Publications

June 2013
Case

Hess Corporation

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Kathleen Durante

On January 29, 2013, Elliott Management, a hedge fund run by Paul E. Singer, which owned 4.5% of Hess Corporation stock, put forward a slate of five independent directors it wanted elected to improve the company's performance. Elliott argued that Hess lacked focus and... View Details

Keywords: Takeover Attempt; Board; Hess; Governing and Advisory Boards; Organizational Structure; Acquisition; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry

August 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan

By: Robert F. White and Tom Quinn

After observing record voter dissatisfaction with the choices in the 2024 U.S. presidential election—Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump—the bipartisan nonprofit No Labels decided to reserve ballot access in... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Cost vs Benefits; Forecasting and Prediction; Lawfulness; Failure; System Shocks; Political Elections; United States

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Geoffrey G. Jones

I currently teach the history of global entrepreneurship over the last 200 years. The 28-session course called Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism has become one of the most popular second year electives in the MBA program at the Harvard Business School. The cases,... View Details

September 2019
Exercise

Difficult Conversations (B)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

The exercises can be used as a follow-up to the Yesware (A) case (#816-039), or in conjunction with any case that involves replacing a founding team member (and/or providing feedback to a top executive). This is a role-playing exercise, and has been carried out in the... View Details

Keywords: Firing; Feedback; Founders; Culture; Values; Neuroscience; Business Startups; Organizational Culture; Resignation and Termination; Communication; Emotions; Trust; Human Resources; Entrepreneurship

November 2013 (Revised August 2023)
Case

'These People are Fiduciaries...'

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Amy W. Schulman

The fiduciary duties of loyalty and care, the corporate opportunity doctrine and the business judgment rule are introduced in the context of three vignettes drawn from decided cases that explore: a classic test of loyalty when one partner elects to take advantage of an... View Details

Keywords: Fiduciaries; Fiduciary Duties; Management Practices and Processes; Ethics; Business Processes

February 1995 (Revised February 1998)
Case

India in the 1990s

By: George C. Lodge and Ahu Bhasin

Describes the efforts of Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to deregulate and open up the Indian economy in the early 1990s. Focuses on the difficulties he encountered, reflected in the poor showing of the ruling Congress Party in state elections in December... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Emerging Markets; Social Issues; Economic Growth; Government and Politics; India

30 Nov 2017
HBS Seminar

Sabrin Beg, University of Delaware

September 2019
Exercise

Difficult Conversations (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

The exercises can be used as a follow-up to the Yesware (A) case (#816-039), or in conjunction with any case that involves replacing a founding team member (and/or providing feedback to a top executive). This is a role-playing exercise, and has been carried out in the... View Details

Keywords: Firing; Feedback; Founders; Culture; Values; Neuroscience; Business Startups; Organizational Culture; Resignation and Termination; Communication; Emotions; Trust; Human Resources; Entrepreneurship

March 2014
Course Overview Note

Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

By: Eric Van den Steen

This note gives an overview (for instructors) of the MBA elective course "Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage" (CSCA). The course gives students a deep dive on competitive advantage, on its relation to overall strategic performance (defined as performance... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Strategic Theory; Economic Analysis; Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Value Capture; Performance And Value Analysis; Strategy And Leadership; Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Values and Beliefs; Leadership

April 2010
Module Note

Balancing Specialization and Diversification in Operations

By: Robert S. Huckman

This note describes a module—taught as part of Operations Strategy, a second–year MBA elective at Harvard Business School—that helps students understand and manage the tradeoff between specialization and diversification in operations. The module introduces students to... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Diversification; Organizational Design; Curriculum and Courses

February 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

A Note on the Legal and Tax Implications of Founders' Equity Splits

By: Noam T. Wasserman and Lauren Barley

This note summarizes key legal and tax issues that founders should consider as they contemplate an equity split and ownership structure. Specific issues covered include why founders should not delay splitting the equity and whether they should involve an attorney or... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Equity; Taxation; Intellectual Property; Law; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships