Publications

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Less Is More: Will Aldi's Expansion Plans Pay Off in a Crowded U.S. Grocery Market?

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In 2024, the discount grocery retailer Aldi announced bold U.S. expansion plans. Within five years, the German company would increase its store count by 30% to reach 3,200+ stores across the United States and approach becoming the fifth largest grocery retailer in the... View Details

Keywords: Scope; Grocery; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

September 2011
Article

Global Capitalism at Risk: What Are You Doing About It?

By: Joseph L. Bower, Herman B. Leonard and Lynn S. Paine

Market capitalism, a system that has proven to be a remarkable engine of wealth creation, is poised for a breakdown. That sounds dire, and it is. Increasing income inequality, migration, weaknesses in the global financial system, environmental degradation, and... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Economic Systems; Globalization; Corporate Governance; Markets; Risk and Uncertainty

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September 1995
Case

Benjamin Rosen and Compaq

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Addresses the challenges faced by Ben Rosen and the company board of directors as continuing problems force it to make a decision about the ongoing governance of the firm. The issues are complicated by the current CEO and founder, Rod Canion, who has had, until... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Corporate Governance; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Information Technology Industry

August 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Global Business School Network

By: Christopher Marquis and Rwitwika Bhattacharya

The mission of the Global Business School Network (GBSN) is to strengthen business education for the developing world. The organization was transitioning out of its startup phase and wants to shift its focus from capacity building activities driven by the organization... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Business Education; Development Economics; Globalization; Global Strategy; Education Industry

04 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 4

there is no significant relationship between service quality and profitability. My findings highlight the importance of attending to process discipline in certain service settings. They also show that too much View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2016
Working Paper

Managers' Cultural Background and Disclosure Attributes

By: Francois Brochet, Gregory S. Miller, Patricia Naranjo and Gwen Yu

We examine how a manager’s ethnic cultural background affects managers’ communication with investors. Using a sample of earnings conference calls transcripts with 26,430 executives from 42 countries, we find that managers from ethnic groups that have a more... View Details

Keywords: Disclosure Tone; Individualism; Conference Calls; Ethnic Group; Management Style; Communication Intention and Meaning; Ethnicity; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Reporting

SSRN

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July 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Supplement

McKinsey & Co. - Protecting its Reputation (B)

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

On Tuesday March 15, 2011, all 1,200 global Partners of McKinsey & Co. gathered at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center near Washington, DC for their annual Partners' conference. The atmosphere was tense as Partners, in addition to their normal agenda,... View Details

Keywords: Board; McKinsey; CONSULTING Firms; Risk; Risk Assessment; Partnerships; Insider Trading; Confidentiality; Personal Investing; Reputation; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Management Practices and Processes; Risk Management; Construction Industry; United States; California

15 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: November 15

prevailing research norm. The Role of Finance and Private Investment in Developing Sustainable Cities Author:John D. Macomber Publication:Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 23, no. 3 (summer 2011) Abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Sep 2009
News

Executive Pay: Onward & Upward

1984 To discourage “golden parachutes,” a controversial pay innovation at the time, Congress imposes a special tax on such payments valued at more than three times an executive’s average pay. Rather than curb golden parachutes, View Details

Keywords: Corporate Services; Corporate Services; Corporate Services

April 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Governance at Metallgesellschaft (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff

MG Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of Germany's international conglomerate, Metallgesellschaft, engaged in a disastrous hedging strategy that nearly dragged the entire enterprise into bankruptcy. This case explores issues of responsibility and accountability among the... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Accountability; Business Conglomerates; Governing and Advisory Boards; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Mining Industry; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

11 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 11

most important developments in corporate governance over the last decade. I offer an analysis of some international political dynamics of countries' IFRS harmonization decisions. View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Overview

By: Rebecca M. Henderson

My work focuses on two tightly related topics. I explore why purpose or mission driven firms might be significantly more productive and creative than their more conventional rivals, focusing particularly on the role of trust in building path dependent relational... View Details

06 Nov 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?

Keywords: by Valeria Giacomin, Geoffrey Jones, and Erica Salvaj

February 1979 (Revised December 1983)
Case

Allied Chemical Corp. (A)

By: George C. Lodge and Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Describes Allied, the chemical industry, and the effects of the Kepone problem (a toxic pesticide dumped into the James River) as of 1976. The executive in the case must decide whether the company should support the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act and an... View Details

Keywords: Pollutants; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decision Making; Laws and Statutes; Welfare; Legal Liability; Business and Government Relations; Chemical Industry

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April 1992 (Revised February 1993)
Supplement

Otis South Africa (B)

By: Michael Beer

Covers a June 1990 Social Responsibility Conference held by George David to evaluate the progress of his new management team in increasing the pace of nonwhite advancement. The U.S. CEO and the managing director of Otis South Africa disagree over the suitability of... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Race; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Management Teams; South Africa

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01 Sep 2004
News

Inside Executive Search

How do executive search firms work? It’s well known that most senior management, CEO, and board positions are filled by these organizations, but given the confidential nature of their work, they often conduct their business with utmost... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Corporate Services; Corporate Services; Corporate Services

2016
Working Paper

Patent Disclosures and Standard-Setting

By: Josh Lerner, Haris Tabakovic and Jean Tirole

A key role of standard setting organizations (SSOs) is to aggregate information on relevant intellectual property (IP) claims before deciding on a standard. This article explores the firms’ strategies in response to IP disclosure requirements—in particular, the choice... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Corporate Disclosure; Standards