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February 2020 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Australia: Commodities, Competitiveness, Climate and China

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Laura Alfaro

For the past few decades, Australia has dealt with the benefits and costs of repeated mining booms—inflation, a housing bubble, a current account deficit, and growing dependence on China. Between 1996 and 2007, however, Australia had most of these issues under control... View Details

Keywords: Commodities; Competitiveness; Carbon Tax; Environment; Capital Flows; Current Account; Mining; Economy; Problems and Challenges; Climate Change; Taxation; Competition; Financial Condition; Government and Politics; Inflation and Deflation; Environmental Sustainability; Australia

2021
Chapter

Multinationals' Need for State Protection: The Creation of the Swiss Investment Risk Guarantee in the 1960s

By: Sabine Pitteloud

This chapter focuses on the role of Industrie-Holding, the Federation of Swiss Industrial Multinational Companies, in the introduction of an investment risk guarantee during the 1960s. The chapter therefore contributes to a) the growing body of literature on how... View Details

Keywords: Investments; Multinational Companies; Political Risk; Business ＆ Government Relations; Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Government Relations; Switzerland

Livia is a development economist whose research focuses on labor market frictions and determinants of labor market participation in low-income settings, with a particular emphasis on barriers to youth employment and female labor market participation. In a separate line... View Details

20 Nov 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Pay Harmony: Peer Comparison and Executive Compensation

Keywords: by Claudine Gartenberg & Julie Wulf

2020
Article

Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability

By: George Serafeim

Combining corporate sustainability performance scores based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data with big data measuring public sentiment about a company’s sustainability performance, I find that the valuation premium paid for companies with strong... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Big Data; Machine Learning; Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance; Performance; Asset Pricing; Investment; Management; Strategy; Human Capital; Public Opinion; Value; Analytics and Data Science

SSRN

26 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 26, 2019

forthcoming Management Science Frenemies in Platform Markets: Heterogeneous Profit Foci as Drivers of Compatibility Decisions By: Adner, Ron, Jianqing Chen, and Feng Zhu Abstract— We study compatibility... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 1991 (Revised March 2005)
Case

WPP Group and Its Acquisitions

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

WPP Group acquired J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, paying high premiums in relation to earnings. In each acquisition the goodwill acquired was immediately charged off against owners' equity. Then, WPP Group established a value for the brand names of the two... View Details

Keywords: Goodwill Accounting; Accounting; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Market Transactions; Equity; Private Equity; Relationships; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Style; Consumer Products Industry; United States; United Kingdom

November 2017 (Revised September 2020)
Supplement

Miami's Tech Future (B): Building the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

In 2017, Miami was rated #1 among U.S. cities for startups, but about 40th for “scale-ups” – growth companies. This case shows how leaders of incubators and accelerators supported startups and a culture of entrepreneurship, but also describes some factors limiting... View Details

Keywords: Scaling; Growth; Startup; Community Engagement; Community Impact; Community Relations; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Miami; Florida

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

related discipline of survival psychology shine a light on the present moment and contains wisdom for how leaders can manage the unrolling crisis. “As CEOs in this crisis, we... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

May 2024
Case

Shell's Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Portfolio Analysis; Climate; Oil; Oil And Gas; Oil Companies; Renewables; Petroleum; Investor Demand; Investors; Corporate Strategy; Resource Allocation; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

23 Apr 2018
News

Governor Baker Swears In New Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning

September 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Zurich Insurance: Zurich Oxygen

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after implementing five new people practices focused on manager development, diversity and inclusion, job model and data analytics, recruitment, and talent pipeline. The case “Zurich Insurance: Fostering Key People... View Details

Keywords: Managing Change; Management Development; Leadership; Organization Behavior; Management Skills; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Leadership Development; Human Capital; Human Resources; Insurance; Insurance Industry

June 2016
Article

Managing the High Intensity Workplace: An 'Always Available' Culture Breeds a Variety of Dysfunctional Behaviors

By: Erin M. Reid and Lakshmi Ramarajan

People today are under intense pressure to be “ideal workers”—totally committed to their jobs and always on call. But after interviewing hundreds of professionals in many fields, the authors have concluded that selfless dedication to work is often unnecessary and... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Working Conditions; Work-Life Balance; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture

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December 2022
Technical Note

Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework

By: George Serafeim

The transition to a low carbon economy introduces many risks and opportunities for businesses. Risks emerge from regulatory actions, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, technological innovation that develop alternatives for customers making existing... View Details

Keywords: Risk Assessment; Opportunities; Environmental Sustainability; Carbon Footprint; Risk Management; Competitive Dynamics; Business Analysis; Climate Change; Accounting; Finance; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technological Innovation; Transition; Product Positioning; Renewable Energy; Analysis

June 2023
Article

Can Purpose Foster Stakeholder Trust in Corporations

By: Ranjay Gulati and Franz Wohlgezogen

As part of institutional changes toward more responsible capitalism, firms increasingly articulate a purpose beyond simply profit as a central tenet of their governance. Management scholarship has noted the potential advantages of such purpose-focus for stakeholder... View Details

Keywords: Stakeholder Management; Moral Identity; Mission and Purpose; Trust; Corporate Governance; Business and Stakeholder Relations

14 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Siobhan O'Mahony and Rebecca Karp, Boston University

October 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Innovation Corrupted: The Rise and Fall of Enron

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Presents an historical overview of Enron's rise and fall and summarizes what is currently known about (1) the evolution of Enron's business model, (2) the organizational processes Enron officials relied on to drive and monitor the business, (3) emergent behavior... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Behavior; Governing and Advisory Boards; Success; Transformation; Failure; Business Processes; Energy Industry; United States

07 Nov 2023
News

Love and Money

optimizing and trying to buy the best, can often miss out on what actually is going to make them happy. JF: Do people manage to close that gap? What does that work look like? RG: Often it's just something... View Details

January 2014 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Amgen Inc.: Pursuing Innovation and Imitation? (A)

By: Ian W. Mackenzie

Set in 2009, the (A) case explores whether Amgen, a leading innovator of biotech-based drugs, should enter the emerging business of biosimilars (BS), which are essentially 'me-too' products. There appear to be sound reasons to explore this related diversification:... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States