Publications

20 Dec 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Demise of Cost and Profit Centers

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

07 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Profits of Power: Commercial Realpolitik in Eurasia

Keywords: by Rawi E. Abdelal; Energy; Utilities

December 1993 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Marriott Corporation (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Charles A. Nichols

Marriott Corp.'s chairman and CEO must decide whether to recommend a restructuring of the company to the board of directors. The proposal he is considering would split the Marriott Corp., a premier hotel developer, owner, and manager, into two separate companies by a... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Restructuring; Governing and Advisory Boards; Decision Making; Ethics; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Accommodations Industry

October 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Masdar City: Aiming for Sustainable and Profitable Real Estate

By: Boris Vallee and Fares Khrais

Masdar City broke ground in 2008 and was conceived by the Abu Dhabi government to be an international beacon of innovation in sustainable energy and real estate. It was also to be a profitable investment for the government. At first glance, the two goals pulled in... View Details

November 2023
Case

Tata Group in 2021: Pursuing Profits through Purpose

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Vidhya Muthuram

October 8, 2021: Tata Sons won a bid to acquire India’s national carrier Air India, marking the airline's return to its original owners after 68 long years. The winning bid of $2.4 billion gave Tata Sons full ownership of the airline and its coveted network of 6,200... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Emerging Markets; Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; India

October 1995 (Revised September 1996)
Case

Dell Computer Corporation

By: Das Narayandas and V. Kasturi Rangan

Traces the evolution of the personal computer industry over the last 20 years and uses this as a backdrop to look at how Dell Computer Corp. grew from a small start-up to a multi-billion-dollar company in a decade. Dell is now faced with a set of decisions on the... View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Competitive Strategy; Profit; Computer Industry

23 Aug 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Has the Corporate Mission Just Been Disrupted?

Business as usual is no longer acceptable, was the message of 200 corporate leaders on August 19, when the Business Roundtable issued a "Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation." No longer should the primary purpose of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Green Technology

April 2015 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Comcast Corporation (A)

By: Sunil Gupta, Henry McGee, Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In March 2015, the U.S. television industry received a major wake-up call. HBO, a premium cable channel with over 30 million subscribers, had announced it would begin offering a standalone streaming service. This new service would allow customers to bypass the cable... View Details

Keywords: Cable Television; HBO; Industry Evolution; Television Entertainment; Disruption; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry

Research Summary

The Corporate Governance Role of Taxes

Dyck introduces evidence that private benefits of control are higher in countries with poor tax enforcement and in ongoing work explores further this correlation using both theory and empirical work from the United States and Russia. This work illustrates that the... View Details

January 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Allstate Corporation

By: John R. Wells

In 2007, Allstate was the number two property and casualty insurer in the USA and had enjoyed five years of rapid profit improvement. The question facing CEO Thomas J. Wilson was how to maintain the momentum. This case tracks the evolution of Allstate's strategy over... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Institutions; Insurance; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry

18 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

Time to Rethink the Corporate Tax System?

focused on the issue, corporations are turning the tax function into a profit center, says Desai, an expert on international corporate and public finance. In this e-mail... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

May 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Sovereign Wealth Funds: For Profits or Politics?

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

On March 21, 2008, the U.S. government secured an agreement from two leading sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to adopt a new set of investment principles to govern the Funds' activities. SWFs, broadly defined as an investment fund owned by a national or a government, were... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Sovereign Finance; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; International Relations; State Ownership; United States

September 2011
Case

Driving Profitable Growth at US Auto Parts

USAP faces extraordinary opportunities to change the way that automobiles are serviced in the US by selling parts at fair prices though online channels. View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Business Model; Internet and the Web; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Machinery and Machining; Cost Management; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States

2003
Book

Profits You Can Trust: Spotting and Surviving Accounting Landmines

By: H. David Sherman, S. David Young and Harris Collingwood

Profits You Can Trust gives managers, directors, lenders, audit partners and analysts a clear framework to demystify global financial reporting in a market fraught with danger. Filled with provocative and enlightening examples, it offers a fresh perspective and clear... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Finance; Economics; Financial Reporting

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Business Leaders and Corporate Responsibility

By: Thomas R. Piper

Thomas R. Piper is trying to establish an appropriate sense of ethics and corporate responsibility for future business leaders. Earlier research provided compelling evidence that many future leaders seriously doubt that their interpersonal ethics can be brought into... View Details

March 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

State Street Corporation

By: William E. Fruhan

To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color. State Street Corp. reports a 13% gain in EPS in 2008 amidst a global financial crisis. The stock price declines 59% on the day of the earnings report. This one day decline was exceeded in the... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Crisis Management; Financial Services Industry

28 Jun 2022
Book

The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose

How can government and business work together in this fractious political moment, when finding solutions to pressing problems like inequality and climate change are more urgent than ever? Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University’s John and Natty McArthur University... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

November 1999 (Revised July 2001)
Case

New Profit Inc.: Governing the Nonprofit Enterprise

By: Robert S. Kaplan

New Profit, Inc. (NPI) is an innovative venture philanthropy fund. Founded by social entrepreneur Venessa Kirsch, NPI intends to raise large donations from individuals who wish to invest in nonprofit enterprises that could have a significant social impact and the... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Nonprofit Organizations; Venture Capital; Social Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Service Industry