Publications

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Mapping Your Board’s Effectiveness

In the aftermath of such highly public and grossly damaging business debacles as Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom, much attention and plenty of criticism have been directed at those companies' corporate boards.... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

June 2013
Article

Dysfunction in the Boardroom: Understanding the Persistent Gender Gap at the Highest Levels

By: Boris Groysberg and Deborah Bell

The article examines the gender gap that is present in boardrooms in U.S. corporations and internationally in 2013 as more women attempt to reach executive-level positions. Countries in the European Union are attempting to institute laws regarding the minimum... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Governing and Advisory Boards; Gender; United States; European Union

Find at Harvard

Lou Shipley is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School. Lou is a three-time technology CEO, most recently at Black Duck Software.

Lou specializes in tech entrepreneurship, sales/sales management, go-to-market... View Details

May 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

The Crisis at Tyco - A Director's Perspective

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Aldo Sesia

In 2002, Wendy Lane had been a member of the board of directors at Tyco International a little more than a year when the company's CEO Dennis Kozlowski and other top executives were accused of fraud, which ultimately led to resignations, imprisonments, lawsuits, and... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Reputation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crisis Management; Accounting Audits; Problems and Challenges; Risk Management; Finance; Managerial Roles; Lawsuits and Litigation; Service Industry; United States

07 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 7

http://www.people.hbs.edu/wkerr/130424-CGK-IPE.pdf Board Games: Timing of Independent Directors' Dissent in China By: Ma, Juan, and Tarun Khanna Abstract—This paper examines the circumstances under which... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2014
Case

Newfield Energy

By: William E. Fruhan and Wei Wang

In September 2013, Miles Griffin, CEO and chairman of the board of Newfield Energy, prepares to present financial proposals to the board of directors for approval. Newfield (based in Houston, Texas) was a large independent energy company primarily engaged in the... View Details

May 2019
Case

Whiskey and Cheddar: Ingredient Branding at the Caesan Cheese Cooperative (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine B. Hartman

The Caesan Cheese Cooperative is considering introducing a new high-quality, high-margin artisan whiskey cheddar cheese. Deidra Kelly, vice president of marketing and product development at Caesan, must recommend to the Board of Directors whether to launch the product... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Management; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2007 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Nordic Telephone Company's Bid for TDC

Nordic Telephone Company, formed by a consortium of private equity firms, has made a public tender offer for Denmark's leading telecommunications company, TDC. TDC's board of directors approved the take-private transaction, and 88% of shareholders have accepted the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Communication Technology; Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation Offer; Privatization; Telecommunications Industry; Denmark

October 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Drilling Safety at BP: The Deepwater Horizon Accident

By: Stephen P. Kaufman and Laura Winig

Following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill on the Deepwater Horizon, public attention focused on BP's safety record, practices, and management culture as the primary cause of the disaster. Drawing on public sources this case traces the circumstances... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Safety; Energy Industry; Mexico, Gulf of

Debora Spar is the Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Senior Associate Dean for Business and Global Society. Her current research focuses on issues of gender and technology, and the interplay between... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; broadcasting; communications; entertainment; federal government; health care; information; internet; music; pharmaceuticals

Krishna G. Palepu

KRISHNA G. PALEPU is the Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration, and has served previously as Senior Advisor to the President of Harvard University, and Senior Associate Dean... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; banking; financial services; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; retailing

14 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Few Women on Boards: Is There a Fix?

Research Institute. Yet in 2012, women held only 14 percent of the board seats at companies on the S&P Composite 1500 Index, according to Ernst & Young. “Diversity is about counting the numbers;... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

May 2013
Case

Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong

Altius Golf is the clear leader in the golf ball market despite a long-term decline in the number of golfers and a drop in sales following the financial crisis. The firm has maintained its position by introducing generations of advanced, super-premium golf balls that... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Distribution Channels; Sports; Financial Crisis; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry