Publications

October 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Infosys (A): Strategic Human Resource Management

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Jaya Tandon and Ganesh Rengaswamy

Hema Ravichandar, head of human resources, was given a new and aggressive milestone to reach: ensure Infosys is on the Top 10 lists of both Best Performing Companies and Best Employers by 2007. No large organization had ever been able to achieve this distinction... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Transition; Cost; Human Resources; Employee Relationship Management; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology Industry

Siyu Zhang is a second-year doctoral student at HBS. Zhang joined Harvard Business School in 2020 as a Research Associate and has been working on macroeconomic forecasting projects. Prior to joining HBS, he was a Data Scientist at John Hancock, where he utilized... View Details

April 2018 (Revised December 2018)
Case

The Whistleblower at International Game Technology

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and James Weber

Robert Mayhem, a senior manager at International Game Technology, had filed a whistleblower report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company had misstatements in its financial reports. Mayhem’s report involved IGT’s practice of... View Details

Keywords: Whistleblower; Financial Reporting; Governance Compliance; Ethics

2025
Working Paper

Blockchain Adoption and Audit Quality

By: Mei Luo, Daniel Rabetti and Shuangchen Yu

This study examines the impact of blockchain adoption in the corporate setting. Specifically, we provide comprehensive empirical support to recent theory (Cao, Cong, and Young, 2024) proposing that blockchain adoption positively affects endogenous audit quality and... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Accounting Audits; Technology Adoption; Financial Reporting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; China

SSRN

July 2009 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Alacra, Inc.

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Aldo Sesia

In 2009, the CEO of Alacra, a venture-backed information services firm that provides customized data primarily to financial services firms, must decide how to respond to the global economic crisis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Information Industry

February 2018 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Omar Simmons: Franchising and Private Equity

By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode

Omar Simmons, managing director of a private equity fund that owns 53 Planet Fitness Health Clubs, has to choose: continue in private equity or shift his career to managing and growing the health clubs. An African-American graduate of Princeton University and Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Diversity Characteristics; Ethnicity Characteristics; Health Club Franchises; African-american Entrepreneurs; Finance; Private Equity; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Motivation and Incentives; Personal Development and Career; Franchise Ownership; Consulting Industry; Boston

14 Nov 2016
News

'The Content Trap' and the HBX Story

April 2019 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Kraft Heinz: The $8 Billion Brand Write-Down

By: Jill Avery

On Friday, February 22, 2019, following an unexpected and disappointing earnings report, The Kraft Heinz Company’s stock price fell 27%, wiping out $16 billion in market value. CEO Bernardo Hees had announced that the company had taken a $15.4 billion asset write-down,... View Details

December 2003 (Revised February 2005)
Case

HiJinx, Inc.

HiJinx is formulating its financial policy after a failed IPO. Options include landlord financing of its expansion, though with the knowledge that its real estate strategy may be compromised. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Expansion; Valuation; Financial Strategy

24 Nov 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Valuation When Cash Flow Forecasts Are Biased

Keywords: by Richard S. Ruback

February 1992 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation (A-1)

By: Lynn S. Paine

The CEO of Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. must decide what to do when he receives information that the company's supply of apple juice concentrate may be adulterated. The concentrate is used in many of the company's juice products. It appears that others in the company may... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Law; Ethics; Nutrition; Management Teams; Decisions; Business or Company Management; Communication; Governance Compliance; Information Management; Corporate Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

July 2012
Case

Shut It Down?

By: Clayton Rose

Meredith, the head of a major division of a financial firm, must confront an unexpected response and challenge from a senior colleague when she proposes shutting down an underperforming unit. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Collaboration; Business Units; Business Exit or Shutdown; Leadership; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

April 1998 (Revised September 1998)
Case

Jan Eriksson at Novartis Indonesia (A)

By: Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George

Jan Eriksson is the country manager of the Novartis AG joint venture in Indonesia. At the time of the case, Novartis is the world's largest pharmaceutical company. The case describes the steps Eriksson took to merge the Indonesian operations of Novartis' parents,... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Joint Ventures; Financial Crisis; Pharmaceutical Industry; Indonesia

February 1997 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Stone Container Corporation (A)

By: W. Carl Kester and Kirk Goldman

In early 1993, Stone Container was heavily burdened by debt following a series of highly leveraged acquisitions. A prolonged depression in paper prices necessitated the development of a comprehensive financial plan to relieve the financial pressures on Stone. Among the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Equity; Price; Strategic Planning