g., via crowdsourcing), or (4) outsourcing content distribution (e.g., viral marketing). Benefits and challenges of these four approaches are discussed and their... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

18 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Non-Audit Services and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from 1978-1980

Keywords: by Kevin Koh, Shivaram Rajgopal & Suraj Srinivasan; Accounting

August 2023 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Beyond the Barricades: Chile 2023

By: Debora Spar, Willis Emmons, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Ruth Costas

Chile, often considered among Latin America's greatest economic success stories, suffered a shocking wave of protests in October 2019, as its citizens demanded reforms across healthcare and education systems, and protested inequality and rising costs of living. As... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Social Issues; Wealth and Poverty; Public Opinion; Equality and Inequality; Public Administration Industry; Chile; Latin America; South America

Article

CDS Trading and Nonrelationship Lending Dynamics

By: Jung Koo Kang, Christopher Williams and Regina Wittenberg-Moerman

We investigate how credit default swaps (CDSs) affect lenders’ incentives to initiate new lending relationships. We predict that CDSs reduce adverse selection that nonrelationship lead arrangers face when competing for loans. Consistently, we find that a loan is... View Details

Keywords: Credit Default Swaps; CDS Market; Non-relationship Lending; Debt Contracts; Adverse Selection; Lending Monitoring; Cross-selling

Find at Harvard

14 Mar 2007
Op-Ed

Government’s Misguided Probe of Private Equity

are mandated to work. Moreover, the behavior in the Justice Department's crosshairs—deal sharing—is an important aspect of this competition that benefits us all. It is clear that the industry thrives on its extraordinary flexibility and... View Details

Keywords: by Josh Lerner; Financial Services

March 2015
Case

BOLT: Seed Venture Capital Firm

By: William A. Sahlman and Robert F. White

BOLT is a different kind of seed venture capital firm built to serve the needs of early-stage startups at the intersection of hardware and software.

In the past decade, the cost of entrepreneurial experimentation has dropped dramatically, particularly in web... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Accelerator; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Venture Capital; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Strategy

12 Apr 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Productivity Suffers When Employees Are Allowed to Schedule Their Own Tasks

the benefits of doing so.” While the study focuses on task scheduling, it highlights a broader idea—namely, that managers must consider the time costs associated with decentralizing any type of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

16 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

A Comparative-Advantage Approach to Government Debt Maturity

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson & Jeremy C. Stein

17 Oct 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Consequences of Voluntary and Mandatory Fair Value Accounting: Evidence Surrounding IFRS Adoption in the EU Real Estate Industry

Keywords: by Karl A. Muller III, Edward J. Riedl & Thorsten Sellhorn; Construction; Real Estate

2010
Chapter

The Peculiar Politics of American Disaster Policy: How Television Has Changed Federal Relief

By: David Moss

Particularly since the 1960s, the federal government has played a significant role in financing disaster losses in the United States. The federal government may thus be thought of as providing an implicit form of public disaster insurance. However, unlike many... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Policy; Government and Politics; Media; Natural Disasters; United States