Corporate Finance And Governance - Publications - Faculty & Research

September 1992 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Summit Distributors (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Amy P. Hutton

Summit Distributors was in danger of violating loan covenants because of slow economic activity and forecasted losses and was faced with a choice. Changing the inventory valuation method from LIFO to FIFO would avoid default but would require higher future income... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Cost Accounting; Cash Flow; Interest Rates; Economic Systems; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Statements; Valuation; Accounting Audits; Financing and Loans; Accounting Industry; Legal Services Industry

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13 May 2014
Op-Ed

The Alibaba Effect

ago. It has done more for China's small- and medium-sized enterprises than any government policy, ministry, or bank. Alibaba's only limits are those imposed by the speed at which these enterprises continue... View Details

Keywords: by Bill Kirby & Warren McFarlan; Retail

July 2013 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Charles C.Y. Wang and Kelly Baker

This case centers around Qualcomm shareholders' 2012 Say-on-Pay vote and the dispute between the Institutional Shareholder Services and management regarding the appropriateness of the CEO's compensation plan. Was ISS right that Qualcomm's CEO's pay was inflated and... View Details

Keywords: ISS; Proxy Advisor; Investor Communication; Investor Relations; Peers; Say-on-Pay; Benchmarking; Peer Group; Compensation Committees; Board Of Directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Telecommunications Industry

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2011
Case

Wrapitup

By: W. Earl Sasser

A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Governance Controls; Revenue; Employee Relationship Management; Planning; Customer Satisfaction; Problems and Challenges; Profit; Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Leadership Style; Service Industry; California

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November 2019
Supplement

Hapag-Lloyd AG: Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

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01 Nov 2024
In Practice

Layoffs Surging in a Strong Economy? Advice for Navigating Uncertain Times

announced staff cuts in reaction to slowing or declining demand. US government data from October suggests that employers remain cautious, adding just 12,000 new positions in the month as unemployment remained steady at 4.1 percent, edging... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

01 Sep 2003
News

Gregg Petersmeyer

intranet software tool designed to help workers within an organization create their own “communities of interest” in giving back. “It’s a communication platform to improve employee respect and trust, View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

June 1997
Case

Massachusetts General Hospital: CABG Surgery (B)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Mikelle Eastley

Once the CABG care path is implemented and other care paths begun, hospital staff and administration examine the resulting data. Further methods of improving care and reducing cost are presented for analysis. View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Policy; Retention; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Operations; Performance Improvement; Health Industry

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28 Nov 2012
What Do You Think?

Should Pay-for-Performance Compensation be Replaced?

possible for them to take the long- and proper-view." Yadeed Lobo articulated the problem faced by corporate boards when he commented that "it is very difficult for board members to judge relative... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

11 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

The New International Style of Management

that globalization in the product and labor markets can, in some cases, cause corporate governance to draw closer to international standards as well. Khanna View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

May 2022
Supplement

Maestro Pizza (C): Taking the Fight Outside

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

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05 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Venture Capital Goes Boom—or Bust?

Ninety percent of new entrepreneurial businesses that don't attract venture capital fail within three years. A software engineer at the government contractor EG&G, Don Brooks had been working on computer systems for the Idaho National... View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner

19 Jun 2014
Blog Post

Exploring the World of Retail as an Intern at Walmart

consulting, and while I learned a ton, I wanted to see some execution. Thus, I knew I needed to work in industry rather than any sort of services firm, and I soon decided that I wanted to see what a large... View Details

10 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 10

in terms of both the bankruptcy code and the cultural attitudes toward corporate restructuring. This case can fit into an introductory course in a module on capital structure View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

B2B Branding: Does it Work?

company's stakeholders. Efforts are focused on a single, global corporate brand rather than individual product brands. The payback on marketing expenditures is measured rigorously to the satisfaction of the hard-nosed engineers View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Consumer Products

Article

Strategic Disclosure: The Case of Business School Rankings

By: Michael Luca and Jonathan Smith

We empirically analyze disclosure decisions made by 240 MBA programs about which rankings to display on their websites. We present three main findings. First, consistent with theories of countersignaling, top schools are least likely to disclose their rankings, whereas... View Details

Keywords: Voluntary Disclosure; Shrouded Attributes; Information Unraveling; Rankings; Higher Education; Corporate Disclosure; Rank and Position

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Read Now

Career Coach

Martha Tassinari

includes start-up consulting, executive coaching and career counseling. Work Experience: High Tech, 20+ years (mostly start-ups, including UNIFI communications, Exit41, Elm Square Interactive; corporates... View Details

Keywords: Education; Entertainment / Media; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Financial Services (All); Hospitality; Manufacturing; Publishing / Communications / Advertising; Retail; Clean Technology; Energy; Telecommunications; Technology

18 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 18

that motivates aboriginal children to attend school by harnessing their love of football. Purchase this case: http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/910402-PDF-ENG The Millennium Challenge Corporation and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2011
Case

Patricia Gottesman at Crimson Hexagon

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Mary Beth Findlay

After successful capital raises and significant progress in gaining market acceptance of its tools for analyzing public opinion, Crimson Hexagon's CEO prepares to address the company's investors on the question of exit strategy. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Strategic Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Policy; Information Industry; Web Services Industry

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April 1999
Background Note

Note on the Caspian Oil Pipelines

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Mathew M Millett

The Caspian region may become one of the world's next major energy producers. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-all former Soviet republics--hold vast and largely undeveloped reserves of oil and gas, but the region's export infrastructure is nearly... View Details