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- All HBS Web
(157)
- News (22)
- Research (126)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (70)
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- November 2015 (Revised October 2017)
- Case
Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar
By: Jonas Heese, Paula A. Price, Suraj Srinivasan and David Lane
In spring 2015, Dollar General's CEO Rick Dreiling was looking ahead to retiring at year's end but worried about ensuring continued growth for the company he had built since 2008 into a market leader in the U.S. discount retail world. Dollar General operated over... View Details
Keywords: Dollar General; Family Dollar; Dollar Tree; Antitrust; Board Of Directors; Activist Investors; Federal Trade Commission; Acquisition; Valuation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; United States
Heese, Jonas, Paula A. Price, Suraj Srinivasan, and David Lane. "Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar." Harvard Business School Case 116-007, November 2015. (Revised October 2017.)
- October 2020 (Revised November 2020)
- Case
Digging for Gold: Paulson & Co.'s Activism in the Gold Sector
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Jonah S. Goldberg
The case describes the efforts of hedge fund Paulson & Co to influence corporate governance and improve performance in the gold industry. In an innovative move, the hedge fund led the creation of the Shareholder Gold Council, a consortium of large investors in gold... View Details
Keywords: Board Of Directors; Hedge Funds; Shareholder Activism; Gold; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Investment Funds; Investment Activism; Performance Improvement; Corporate Accountability; Mining Industry; Canada; United States
Srinivasan, Suraj, and Jonah S. Goldberg. "Digging for Gold: Paulson & Co.'s Activism in the Gold Sector." Harvard Business School Case 121-021, October 2020. (Revised November 2020.)
- October 2016 (Revised October 2017)
- Case
Misaki Capital and Sangetsu Corporation
By: Ian Gow, Charles C.Y. Wang, Naoko Jinjo and Nobuo Sato
Japan’s corporate culture has traditionally prioritized the interests of stakeholders such as customers, employees, and suppliers over those of shareholders. After a decades-long economic slump, Japan’s government has revitalized efforts to improve corporate governance... View Details
Keywords: Activist Investing; Constructivist Investing; Japan; Valuation; Stock Screens; Return On Equity; Investment; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Financial Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Japan
Gow, Ian, Charles C.Y. Wang, Naoko Jinjo, and Nobuo Sato. "Misaki Capital and Sangetsu Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 117-007, October 2016. (Revised October 2017.)
- September 2015 (Revised February 2016)
- Supplement
Novell (B): Board of Directors Aftermath of Hedge Fund Attack
By: Richard L. Nolan
No corporation and its board of directors is immune to a disruptive shareholder activist attack. The Novell (A) and (B) cases take students through a shareholder activist attack and its aftermath—a saga that spanned 5 years. The cases outline the activist playbook in... View Details
Nolan, Richard L. "Novell (B): Board of Directors Aftermath of Hedge Fund Attack." Harvard Business School Supplement 916-405, September 2015. (Revised February 2016.)
- 2017
- Working Paper
Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey
Using survey data from a sample of senior investment professionals from mainstream (i.e., not SRI funds) investment organizations, we provide insights into why and how investors use reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. The primary reason... View Details
Keywords: Investment Management; Sustainability; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Investment Fund; Investment Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Activist Shareholder; Engagement; Environment; Climate Change; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Employee Engagement; Global Warming; Investment; Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Performance Expectations
Serafeim, Georgios. "Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-079, February 2017.
- 25 Feb 2014
- First Look
First Look: February 25
Download working paper: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1999484 Consequences to Directors of Shareholder Activism By: Gow, Ian D., Sa-Pyung Sean Shin, and Suraj Srinivasan Abstract—We examine how View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- June 2009 (Revised January 2011)
- Case
Target Corporation: Ackman versus the Board
By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan and James Weber
After 15 years of great performance, Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight. Target Corporation, the second largest discount store retailer in the U.S., had competed successfully against industry... View Details
Keywords: Financial Crisis; Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Value; Retail Industry
Palepu, Krishna G., Suraj Srinivasan, and James Weber. "Target Corporation: Ackman versus the Board." Harvard Business School Case 109-010, June 2009. (Revised January 2011.)
- 01 Oct 2008
- Working Paper Summaries
Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies
Keywords: by Erin M. Reid & Michael W. Toffel
- July 2020 (Revised March 2021)
- Case
Board Diversity at Amazon (A)
By: Aiyesha Dey and Anu Atluru
The case revolves around the decisions that the board of directors of ecommerce giant Amazon would need to make in response to the controversial letter that activist shareholder CtW investment group sent to Amazon’s shareholders, urging them to vote in favor of a... View Details
Keywords: Board Of Directors; Boards; Governing and Advisory Boards; Diversity; Gender; Race; United States
Dey, Aiyesha, and Anu Atluru. "Board Diversity at Amazon (A)." Harvard Business School Case 121-012, July 2020. (Revised March 2021.)
- October 2019 (Revised February 2025)
- Case
A Conversation with Ellen J. Kullman, Chairman & CEO of DuPont, 2009-2015
By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz
Ellen J. Kullman, the retired Chairman and CEO of DuPont, describes how she guided the storied science and technology company through a contentious proxy battle with activist investor Trian Partners, which acquired DuPont shares in 2013 and sought to break up the... View Details
Keywords: Agribusiness; Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Institutional Investing; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Transformation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chemical Industry; United States
Paine, Lynn S., and Will Hurwitz. "A Conversation with Ellen J. Kullman, Chair & CEO of DuPont, 2009-2015." Harvard Business School Case 320-017, October 2019. (Revised February 2025.)
