Publications

December 2015 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Woolf Farming and the California Water Crisis

By: Forest Reinhardt, David Bell, Natalie Kindred, Mary Shelman and Laura Winig

This case highlights the tough choices, competing interests, and decision-making mechanisms involved in California's management of its severe drought, entering its fifth year in 2015. Stuart Woolf, CEO of Woolf Farming, a grower and processor of almonds, tomatoes, and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Natural Disasters; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Economics; Weather; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California

May 2014
Case

Goldman Sachs: Anchoring Standards After the Financial Crisis

By: Rajiv Lal and Lisa Mazzanti

Goldman Sachs, a longtime venerable financial institution headquartered in New York City, had a partnership culture that was known to value its clients. But when the financial crisis hit in 2008 and Goldman Sachs emerged relatively unscathed, its public image took a... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Public Image; Corporate Accountability; Reputation; Standards; Financial Crisis; Brands and Branding; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

2025
Working Paper

Greenlighting Innovative Projects: How Evaluation Format Shapes the Perceived Feasibility of Early-Stage Ideas

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Simon Friis, Tianxi Cai, Michael Menietti, Griffin Weber and Eva C. Guinan

The evaluation of innovative early-stage projects is essential for allocating limited resources. We investigate how the evaluation format affects the identification of feasibility issues through a field experiment at a leading research university. Experts were... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Evaluation; Evaluation Criteria; Feasibility Assessment; Attention Allocation; Cognitive Mechanisms; Field Experiment; Research; Performance Evaluation; Innovation and Invention; Prejudice and Bias

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August 2012 (Revised September 2012)
Case

JP Morgan Chase & the CIO Losses

By: Clayton Rose

On July 13, 2012, JP Morgan Chase & Co. announced a larger than expected loss for the quarter, $4.4 billion, from positions held in the Chief Investment Office (CIO), raising the total losses to $5.9 billion. Since the substantial risks in the CIO had first been... View Details

Keywords: Banking; Governance; Finance; Risk Management; Corporate Governance; Business Earnings; Accounting; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

May 2, 2023
Editorial

Onboarding NextGens

By: Christina R. Wing and Rohit K. Gera

The process of onboarding the next generation into a family business can be both fulfilling and challenging. In many cases, the NextGen feel that they have been a part of the family business for their entire lives, and taking their place within the company feels... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Employees

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February 2014
Teaching Note

Olympus (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Suraj Srinivasan

As 2012 approached the woes of the financial crisis seemed to be fading, companies were resuming business as usual and some of the scrutiny on corporate governance practices began to recede as well. That is until another major financial scandal emerged in Japan in the... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Electronics Industry; Japan

October 2023
Case

Vida Health: Transforming Chronic Disease Treatment

By: William Sahlman and Nicole Tempest Keller

San Francisco based Vida Health, founded by Stephanie Tilenius, former vice president of Commerce and Payments at Google, was a B2B digital health startup focused on the treatment of cardiometabolic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity. Its innovative digital... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Health Care and Treatment; Product Marketing; Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Health Industry; Technology Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

12 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 12

bankruptcy process was not new for Ackman, it could add significant complexity and unknown outcomes. Ackman must consider whether this is a worthwhile investment, given the ambiguous valuation and significant public scrutiny of any... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Food for Thought: Exiting Russia? (A)

By: Clayton S. Rose, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Lena Duchene

In September 2022, the French food companies Bonduelle and Danone each grappled with the difficult decision of whether to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February. Both companies were deeply embedded in Russia’s agricultural supply chains and local... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Ethics; Market Entry and Exit; Public Opinion; War; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Russia

18 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Elections and Discretionary Accruals: Evidence from 2004

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Sugata Roychowdhury

25 Feb 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Fear of Rejection? Tiered Certification and Transparency

Keywords: by Emmanuel Farhi, Josh Lerner & Jean Tirole

03 Oct 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Causes and Consequences of Industry Self-Policing

Keywords: by Jodi L. Short & Michael W. Toffel

28 May 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Leveraging Market Power Through Tying and Bundling: Does Google Behave Anti-Competitively?

Keywords: by Benjamin Edelman

21 Feb 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Do Legal Origins Have Persistent Effects Over Time? A Look at Law and Finance around the World c. 1900

Keywords: by Aldo Musacchio; Legal Services

June 2014 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Southeastern Asset Management Challenges Buyout at Dell

By: Paul Healy, Suraj Srinivasan and Aldo Sesia

In late 2012, Michael Dell wants to take Dell Inc., the company he founded, private. Mr. Dell believes that the successful company's transformation from a personal computer (PC) manufacturer to an enterprise solutions and services provider (ESS) is dependent on going... View Details

August 2013
Article

Corporate Ownership Structure and the Choice Between Bank Debt and Public Debt

By: Chen Lin, Yue Ma, Paul Malatesta and Yuhai Xuan

This paper examines the relation between a borrowing firm's ownership structure and its choice of debt source using a novel, hand-collected data set on corporate ownership, control, and debt structures for 9,831 firms in 20 countries from 2001 to 2010. We find that the... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Ownership; Borrowing and Debt; Corporate Finance

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2024
Working Paper

Does Private Equity Have Any Business Being in the Health Care Business?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Zirui Song

Private Equity (“PE”) has come under increased scrutiny by the press, academics, and policymakers, as well as the public, for its investments in health care delivery. This scrutiny has been exacerbated by recent high profile hospital bankruptcies following PE... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Government Administration; Acquisition; Health Industry