Publications

Article

Managing Alliances with the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton and Bjarne Rugelsjoen

The article addresses failures in strategic alliances and illustrates, via a detailed description of the successful strategic alliance between Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Quintiles company how the creation of a strategy map and Balanced Scorecard helps align the... View Details

Keywords: Alliances; Balanced Scorecard; Employees; Alignment; Corporate Governance; Interests; Management Practices and Processes; Goals and Objectives; Partners and Partnerships

February 2009
Article

Optimal Reserve Management and Sovereign Debt

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

Most models currently used to determine optimal foreign reserve holdings take the level of international debt as given. However, given the sovereign's willingness-to-pay incentive problems, reserve accumulation may reduce sustainable debt levels. In addition, assuming... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Motivation and Incentives; Decisions; Emerging Markets; Balance and Stability; Earnings Management; Policy; Interest Rates; International Finance; Cost

February 1997
Case

Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

A new administration takes power in a state in India and cancels a power project agreed upon by the previous state government and a U.S.-based energy company. The project cancellation is based on allegations of irregularities, exorbitant costs, and political pressures. View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Fairness; Cost; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Government and Politics; Contracts; Market Entry and Exit; Negotiation Process; Conflict Management; Energy Industry

November 1997
Case

National Pork Producers Council

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

Al Tank, CEO of the National Pork Products Council, is facing an environmental and structural crisis in the U.S. pork industry. Can he resolve the environmental and image problems of his industry in time? Can he receive the support of both his growers and the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Situation or Environment; Crisis Management; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Community Relations; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Industry Structures; Reputation; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

April 2000
Article

The Fable of Fisher Body

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Daniel F. Spulber

General Motors' (GM) acquisition of Fisher Body is the classic example of market failure in the literature on contracts and the theory of the firm. According to the standard account, GM merged vertically with Fisher Body in 1926, a maker of auto bodies, because of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Failure; Contracts; Vertical Integration; Market Transactions; Investment; Trust; Production; Assets; Supply Chain; Opportunities; Technology; Auto Industry

October 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Citizens of the World: The International Legacy of Gloria von Thurn und Taxis

By: Lauren Cohen, Maximilian Form and Sophia Pan

When her husband passed away and inheritance taxes struck, Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis took decisive action to preserve her family’s fortune and legacy. The Thurn und Taxis family, one of Europe’s oldest aristocratic dynasties, had built their wealth through... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Real Estate; Legacy; International Business; Family Business; Economy; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Global Strategy; Reputation; Diversification; Wealth; Taxation; Germany

Article

The Learning Effects of Monitoring

By: Dennis Campbell, Marc Epstein and F. Asis Martinez-Jerez

This paper investigates the relationship between monitoring, decision making, and learning among lower-level employees. We exploit a field-research setting in which business units vary in the "tightness" with which they monitor employee decisions. We find that tighter... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Business or Company Management; Decision Making; Employees; Research; Resignation and Termination; Rights; Business Units; Governance Controls; Performance; Motivation and Incentives

March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry

July–September 2012
Article

The (Un)Hidden Turmoil of Language in Global Collaboration

By: Tsedal Neeley, Pamela J. Hinds and Catherine D. Cramton

Companies are increasingly relying on a lingua franca, or common language (usually English), to facilitate cross-border collaboration. Despite the numerous benefits of a lingua franca, our research reveals myriad challenges that disrupt collaboration and contribute to... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Loss; Spoken Communication; Performance Productivity; Research; Global Range; Problems and Challenges; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

January 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

The Tale of the Lynx (A and B)

By: Noam T. Wasserman

The founders of Lynx Solutions have survived major challenges within their board of directors, the firing of Lynx's founder-CEO and departure of its successor CEO, and a crisis sparked by media allegations that it had been spying on its users. Now that the company is... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Business Growth and Maturation; Ethics; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Succession; Conflict and Resolution; Management Teams; Information Technology Industry

April 2006 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Peoplepower, Inc.: The Republic of the Philippines

By: Noel Maurer

In 2006, the Philippines faces a difficult choice. Japan has offered the country a trade agreement that includes access to the Japanese labor market for Philippine nurses and other professionals. The same trade agreement, however, means opening the country's... View Details

Keywords: Diasporas; Developing Countries and Economies; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Human Capital; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Japan; Philippines

August 2005
Background Note

Dual Class Share Companies

By: Samuel L. Hayes III, Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Provides a brief historical overview of dual class share companies in the United States, focusing on the New York Stock Exchange's evolving position on dual class structures since the 1920s, the impact of hostile takeovers on their use since the 1980s, and recent... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Debates; Capital Structure; Equity; Business History; Law; Organizational Structure; Business and Shareholder Relations; Perspective; Europe; United States

December 2007
Book Review

Review of Stig Tenold's Tankers in Trouble

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

In "Tankers in Trouble," Stig Tenold looks at the experience of the Norwegian shipping industry during the 1970s and 1980s, specifically of those companies active in the tanker business. The review discusses some complementary insights that can be gained from applying... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Framework; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Crisis Management; Perspective; Demand and Consumers; Industry Clusters; Shipping Industry; Norway

June 1999 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Basil "Buzz" Hargrove and de Havilland, Inc. (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Angela Keros

Buzz Hargrove, national president of the Canadian Auto Workers, needs to find a way to secure an agreement from a negotiated contract with de Havilland, Inc. Local union leaders feel the deal is not good enough, but Hargrove is convinced management will close the plant... View Details

Keywords: Media; Power and Influence; Negotiation Deal; Leadership; Agreements and Arrangements; Business Exit or Shutdown; Labor Unions; Negotiation Types; Management Teams; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Canada

03 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 3, 2007

implications for the efficient targeting of social programs more generally. A key issue in this debate is whether higher purchase prices lead to more intensive product use and, therefore, greater health benefits. We present results from... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

1999
Other Unpublished Work

Executive Ownership and Control in Newly Public Firms: The Role of Venture Capitalists

By: Malcolm Baker and Paul Gompers

We study the implications of CEO equity ownership for incentives and control in a sample of 1,011 newly public firms. Before an initial public offering, equity investments by venture capitalists reduce CEO ownership by about half, from an average of 35 percent to 19... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Venture Capital; Managerial Roles; Cost Management; Governance Controls; Executive Compensation

August 2000
Article

Corporate Reorganizations and Non-Cash Auctions

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and S. Viswanathan

This paper extends the theory of non-cash auctions by considering the revenue and efficiency of using different securities. Research on bankruptcy and privatization suggests using non-cash auctions to increase cash-constrained bidder participation. We examine this... View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Revenue; Debt Securities; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Privatization; Capital Structure; Bids and Bidding; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Contracts

30 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 30

Participation of Disability Insurance Applicants By: Shu, Pian Abstract—Using panel data from the RAND Health and Retirement Study, I show that rejected applicants for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) possess significantly more... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

September 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

WildChina: Taking the Road Less Traveled

By: Mukti Khaire, Daniel Isenberg, Victoria Song and Shirley Spence

This case deals with supplier difficulties faced by WildChina—a travel service provider in China. WildChina is a classic case of a company that is trying to bring a local, within-country product to a market outside the country (in this case, travelers to China from... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Local Range; Globalized Markets and Industries; Supply Chain Management; Conflict Management; Travel Industry; China