Publications

September 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

The Dubai Ports World Debacle and its Aftermath

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

Describes the political ramifications in the United States of Dubai-based DP World's acquisition of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). Because P&O operated some port terminals in the United States, DP World obtained clearance from the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; National Security; Business and Government Relations; Ship Transportation; Dubai; United States

09 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 9

of real-world systems. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-059.pdf Quality Provision, Expected Firm Altruism and Brand Extensions Author:Julio J. Rotemberg Abstract This paper studies quality choice in a model where... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How Business Strategy Tamed the “Invisible Hand”

for the decade after World War II because wartime destruction led to excess demand, which limited competition as firms rushed to expand capacity. Given the enormous job of rebuilding Europe and much of Asia, it was not until the late... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

March 1993
Supplement

Burroughs Wellcome and AZT (B)

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Describes Burroughs Wellcome's response to protests over the pricing of its AIDS drug AZT in September 1989. Also presents short-term reactions by government officials, AIDS activists, and investors to Burroughs Wellcome's strategy. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Health Pandemics; Multinational Firms and Management; Price; Crime and Corruption; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Pharmaceutical Industry

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

imperfections, government policies, and entrepreneurial ambition in their creation, as well as the organizational challenges posed by managing such diversified firms owned by a family. Much of the firm's growth came from licensing and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 11

Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose By: Hsieh, Nien-hê Abstract—Do multinational corporations (MNCs) have a responsibility to address unjust... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 4

of state-owned firms (SOEs) and multinational companies (MNCs) in at least two ways. First, we cross-fertilize the IB and SOEs literatures in their analyses of foreign investment behavior and introduce two... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2010 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Roll Back Malaria and BCG: The Change Initiative

By: Nava Ashraf, Rachel Gordon and Catherine Ross

Roll Back Malaria, a global partnership dedicated to fighting malaria has not met its founders' expectations of effectively combatting malaria. In 2005, after several internal evaluations, RBM leadership has decided to engage the Boston Consulting Group to work on a... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Evaluation; Communication Strategy; Communication Intention and Meaning; Non-Governmental Organizations; Change Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Negotiation; Health Industry

December 2007
Background Note

Tools and Tactics for Transformation: Three "Whats" and Three "Hows"

By: James K. Sebenius and Stephen Friedman

Important transformation at Goldman Sachs, where one of the authors was Chairman, required analysis, political leadership, and management in order to fundamentally shift the strategy, people, and culture on a sustainable basis. After describing the actions needed to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture; Transition; Strategic Planning; Core Relationships; Multinational Firms and Management; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity

05 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 5, 2009

Working PapersRegional Trade Integration and Multinational Firm Strategies Authors:Pol Antrás and C. Fritz Foley Abstract This paper analyzes the effects of the formation of a regional trade agreement on... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Apr 2003
What Do You Think?

Should Global Business Initiatives Be Devalued?

firms with global interests—one that centers around the impact that these phenomena may have on such things as the potential benefits and costs of doing business abroad? Specifically, will questions increasingly be asked about whether... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina

By: Mihir A. Desai and Alexandra de Royere

What price should Dow Chemical bid for PBB, a petrochemical complex that is being privatized by the Argentine government? To answer this question, students are forced to consider the role of country risk, the underlying currency exposure of the business, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Bids and Bidding; Privatization; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets; Valuation; Business and Government Relations; Multinational Firms and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Energy Industry; Argentina

12 Aug 2002
Op-Ed

Using Big Business to Fight Poverty

result of such despondency, children are not encouraged to go to school; many fail to attend at all or drop out early. Yet many multinational corporations, while undertaking their regular profit-making activities, have managed to change... View Details

Keywords: by George C. Lodge

February 5, 2009
Comment

In Praise of Marketing

By: John A. Quelch

Many dismiss marketing as manipulative, deceptive, and intrusive. Marketing, they argue, focuses too much of our attention on material consumption. More recently, Benjamin Barber, in his 2007 book Consumed, claims that marketing is "sucking up the air from every other... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Loyalty; Local Vs. Global Branding; Multi-national Brands; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Globalized Economies and Regions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning

Read Now

September 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

BP's Macondo: Spill and Response

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This case starts by reporting various factors that may have contributed to the massive Macondo oil spill, noting that BP, its partners and the government all made decisions that helped cause the accident. It then discusses the response to this spill by BP and the... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Metals and Minerals; Crisis Management; Infrastructure; Trade; Pollutants; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Government Relations; Finance; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Technology Adoption; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United Kingdom; United States

26 May 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Market Research in a Recession

most firms are reducing spending on the market research that would help manage that uncertainty. In the United States, spending on market research has dipped for four consecutive quarters, and chief marketing officers don't expect the... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

30 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 30

supply chain factories' adherence to the global labor standards embodied in codes of conduct imposed by multinational buyers. We find that suppliers are more likely to adhere when they are embedded in states that participate actively in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

challenge of upward voice. We first undertook in-depth exploratory research in a knowledge-intensive multinational corporation in which employee input was considered crucial. Qualitative data collected in 190 interviews with employees... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2024
Supplement

Climate Governance at Linde plc (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details