Publications

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

practicing law in Philadelphia, representing this company among others, the CEO of Merck, my predecessor, three times removed, called me into his office, said, "I'm two years from retirement. I can't seem to get my colleagues, my white... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

June 1992
Case

Arundel Partners: The Sequel Project

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and William A. Teichner

A group of investors is considering buying the sequel rights for a portfolio of feature films. They need to determine how much to offer to pay and how to structure a contract with one or more major U.S. film studios. The case contains cash flow estimates for all major... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Debt Securities; Contracts; Cash Flow; Valuation; Capital Budgeting; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

12 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

The Three Components of Family Governance

example, have any shares changed hands since the last meeting? Are there new tax laws shareholders need to be aware of? If your family has fifteen or fewer adults, you may be able to have in-depth discussions and create plans and policies... View Details

14 Dec 2007
Op-Ed

When Your Product Becomes a Commodity

profits? If you've heard it, you've probably wondered if it was just a convenient excuse or if the manager had a valid point. The truth is, even when a raw material has no value added and quality standards are set by law or the industry,... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

20 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

Panama Canal: Troubled History, Astounding Turnaround

the rule of law doesn't function. My first book projects—The Power and the Money and The Politics of Property Rights—looked at how businesses solved that problem in revolutionary Mexico. Firms in Mexico, both foreign and domestic, dealt... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Transportation

07 May 2012
Research & Ideas

The Art of Haggling

of bargaining, while in Getting to YES, Harvard Law School Professor Roger Fisher and Harvard Negotiation Project Senior Fellow William Ury advocated for an approach that can benefit both parties. Fisher and Ury's message took hold, given... View Details

Keywords: by Katie Johnston

12 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Investors Often Lose When They Sue Their Financial Adviser

Years of bull market bliss gave brokerage clients few reasons to open their account statements—until March. Within one month, stocks in the United States notched their biggest one-day losses—and gains—as mounting fears about COVID-19’s economic impact and efforts to... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

24 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

The Yelp Factor: Are Consumer Reviews Good for Business?

digital age is a fertile area of his research. Luca is looking at rankings, expert evaluations, online consumer reviews, and quality disclosure laws to see how they work in market settings, and which are most important for consumers. To... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

30 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Repugnant Markets and How They Get That Way

engage in a voluntary transaction, it must be because they both want to, and it makes them better off. The kinds of things I'm calling repugnant are transactions that some people don't want other people to engage in. Repugnant is different from, say, disgusting. There... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

November 2021 (Revised October 2024)
Background Note

Legal Analysis: Fiduciary Duties for Managers

By: J.S. Nelson and Trevor Fetter

This note describes the essential legal responsibilities of managers and company directors toward investors and other parties. These include basic fiduciary duties of loyalty, obedience, good faith and care, as well as duties that relate to... View Details

Keywords: Fiduciary Duty; Managerial Roles; Legal Liability

04 Jan 2022
What Do You Think?

Firing McDonald’s Easterbrook: What Could the Board Have Done Differently?

(iStockphoto/tofumax) A corporate board’s most important decision is selecting the organization’s CEO. By the same token, one could argue that a board’s most distasteful decision concerns firing a CEO. Once directors agree to release the CEO, the next step is... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Jun 2020
Book

It’s Not About You: Why Leaders Need to Look Outward

earned paychecks for goods and services, pledge our lives to another person in marriage, cast a ballot for someone who will represent our interests. We rely on laws and contracts as safety nets, but even those systems are ultimately built... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

23 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Why White-Collar Crime Spiked in America After 9/11

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the FBI shifted financial resources and hundreds of agents toward combatting terrorism, unintentionally weakening the agency’s ability to investigate white-collar crime in America, research shows. As a result, wire fraud, illegal... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

08 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Seven Negotiation Lessons from Amazon's HQ Disaster in Queens

Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, Director of the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School, and most recently, co-author of Kissinger the Negotiator: Lessons from Dealmaking at the... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius; Real Estate; Construction

Research Summary

Dissertation: A Relational Perspective on Boundary Work: How Attorneys Manage Work-Life Boundaries

Many professionals struggle with managing boundaries between work and life outside of work. For decades researchers have been trying to understand this issue but we still have much to learn about it. With my dissertation, I aim to improve our understanding of... View Details

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

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

February 2016 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Labor, Capital, and Government: The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902

By: David Moss and Marc Campasano

In late October 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt felt relieved after months of anxiety and uncertainty. Workers in Pennsylvania's anthracite coal industry had been on strike for five months, threatening to leave eastern cities in the cold without enough heating fuel... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Government Relations; Labor; Law; Policy; Mining; History; Mining Industry; Pennsylvania