Publications

09 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Organizations

firms in the supply chain to their mutual advantage. Finally, while it might be more difficult to achieve, a very similar relationship can evolve between direct competitors and between firms and their government regulators. It may come as... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Lawrence & Nitin Nohria

13 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

The Case Against Racial Colorblindness

government subcontractors—the argument goes—then Whites' right for equal protection may be violated." In a related article, Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game That They Are Now Losing, Norton and Sommers... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

April 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

China and the WTO: Doing the Right Thing?

In late 2001, the People's Republic of China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Sets the terms of China's accession agreement against its compliance record some two years later. Discusses why key actors, such as business, organized labor, and other governments,... View Details

Keywords: Management; History; International Relations; Judgments; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics; Governance Compliance; Emerging Markets; Global Strategy; China

08 Nov 2024
Op-Ed

How Private Investors Can Help Solve Africa's Climate Crisis

investors and business leaders, and very few were interested in “green” activities or even environmental, social, and governance initiatives on their own merits, since in many cases, they don’t lead to... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Green Technology; Energy

June 2009 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Colbún—Powering Chile

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Gustavo A. Herrero and Sanjay Patnaik

This case is about Colbún, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices,... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Government Relations; Climate Change; Business Strategy; Energy Industry; Chile

Article

Shadow of the Contract: How Contract Structure Shapes Inter-Firm Dispute Resolution

By: Fabrice Lumineau and Deepak Malhotra

This paper investigates how contract structure influences inter-firm dispute resolution processes and outcomes by examining a unique dataset consisting of over 150,000 pages of documents relating to 102 business disputes. We find that the level of contractual detail... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Contracts; Rights; Negotiation; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence

November 2018
Teaching Note

The Tax Man: Taxes in Private Equity Real Estate

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

Teaching Note for HBS No. 218-077. This teaching note provides the back up analysis for the various alternatives to be considered in choosing the optimal investment structure for the real estate acquisition. It contrasts the interests of the tax exempt investors... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Alternative Investment Structures; Taxation; Private Equity; Property; Acquisition; Conflict of Interests; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

20 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 20, 2007

are an enabling force legally astute management teams can use to manage the firm more effectively. In particular, it proposes that legally astute management teams can, inter alia, use formal contracts as complements to relational View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2017
Article

Is the SEC Captured? Evidence from Comment-Letter Reviews

By: Jonas Heese, Mozaffar Khan and Karthik Ramanna

SEC oversight of publicly listed firms ranges from comment letter (CL) reviews of firms’ reporting compliance to pursuing enforcement actions against violators. Prior literature finds that firm political connections (PC) negatively predict enforcement actions,... View Details

Keywords: Comment Letters; Political Connections; Regulatory Capture; SEC Enforcement; Government Administration; Business and Government Relations; Government and Politics

SSRN

July 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Case

China and the WTO: Doing the Right Thing? (Abridged)

In late 2001, the People's Republic of China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Sets the terms of China's accession agreement against its compliance record some two years later. Discusses why key actors, such as business, organized labor, and other governments,... View Details

Keywords: History; International Relations; Judgments; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics; Governance Compliance; Emerging Markets; Economic Growth; Global Strategy; China

August 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (A)

By: Jonas Heese, Suraj Srinivasan, Francois Brochet and Christine Johnson

In May 2018, Berkshire Hathaway announced an unprecedented loss of more than $1 billion for the first quarter of 2018. Warren Buffett blamed this loss on the new accounting rules for equity securities which he criticized. In the case ‘Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire... View Details

Keywords: Equity Securities; FASB; Fair Value Accounting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Services Industry

05 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 5, 2019

firms lever up, the overall cost of capital falls as leverage increases equity beta, but as debt becomes riskier the marginal benefit of increasing equity beta declines. As a simple theoretical framework predicts, we find that leverage is inversely View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

21 May 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Role of the Corporation in Society: An Alternative View and Opportunities for Future Research

Keywords: by George Serafeim

Article

The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership

By: Joseph L. Bower and Lynn S. Paine

Agency theory, a new model of governance promulgated by academic economists in the 1970s, is behind the idea that corporate managers should make shareholder value their primary concern and that boards should ensure they do. The theory regards shareholders as owners of... View Details

Keywords: Agency Theory; Business and Shareholder Relations; Leadership; Corporate Governance

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June 2007 (Revised December 2007)
Case

AFL-CIO: Office of Investment and Home Depot

By: Rakesh Khurana and James Weber

Describes the AFL-CIO: Office of Investments activities in their campaign to improve governance at Home Depot by calling attention to Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli's compensation package and the company's poor performance. The AFL-CIO Office of Investments advocates... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Labor Unions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Shareholder Relations

September–October 2018
Article

The Paradox of Responsive Authoritarianism: How Civic Activism Spurs Environmental Penalties in China

By: Christopher Marquis and Yanhua Bird

Recognizing the need to better understand institutional change processes in authoritarian states, which play an increasingly prominent role in the world economy, we examine the efficacy of civic activism aimed at spurring governmental action concerning the... View Details

Keywords: Civic Activism; Authoritarianism; Regulation; Corporate Sustainability; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Social Issues; Change; China

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08 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 8

engaged citizens and the potential for new innovations from the private sector. Potential drawbacks of open access including security and privacy issues are illustrated. Issues related to the role of View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 10, 2009

b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=809095 GLOBALGAP: Food Safety and Private Standards Harvard Business School Case 509-004 In response to new laws governing liability and several food safety scares in the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2002 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Building a Cluster: Electronics and Information Technology in Costa Rica

By: Michael E. Porter and Niels W. Ketelhohn

Describes the actions of Costa Rica President Figueres and his cabinet in attracting an Intel assembly and testing plant to their country. The effort was part of a government strategy that sought to develop further the Costa Rican electronics and information technology... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Clusters; Business and Government Relations; Information Technology; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry; Costa Rica