Publications

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January 2013 (Revised March 2016)
Case

The Private Company Council

By: Karthik Ramanna and Luis M. Viceira

Financial Accounting Foundation chairman Jack Brennan is under pressure from private-company interests to set up a new body—the Private Company Council—to determine separate GAAP for private companies. PCC advocates—including the US Chamber of Commerce—argue that... View Details

Keywords: FASB; Lobbying; Political Economy; Accounting; Government and Politics; Leadership; Financial Markets; Accounting Industry; Financial Services Industry; Public Administration Industry

December 2007 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Can PACIV (Puerto Rico) Serve European Customers?

Jorge Rodriguez-Gonzalez, PACIV's (Puerto Rico) founding CEO, is considering expanding PACIV's pharmaceutical manufacturing compliance services company to the U.K. and Europe. He has to decide whether to hire Wayne Snelgrove and how to define the scope of his... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Service Industry; Europe; United Kingdom; Puerto Rico

Article

The Causes and Consequences of Industry Self-Policing

By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Innovative regulatory programs are encouraging firms to police their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily disclose, or "confess," the violations they find. Despite the "win-win" rhetoric surrounding these government voluntary programs, it is not clear why... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Disclosure; Governance Compliance; Law Enforcement; Policy; United States

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March 2015 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Behavioural Insights Team (A)

By: Michael Luca and Patrick Rooney

The Behavioural Insights Team case introduces students to the concept of choice architecture and the value of experimental methods (sometimes called A/B testing) within organizational contexts. The exercise provides an opportunity for students to apply these principles... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Experiments; Choice Architecture; Public Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Taxation; Economics; Public Administration Industry; United Kingdom

Article

How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?

By: Aaron K. Chatterji, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel

Ratings of corporations' environmental activities and capabilities influence billions of dollars of "socially responsible" investments as well as some consumers, activists, and potential employees. In one of the first studies to assess these ratings, we examine how... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Effectiveness; Natural Environment; Pollutants

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03 Oct 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Causes and Consequences of Industry Self-Policing

Keywords: by Jodi L. Short & Michael W. Toffel

November 2019
Case

Hapag-Lloyd AG:Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governance Compliance; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

Teaching Interest

Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance

By: Suraj Srinivasan

The last ten years has heightened demands on audit committees. Not only are they responsible for overseeing internal and external audits to ensure that investors receive accurate and transparent information, but they must ensure compliance with new accounting and... View Details

October 1992 (Revised February 1995)
Background Note

Note on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations

By: Lynn S. Paine

Describes the federal guidelines used by judges for sentencing organizations convicted of criminal wrong-doing under U.S. law as of November 1, 1991. Describes the guidelines' approach to calculating criminal fines for organizations, determining an organization's... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Governance Compliance; Law Enforcement; Laws and Statutes; Organizations; Legal Services Industry; United States

April 2018 (Revised December 2018)
Case

The Whistleblower at International Game Technology

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and James Weber

Robert Mayhem, a senior manager at International Game Technology, had filed a whistleblower report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company had misstatements in its financial reports. Mayhem’s report involved IGT’s practice of... View Details

Keywords: Whistleblower; Financial Reporting; Governance Compliance; Ethics

August 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Background Note

Note on Adherence in Healthcare

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Zachery Page and Ben Creo

This note provides an overview of adherence in healthcare. It discusses systemwide costs of non-adherence, common barriers to adherence, relevant stakeholders, novel compliance tactics, and the impact on digital therapeutic adoption. It is recommended as a companion to... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Behavior; Health Industry

Teaching Interest

Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance

By: Paul M. Healy

The last ten years has heightened demands on audit committees. Not only are they responsible for overseeing internal and external audits to ensure that investors receive accurate and transparent information, but they must ensure compliance with new accounting and... View Details

November 2019
Supplement

Hapag-Lloyd AG: Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

Article

Returnable Reciprocity: Returnable Gifts Are More Effective than Unreturnable Gifts at Promoting Virtuous Behaviors

By: J.J. Zlatev and Rogers, T.

Increasing virtuous behaviors, such as initiating healthy habits, is an important goal for policymakers and social scientists. To promote compliance with requests to perform virtuous behaviors, we study “returnable reciprocity.” Whereas traditional reciprocity involves... View Details

Keywords: Nudges; Reciprocity; Want-should Conflicts; Wellness; Health; Behavior; Change; Well-being

Research Summary

Corporate transparency and information disclosure strategies

By: Michael W. Toffel

This research focuses on transparency and information disclosure strategies, a topic of growing importance in environmental sustainability, corporate strategy, stakeholder relations, and public policy. My prior research in this area explored why... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Disclosure Strategy; Disclosure; Environment; Environmental Performance; Regulation; Supply Chain; Environmental Sustainability; United States

Research Summary

Antitrust in the new economy

The objectives of this project are threefold: (1) identify the computational, managerial, and legal issues that interact and make antitrust compliance difficult in the context of B2B exchanges; (2) examine the computational difficulties and policy implications of... View Details

13 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 13

working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2430174 Eliciting Taxpayer Preferences Increases Tax Compliance By: Lamberton, Cait, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, and Michael I. Norton Abstract—Two experiments show that eliciting taxpayer preferences on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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

June 2020
Case

Recovering Trust After Corporate Misconduct at Wells Fargo

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Jonah S. Goldberg

The case describes widespread misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank in the period leading up to 2017 and the company’s subsequent attempts to improve internal controls, company culture, and corporate governance. The case examines the potential causes of large scale... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Internal Controls; Banks and Banking; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Governance Compliance; Management Systems; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Governing and Advisory Boards