Publications

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July 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Formosa Plastics Group: Business Continuity Forever

Wang Yung-ching, legendary Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist, passed away in 2008. He left behind an estate worth US $5.5 billion, but did not leave a will. The case discusses the potential motivation for Wang, and uses it to study succession planning for family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Governance Controls; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Chemical Industry; Taiwan

December 2013 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Choosing a Charitable Giving Vehicle

By: Robert C. Pozen, Mayur Desai and Maura A. Graul

Elaine White is an accountant advising two couples, the Carsons and the Bradleys, regarding their charitable giving options and related tax strategies. The Carsons are an upper-middle class family with $295,000 in income, a moderate amount of deductions, and... View Details

Keywords: Charitable Giving; Tax Accounting; Tax Strategy; Public Charities; Foundations; Charity; Charitable Remainder Trusts; Charitable Lead Trusts; Donor-Advised Funds; Pooled Income Funds; Taxation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

October 1992 (Revised August 2005)
Background Note

Estate Freeze

By: Henry B. Reiling

The so called estate freeze is a classic estate planning and recapitalization practice. It seeks to reconcile the multiple human and business considerations associated with transferring operating control and the future increases in the value of a family dominated... View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Laws and Statutes; Financial Services Industry; United States

31 May 2019
Video

Celebrating the 2019 Harvard Business School Commencement

31 Oct 2019
Video

Binod Chaudhary

Binod Chaudhary, Chairman of the Nepal-based Chaudhary Group, describes his goal of avoiding the stereotypical story of a three-generation family business that is founded by the first, consolidated by the... View Details

06 Sep 2016
News

Connecting Past and Present

Family health was the impetus for Stanley Diamond (MBA 1958), founder of one of the world’s largest genealogy resources. “My family carries the beta thalassemia genetic trait,” a blood disorder. When my... View Details

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 17 Feb 2016
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Everything I Needed to Know About Parenting I Learned at HBS

During the webinar, Denise will translate leadership principles into a family-friendly context to help parents foster kindness and reduce tension at home. Everyone benefits! Well show you how to adapt these tools to your own family vision and action plan. View Details

July 2023
Supplement

Honeycomb (B): Jumping on The Generative AI Bandwagon?

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Kumba Sennaar

Honeycomb, an audio app enabling users to record stories and save family memories, considers pivoting to embrace generative AI. What should the co-founders business model look like if they pursued this new direction? View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Operations; Business Startups; Business Model; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry; United States

06 May 2021
Blog Post

The Extraordinary Things We Do on Ordinary Days: A Mother’s Day Tribute

attend Harvard Business School as a family was an easy one for us. Having dated since we were 16, we’ve experienced much of life’s offerings together and have always known attending business school was a... View Details

May 1997
Supplement

Francisco de Narvaez at Tia

By: Linda A. Hill and Mara Willard

Harvard Business School students question Francisco de Narvaez about his family store, Tia, from the late 1980s to the present, as he attempts to transform it from a family-owned business into a market-driven, professionally-run global company. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Family Business; Transformation

15 Aug 2021
News

Prithwiraj Choudhury on the Future of Remote Work

September 2005
Case

Martha Goldberg Aronson: Leadership Decisions at Mid-Career

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2005, Martha Goldberg Aronson must decide whether to accept an overseas posting in a functional role with Medtronic Corp. The move would be a professional stretch, but would entail leaving a position with a plan half completed and moving her young family overseas.... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Motivation and Incentives; Opportunities; Leadership