Publications

28 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Investor Lawsuits Against Auditors Are Falling, and That's Bad News for Capital Markets

Investors rely on corporate auditors to keep impartial watch on the accounting practices of the companies they invest in. Historically, investors have not been shy about launching litigation when they believed auditors did not do enough... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Accounting

12 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Investors Often Lose When They Sue Their Financial Adviser

assistant professor of finance at Harvard Business School. When they do find out, they often want to sue, but they can’t. Financial services companies require customers to waive their right to litigate and... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

February 2016 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Bankruptcy at Caesars Entertainment

By: Kristin Mugford and David Chan

Caesars Entertainment was a large casino operator in the United States that had been purchased in a 2008 leveraged buyout by Apollo and TPG. In January 2015, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company (CEOC), its largest subsidiary, filed for Chapter 11. This set up a... View Details

Keywords: Gaming; Chapter 11; Fraudulent Conveyance; Apollo; TPG; Bankruptcy; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Private Equity; Financial Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Negotiation; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Las Vegas

November 2008 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Savage Beast (A)

By: Noam Wasserman and LP Maurice

For several months, things had been spiraling downwards at Savage Beast, the music-recommendation company started three years before by Tim Westergren. The company's founder-CEO recently left due to pressures both at home and within the venture. Dozens of investors... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Lawsuits and Litigation; Leadership; Groups and Teams

14 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 14

in employment at small firms in high-tech industries, which are a frequent target of patent trolls. By contrast, the laws have no significant impact on employment at larger or non-high-tech firms. Anti-troll legislation is also associated with fewer business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

Keywords: Tyco; Dennis Kozlowski; Edward Breen; Fire Safety; Fire Protection; Security; Packaging; Securities And Exchange Commission; Fraud; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Earnings Management; Financial Statements; Goodwill Accounting; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Restructuring; Crime and Corruption; Engineering; Applied Optics; Chemicals; Construction; Metals and Minerals; Ethics; Finance; Cash Flow; Public Equity; Stock Options; Financing and Loans; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Executive Compensation; Selection and Staffing; Courts and Trials; Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Value; Chemical Industry; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Energy Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Mining Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Utilities Industry; Republic of Ireland; Switzerland; Bermuda; United States; New Hampshire

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

14 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 14, 2007

allow holders of patents the right but not the obligation to sue others. We suggest that the likelihood of a patent's being litigated is positively associated with the value of the patent and the extent of disclosure (prior art cited) in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 28, 2015

Gurun, and Scott Kominers Abstract—We develop a theoretical model of, and provide the first large-sample evidence on, the behavior and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. Our model shows that NPE View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

19 May 2016
Research Event

Crowdsourcing, Patent Trolls, and Other Research Insights Highlighted at Harvard Business School Symposium

these suits are being brought by nonpracticing entities (NPEs), firms that don’t actually generate products, but collect massive amounts of patent portfolios. Lauren H. Cohen, the L.E. Simmons Professor in the Finance Unit at HBS, said... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman & Carmen Nobel

06 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 6

http://www.cengage.com/aushed/instructor.do?disciplinenumber=1028&product_isbn=9781133626701&courseid=MN05&codeid=2A3A&sortBy=copyrightYear&sortByShow=all August 2013 Journal of Financial Economics Accountability of Independent Directors-Evidence... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

13 Sep 2016
First Look

September 13, 2016

of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. Our model shows that NPE litigation can reduce infringement and support small inventors. However, the model also shows that as NPEs become effective at bringing... View Details

08 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 8, 2008

Working PapersNone this week Cases & Course MaterialsAT&T v. Microsoft (A): IP Litigation Strategy Harvard Business School Case 608-080 This case examines a hard fought litigation over a patent... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/818065-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 318-026 'Not so fast...' Litigation Strategy in EMC Corporation v. Donatelli (A) The sudden departure to Hewlett-Packard of a top-level EMC... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

25 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 25

develop a theoretical model of, and provide the first large-sample evidence on, the behavior and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. Our model shows that NPE litigation can reduce infringement and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 24

http://hbr.org/product/collective-genius-the-art-and-practice-of-leading-innovation/an/13296E-KND-ENG?referral=01240 August 2013 Harvard Business Law Review Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Evaluating the Impact of the Argentina Ruling By: Alfaro, Laura Abstract—Recent... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

The Determinants of Corporate Venture Capital Success

leaking out of the company" (Armstrong 1993). The committee focused on two options: (1) to begin aggressively litigating those who try to leave with new technologies and (2) to invest in people trying to leave Xerox. Owing to... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner

April 1975 (Revised December 1975)
Case

Sorensen Chevrolet File, The

Concerns the settlement of an automobile insurance claim. A woman, blinded in an accident, alleges that approximate cause of the accident was failure by Sorensen Chevrolet to connect the left headlight of her car. The student is asked for a strategy for settling the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Negotiation; Insurance; Lawsuits and Litigation; Legal Liability; Insurance Industry; Auto Industry