Publications

June 2016
Supplement

FANUC Corporation: Reassessing the Firm's Governance and Financial Policies Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Akiko Kanno

In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a US-based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Valuation; Investment Funds; Policy; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Investment Activism; Change Management; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan; United States

23 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Financial Policies in Misvalued Credit Markets

Keywords: by Jarrad Harford, Marc Martos-Vila & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf; Financial Services; Banking

Policy versus Practice: Conceptions of Artificial Intelligence

The recent growth of concern around issues such as social biases implicit in algorithms, economic impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), or potential existential threats posed... View Details

September 2001
Background Note

Note on Application of the Antitrust Laws to the New Economy: An Analysis of United States v. Microsoft Corporation

Analyzes the 1991 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the seminal New Economy antitrust case United States vs. Microsoft Corp., 253 F.3rd 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001), which arose out of Microsoft's efforts to promote Internet Explorer... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Software; Intellectual Property; Monopoly; Laws and Statutes; Information Technology Industry; District of Columbia

Educators

11 May 2020
Op-Ed

Immigration Policies Threaten American Competitiveness

It is no secret that immigration has reshaped American innovation. Immigrants are the backbone of America’s most innovative industries, provide a quarter of our patent applications, and are numerous among our science and engineering superstars. Taken from World... View Details

Keywords: by William R. Kerr

March 2023
Article

Not from Concentrate: Collusion in Collaborative Industries

By: Jordan M. Barry, John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers and Richard Lowery

The chief principle of antitrust law and theory is that reducing market concentration—having more, smaller firms instead of fewer, bigger ones—reduces anticompetitive behavior. We demonstrate that this principle is fundamentally incomplete.

In many... View Details

SSRN

22 Sep 2015
News

Promoting a Healthy Policy Agenda

As chair of the public health committee in the Massachusetts legislature, state senator Jason Lewis (MBA 1995) focuses on promoting prevention and wellness. In this video, he talks about applying his business training to public View Details

2012
Working Paper

Conflict Policy and Advertising Agency-Client Relations: The Problem of Competing Clients Sharing a Common Agency

By: Alvin J. Silk

What restrictions should be placed on advertising agencies with respect to serving accounts or clients that are competitors of one another in order to avoid conflicts in interest? In recent decades, the advertising and marketing services industry has undergone a number... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Service Delivery; Competition; Conflict of Interests; Policy; Practice; Advertising Industry; United States

2014
Working Paper

Corporate Financial Policies in Misvalued Credit Markets

By: Jarrad Harford, Marc Martos-Vila and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

We theoretically and empirically investigate the repercussions of credit market misvaluation for a firm's borrowing and investment decisions. Using an ex-post measure of the accuracy of credit ratings to capture debt market misvaluation, we find evidence that firms... View Details

31 May 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Conflict Policy and Advertising Agency-Client Relations: The Problem of Competing Clients Sharing a Common Agency

Keywords: by Alvin J. Silk; Advertising

02 Dec 2009
What Do You Think?

Should Immigration Policies Be More Welcoming to Low-Skilled Workers?

countries were pondering policies regarding a flood of guest workers, some legal and some illegal. These issues tend to arise at times of economic growth or stress. The... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

June 18, 2020
Article

What CEOs Still Haven't Said about Race and Policing

By: Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

While many CEOs have spoken out to share their thoughts on race and police misconduct in America, they have yet to advocate for policy solutions for police reform, focusing instead on their own corporate and personal values. But lasting change must also involve ... View Details

Keywords: Activism; CEO; Political Issues; Political Leadership; Racial Tensions; Racism; Leadership; Race; Communication; Government and Politics; Law; Organizational Culture; United States

11 May 2017
News

New Journal Sponsored by Top MBA Programs Tackles Critical Healthcare Management Issues

December 2023
Teaching Note

Three Decades of Cluster Policy in Catalonia: What's Next?

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The TN provides conceptual background and a suggested teaching plan for using the HBS case 724-404. It discusses the concepts and issues related to the main teaching objectives of the case, i.e. the nature and effective structuring of cluster-based economic... View Details

Keywords: Economic Sectors; Government and Politics; Policy; Development Economics; Spain

01 Mar 2006
News

HBS Reverses Policy On Grade Disclosure

transition back to our original policy can be managed — with careful consideration of the implementation issues many of you have raised — to minimize any such adverse effects.” HBS allowed students to... View Details

Keywords: grades; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

26 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Comment on Environmental Issues for Earth Day

Earth Day focuses the world's attention on the both the dangers and opportunities facing the planet. But sustainability and the intersection between business and the environment are issues that need to be addressed all the time, as cities grow, resources diminish, and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Energy; Utilities

November 2002 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Water Policy Priorities Along the U.S.-Mexico Border

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Jose M. M. Porraz

The United States and Mexico face the challenges of managing shared water resources. The supply is limited and demand is growing on both sides of the border as a result of increased irrigated acreage and population growth. View Details

Keywords: Policy; Environmental Sustainability; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; Mexico

Educators

Column

The Changing Geography of Work: Priorities for Policy Makers

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury

The COVID-19 pandemic thrust the issue of how and where we work into the spotlight. The adoption of remote and hybrid work increased exponentially as lockdowns necessitated social distancing. But now, as we enter a new phase of the pandemic, the Geography of Work—where... View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; Hybrid Work Model; Work-from-anywhere; Employees; Geographic Location; Policy