Publications

16 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 16

http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/aknin%20et%20al%202013.pdf 2006 American Economic Review A Note on Fairness and Redistribution By: Di Tella, Rafael, and Juan Dubra Abstract—In an influential paper, Alesina and Angeletos... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Jul 2002
What Do You Think?

Have We Carried the Concept of Alignment Too Far?

should have insured and enforced fairness and honest reporting." Many questions were raised about the level and form of compensation afforded U.S. business leaders today. Allen Roberts comments, "In sustainable, successful... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

24 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 24

than predicted in equilibrium. Because talk is preference revealing, it may effectively frame bargaining around a logic of fairness or competition, moving parties on a path toward or away from equal-division agreements. These endogenous... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

Case 119-030 Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. In May 2018, Berkshire Hathaway announced an unprecedented loss of more than $1 billion for the first quarter of 2018. Warren Buffett blamed this loss on the new accounting... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

John Rogers and Ariel Investments

By: Steven Rogers and Greg White

The strong, public advocacy of a highly successful African American CEO has the potential to negatively impact his company. The CEO is deciding if he should listen to the advice of others who are urging him to “tone it down”. View Details

Keywords: Advocacy; Diversity; Investment Management; Affirmative Action; Disruption; Cost vs Benefits; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Leading Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry; Chicago

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Civil Society or Community; Japan; Tokyo

February 2018
Case

Robert K. Steel at Wachovia (A)

By: Gautam Mukunda, Nien-hê Hsieh and David Lane

In September 2008, Robert Steel presided over the sale of Wachovia, a top U.S. bank, less than three months after becoming its CEO. Wachovia’s exposure to risky home loans led depositors and creditors to flee the bank on Friday, September 26, after the FDIC seized and... View Details

06 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 6

quality. Download the paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1557231 Evidence on the Use of Unverifiable Estimates in Required Goodwill Impairment Authors: Karthik Ramanna and Ross L Watts Abstract SFAS 142 requires managers to estimate the current View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 1994 (Revised January 1997)
Case

This Case Sucks: Beavis, Butt-head, and TV Content (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

Beginning in 1992, "Beavis and Butt-head," an animated series on MTV about two uncivilized teenaged misfits, became both a runaway popular sensation and the symbol of a heated national debate about violent and inappropriate programming on television. Especially after... View Details

Keywords: Debates; Decision Choices and Conditions; Animation Entertainment; Fairness; Governance Controls; Media; Outcome or Result; Social Issues; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Aug 2007
Op-Ed

Company Town: Fixing Corrupt Governments

and graft means that citizens are cheated out of a fair government that operates efficiently and in the public interest. It's time to consider a radical idea: Corporations and nonprofit groups, in addition to individuals, should be... View Details

Keywords: by Eric Werker

May 1996
Case

First Capital Holdings Corp.

By: Stuart C. Gilson, Harry DeAngelo and Linda DeAngelo

The manager of a money-management firm considers whether to invest in the securities of a large, financially troubled, California-based life insurance holding company that holds 40% of its assets in high-yield junk bonds. Over the past year, the value of its portfolio... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Debt Securities; Bonds; Valuation; Investment Return; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Institutions; Insurance Industry

Find at Harvard

August 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

DICOM Group plc and Captiva Software Corp.

By: Paul M. Healy

Compares two companies in the information capture software industry. Asks students to analyze and compare the performance of two companies (one in the United Kingdom and the other in the United States) from the perspective of a buy-side analyst reporting to the manager... View Details

Keywords: History; Financial Management; Environmental Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Financial Reporting; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Economic Growth; Fair Value Accounting; Information Industry; Computer Industry; United Kingdom; United States