Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,329)
- Faculty Publications (611)
- March 2001 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Circon (A)
By: Brian J. Hall, Guhan Subramanian and Christopher A Rose
In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. After building the company for 20 years, CEO Richard Auhll takes a defensive stand that includes inviting an old HBS friend (George Cloutier) to join the fight as a director of Circon. A... View Details
- March 2001 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Virgin.com
By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman
Describes the evolution of Virgin's dot-com organization and the decision it faced in mid-2000--whether to consolidate several separate dot-com ventures into one larger venture or, instead, to allow each to run independently. Also contains a history of Virgin's... View Details
- December 2000 (Revised January 2002)
- Background Note
Incentives and Controllability: A Note and Exercise
By: Brian J. Hall
Describes three performance measures for "plants" or businesses: cost centers, revenue centers, and profit centers. Discusses what should be done if a function outside of the "controllability" of the manager affects the performance measure and therefore compensation. View Details
- November 2000
- Background Note
Note on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and Phantom Stock Plans
By: Dwight B. Crane and Indra Reinbergs
Provides a brief overview of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and phantom stock plans for owners of closely held companies. ESOPs can be used as a tool of corporate financing, and can provide employees with ownership interests. Phantom stock plans can reward... View Details
- October 2000 (Revised June 2017)
- Case
Vyaderm Pharmaceuticals: The EVA Decision
By: Robert Simons and Indra A. Reinbergs
In 2016, the new CEO of Vyaderm Pharmaceuticals introduces an Economic Value Added (EVA) program to focus the company on long-term shareholder value. The EVA program consists of three elements: EVA centers (business units), EVA drivers (operational practices that... View Details
- 2000
- Other Unpublished Work
Career Concerns and Staged Investment: Evidence from the Venture Capital Industry
By: Malcolm Baker
I develop a model in which career concerns lead to inefficient reinvestment decisions. Managers have incentives to inflate interim returns by continuing bad projects and delaying write-offs. In the venture capital industry, the syndication of follow-on investments can... View Details
- June 2000 (Revised July 2000)
- Case
ORIX KK
By: Malcolm S. Salter and Andrew Eggers
Describes the challenges facing a Japanese financial services company as it attempts to maintain its ability to attract and retain talented employees. The CEO's ideas of corporate governance and evidence from the competitive labor environment suggest the need for more... View Details
- April 2000
- Background Note
Aligning Incentives for Supply Chain Efficiency
By: V.G. Narayanan and Ananth Raman
Introduces students to the basics of principal-agency theory as it applies to supply chains. Operational problems in supply chains can often be traced to incentive issues. Students and managers lack frameworks to analyze incentive problems in supply chains. This note... View Details
- Article
Valuation of Bankrupt Firms
By: S. C. Gilson, E. S. Hotchkiss and R. S. Ruback
This study compares the market value of firms that reorganize in bankruptcy with estimates of value based on management's published cash flow projections. We estimate firm values using models that have been shown in other contexts to generate relatively precise... View Details
- March 2000 (Revised August 2000)
- Background Note
Fall Before Rising, A: The Story of Jai Jaikumar (B)
By: H. Kent Bowen, Richard Compton Squire, Sarah Patricia Vickers-Willis and Harry James Wilson
What is the relationship between good fortune, professional success, and a moral obligation to other people? Jai Jaikumar, who as a youth was saved by a shepherd woman after a tragic mountaineering accident in the Himalayas, and who later rose to the top of his... View Details
- 2000
- Other Unpublished Work
Do Executive Stock Options Encourage Risk-Taking?
Executive stock options create incentives for executives to manage firms in ways that maximize firm market value. Since options increase in value with the volatility of the underlying stock, executive stock options provide managers with incentives to take actions that... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
- Case
Microsoft Latin America
By: Robert S. Kaplan, Alberto Ballve and Antonio Davila
Mauricio Santillan, regional vice president for the Latin American division of Microsoft, has introduced a new performance measurement system to help his country managers formulate and control strategy. Microsoft Latin America's priorities are rolling out of an... View Details
- December 1999
- Case
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A1): "Dot-comming" the World: Philip Nenon on a Billion Dollar Bet
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner
A group at Sun Microsystems, Inc. proposed that a recent acquisition that made fault-tolerant computers for telecommunications was a major opportunity for Sun. If the board provided funding to expand the acquisition's portfolio of products and make them part of the... View Details
- December 1999
- Article
Changes in the Work Environment for Creativity during Downsizing
By: T. M. Amabile and Regina Conti
This study examined the work environment for creativity at a large high-technology firm before, during, and after a major downsizing. Creativity and most creativity-supporting aspects of the perceived work environment declined significantly during the downsizing but... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Culture; Situation or Environment; Creativity; Resignation and Termination; Employees; Business or Company Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Crisis Management; Groups and Teams; Communication; Announcements; Interpersonal Communication
- 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
- May 1999 (Revised March 2001)
- Case
Marshall Industries
Confounding predictions that the Internet would "disintermediate" commerce, making "middle man" companies all but obsolete, Marshall Industries, a leading electronics distributor, used the Internet and digital technologies to reinvent itself. Marshall continued to sell... View Details
- March 1999
- Case
MySoftware Company (A)
By: H. Kent Bowen and Nicole Tempest
In 1997, Gregory Slayton took the position as CEO of MySoftware, which had been experiencing revenue and operating losses for the past two years. Within 90 days, he stabilized the company through a combination of cost cutting, financial discipline, and accountability... View Details
- March 1999 (Revised March 2000)
- Case
Cross Country Group, The: A Piece of the Rock (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Indra Reinbergs
A new MBA graduate joins a privately held family business and sets ambitious growth goals for the next five years. To enhance motivation, he proposes a new incentive plan that will grant him a share of the wealth he creates. However, the family owners have a more... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
City of Charlotte (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The city manager's office in Charlotte, North Carolina, is attempting to align and focus the city's programs and operating departments. City managers, working collaboratively with the elected mayor and city council, have identified five strategic themes to make... View Details
- 1998
- Working Paper
CEO Incentives and Firm Size
By: Brian Hall and George P. Baker
What determines CEO incentives? A confusion exists among both academics and practitioners about how to measure the strength of CEO incentives, and how to reconcile the enormous differences in pay sensitivities between executives in large and small firms. We show that... View Details