Publications

December 2007
Case

The Campaign for Bank Insurance in Antebellum New York

By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton

The New York State Legislature had come to a standstill in 1829 as lawmakers refused to charter any new banks or recharter any existing banks. Four of New York's forty banks had failed since 1825, and many legislatures believed that a significant change in the banking... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk Management; Government Legislation; Insurance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

Research Summary

Contract Rights and Risk Aversion: Foreign Banks and the Mexican Economy, 1997-2004

In 1997 Mexicos banking laws were reformed, allowing foreign banks, for the first time since the nineteenth century, to purchase controlling interests in the countrys largest banks. Foreign banks controlled 16 percent of Mexican bank assets in March 1997. By June... View Details

2022
Article

Pills in a World of Activism and ESG

By: Guhan Subramanian and Caley Petrucci

Easterbrook and Fischel’s The Economic Structure of Corporate Law advances their now famous passivity thesis, which posits that managers should remain passive in the face of an unsolicited tender offer for the company’s shares. Consistent with the broader... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governance Controls; Business and Shareholder Relations

December 2021
Case

Whistleblowing at Veolia: A Technology Solution

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, Christian Godwin and James Weber

In 2019, Bruno Masson, the vice chairman of Veolia’s Ethics Committee, was preparing for a meeting on a rollout plan for a new whistleblowing system to more countries. Veolia, a global supplier of water, waste, and energy services, had recently gone through several... View Details

Keywords: Whistleblowing; Corporate Misconduct; Corporate Governance; Ethics; Crime and Corruption; Values and Beliefs; Trust; Employee Relationship Management; Utilities Industry

July 2008 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Corruption in Germany

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer

Why do managers become corrupt? Does corruption ever pay? When do friendly relations cross into bribery? How can CEOs manage and prevent outbreaks of corruption? These and other questions are raised by three short case studies of corruption in Germany: at the global... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Law; Managerial Roles; Practice; Conflict of Interests; Germany

17 May 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Keywords: by Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim

September 2015
Article

Codes in Context: How States, Markets, and Civil Society Shape Adherence to Global Labor Standards

By: Michael W. Toffel, Jodi L. Short and Melissa Ouellet

Transnational business regulation is increasingly implemented through private voluntary programs—like certification regimes and codes of conduct—that diffuse global standards. But little is known about the conditions under which companies adhere to these standards. We... View Details

Keywords: Transnational Regulation; Labor Standards; Consumer Politics; Codes Of Conduct; Compliance; Governance Compliance; Operations; Globalization; Labor

Find at Harvard

20 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2008

explanation of price rigidity has the advantage of being consistent with the observation that the typical size of price increases is nearly invariant to inflation. Lastly, the paper turns to some government policies regarding prices that appear to have some consumer... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Degrees, Certifications & Alumni Status | About

Business Administration from Harvard Business School (HBS) and a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Harvard Law School (HLS) Alumni Status: Yes Structured to be completed in four years, the joint degree integrates two complementary disciplines... View Details

March 2004 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Journey to Sakhalin: Royal Dutch/Shell in Russia (A)

By: Rawi E. Abdelal

Operations of Royal Dutch/Shell in Russia included a strategic alliance with Gazprom, the country's natural gas monopoly, the development of the Salym oil fields in Siberia, and a small retail refilling network in St. Petersburg. Focuses on the Sakhalin II project.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Energy Generation; Foreign Direct Investment; Lawfulness; Agreements and Arrangements; Alliances; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Russia

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

the United States is being driven by public policy, community engagement, and new funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. He explains the U.S. EPA’s role in balancing climate action with economic... View Details

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

countries even require approvals from local governments. Labor law differences also exist between states, and even those sometimes conflict with federal law. A management team that fails to factor these differences into planned layoffs,... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

19 Sep 2023
HBS Case

How Will the Tech Titans Behind ChatGPT, Bard, and LLaMA Make Money?

block it. If there is a market, someone will figure out how to do it. Rand: Are there some areas where regulation may be useful? Wu: Copyright law is one area they can address. The issue is, we normally think of intellectual property as... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

27 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Should Share Their DEI Data (Even When It’s Unflattering)

increases brand attitude, and the company is seen as having more commitment to diversifying the workforce.” US law requires companies with more than 100 employees to report their workforce’s gender, race, and ethnicity by job category to... View Details

Keywords: by Shalene Gupta

September – October 2011
Article

The Rise and Consequences of Corporate Sustainability Reporting

By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

For many decades the cornerstone of corporate reporting has been financial information that is presented in a company's annual, semi-annual, and quarterly reports. These comprehensive financial reports—required by law for public companies in most countries... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; ESG Reporting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Annual Reports; Operations; Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Performance; Business Model; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Disclosure

2009
Book

Experiments in Financial Democracy: Corporate Governance and Financial Development in Brazil, 1882-1950

By: Aldo Musacchio

In Experiments in Financial Democracy, I challenge the idea that it was colonial institutions that sent Brazil, a civil law country, down a particular path of corporate governance and finance. Detailed archival research reveals significantly different patterns of... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business History; Business and Shareholder Relations; Brazil

Find at Harvard

27 May 2021
News

Facebook-backed report calls Apple privacy features anticompetitive

November 2009 (Revised July 2011)
Case

International Lobbying and The Dow Chemical Company (A)

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This case explores company strategy, business-government relations, and collective action challenges associated with international and domestic lobbying regarding regulation of the chemical industry. In the fall of 2006, a five-year legislative process for a major new... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Europe