- November 2009
- Article
Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies
By: Erin Marie Reid and Michael W. Toffel
The challenges associated with climate change will require governments, citizens, and firms to work collaboratively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a task that requires information on companies' emissions levels, risks, and reduction opportunities. This paper... View Details
Keywords: Climate Change; Problems and Challenges; Pollutants; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Shareholder Relations; Management Practices and Processes; Social Issues; Corporate Disclosure; Values and Beliefs; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics
Reid, Erin Marie, and Michael W. Toffel. "Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies." Strategic Management Journal 30, no. 11 (November 2009): 1157–1178. (Featured by the Network for Business Sustainability.)
- August 2018 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
The Fuji-Xerox Merger
By: Guhan Subramanian and Annie Zhao
In January 2018, Xerox, a well-known American digital document firm, convened its board of directors to decide whether to approve a merger with Japanese imaging company Fujifilm. Activist Xerox shareholders were suing to halt the transaction, and documents unearthed... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Process; Corporate Governance; Law
Subramanian, Guhan, and Annie Zhao. "The Fuji-Xerox Merger." Harvard Business School Case 919-002, August 2018. (Revised April 2021.)
- November 2007 (Revised March 2009)
- Case
Clear Channel 2006
By: Richard S. Ruback and Leslie Pierson
The Board of Directors of Clear Channel Communications, a radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising company, has to respond to a revised proposal from two private equity firms to take the company private. In November of 2006, the Board had unanimously approved an... View Details
Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation Offer; Privatization; Business and Shareholder Relations
Ruback, Richard S., and Leslie Pierson. "Clear Channel 2006." Harvard Business School Case 208-083, November 2007. (Revised March 2009.)
- October 2018
- Case
The Proxy Fight at ADP
By: Robin Greenwood and E. Scott Mayfield
In July 2017, shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) surged 12% following a report that the activist investor Bill Ackman had acquired a sizable stake in the company and planned to nominate his own slate of directors at the company’s annual meeting in... View Details
Greenwood, Robin, and E. Scott Mayfield. "The Proxy Fight at ADP." Harvard Business School Case 219-052, October 2018.
- March 2009 (Revised September 2010)
- Case
HOYA Corporation (A)
By: W. Carl Kester and Masako Egawa
In 2007, HOYA of Japan must decide whether to change its friendly exchange offer for Pentax into a hostile cash tender offer. A surprising sequence of events had caused a friendly merger agreement to fall apart, resulting in a boardroom coup at Pentax and the... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Activism; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation Tactics; Business and Shareholder Relations; Valuation; Japan
Kester, W. Carl, and Masako Egawa. "HOYA Corporation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 209-065, March 2009. (Revised September 2010.)
- January 2023 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
Peloton Interactive (A)
By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and David Lane
Early in February 2022, the board of Peloton Interactive faced some knotty challenges. Immense pandemic demand for its stationary exercise bicycles and treadmills had prompted the firm to scale up production rapidly. But as gyms reopened and the virulence of the virus... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth Management; Investment Activism; Leadership; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; United States
Srinivasan, Suraj, Lynn S. Paine, and David Lane. "Peloton Interactive (A)." Harvard Business School Case 323-005, January 2023. (Revised April 2025.)
- June 2015 (Revised August 2016)
- Case
Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015
By: David B. Yoffie
In the years after 2009, Qualcomm navigated the wireless industry's transition from 3G to 4G, retaining its technological leadership and experiencing dramatic growth in revenue and profit. In March 2014, Qualcomm appointed a new CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, who had to... View Details
Keywords: Communication Technologies; Technology; Wireless Technologies; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Strategy; Communication Technology; Competitive Strategy; Change Management; Electronics Industry; Telecommunications Industry; California
Yoffie, David B. "Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015." Harvard Business School Case 715-467, June 2015. (Revised August 2016.)
- January 2018
- Case
Trian Partners' Proxy Contest at Procter & Gamble
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher
In July 2017, activist hedge fund Trian Partners announced that it was launching a proxy fight at U.S. consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble. P&G would be the largest company ever subjected to a proxy fight, as Trian sought to have its CEO, Nelson Peltz, elected to the... View Details
- September 2015 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Pershing Square 2.0
By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel Hanson and David Biery
In June 2015 William A. Ackman, the CEO and founder of New York hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, reflects on the success of the fund he has spent over a decade building. Since its inception in 2004, Pershing Square's assets under management had grown from $500... View Details
Keywords: Activism; Value Investing; Portfolio Management; Management; Investment Portfolio; Investment Activism
Greenwood, Robin, Samuel Hanson, and David Biery. "Pershing Square 2.0." Harvard Business School Case 216-003, September 2015. (Revised September 2017.)
- April 2025 (Revised June 2025)
- Case
Governing Sustainability in a Shifting Context (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz
In early 2025, boards of directors had to rethink corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts amid rapidly-shifting social, legal, regulatory, and economic forces. While just a few years earlier, calls to address racial justice and climate change reached into... View Details
Keywords: Climate Change; Corporate Governance; Diversity; Leadership; Business or Company Management; Mission and Purpose; Social Media; Race; Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Shareholder Relations; Social Issues; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Banking Industry; United States
Paine, Lynn S., and Will Hurwitz. "Governing Sustainability in a Shifting Context (A)." Harvard Business School Case 325-121, April 2025. (Revised June 2025.)