Publications

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June 2021
Case

Modern Endowment Management: Paula Volent and the Bowdoin Endowment

By: Luis M. Viceira, Emily R. McComb and Dean Xu

This case examines modern endowment investment management through the lens of a leadership transition between Chief Investment Officers (CIOs). In March 2021, Paula Volent is about to step down as the CIO of the endowment of Bowdoin College after twenty-one years, and... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Investment Banking; Growth Management; Investment Return; Capital Markets; Interest Rates; Competition; Cost Management; Risk Management; Financial Liquidity; Performance Evaluation

2015
Book

Political Standards: Corporate Interest, Ideology, and Leadership in the Shaping of Accounting Rules for the Market Economy

By: Karthik Ramanna

There are certain institutions underlying our modern market-capitalist system that are largely outside the interest and understanding of the general public—e.g., rulemaking for bank capital adequacy, actuarial standards, accounting standards, and auditing practice. In... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Financial Institutions; Financial Reporting; GAAP; IFRS; Lobbying; Capitalism; Sustainability; Accounting; Finance; Business and Government Relations; Leadership; Accounting Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; China; India

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24 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

In Troubled Africa, Botswana Flowers

rate of 10 percent a year for four decades—this is the highest sustained growth in real output of any country in the world. Q: Although your research is still ongoing, what appear to be some factors contributing to the country's success?... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

17 Dec 2012
Working Paper Summaries

An Outside-Inside Evolution in Gender and Professional Work

Keywords: by Lakshmi Ramarajan, Kathleen McGinn & Deborah Kolb

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

own pitfalls, since it leaves companies little recourse in the event that someone else steals their idea. But there are things they can do to protect their idea while still keeping it secret, says Ahuja—for example, dispersing research View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

21 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Fixing the Marketing-CEO Disconnect

it very difficult to track the financial impact of marketing investments, and so marketing becomes abstract to both the CEO and board. Q: What are the consequences of not having this alignment? A: When a firm's marketing activities are... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Article

The Mixed Effects of Online Diversity Training

By: Edward H. Chang, Katherine L. Milkman, Dena M. Gromet, Robert W. Rebele, Cade Massey, Angela L. Duckworth and Adam M. Grant

We present results from a large (n = 3,016) field experiment at a global organization testing whether a brief science-based online diversity training can change attitudes and behaviors toward women in the workplace. Our preregistered field experiment included an... View Details

Keywords: Diversity Training; Bias; Field Experiment; Training; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias

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June 2003 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Pension Policy at The Boots Company PLC

By: Luis M. Viceira and Akiko M. Mitsui

In early 2000, the trustees of the pension scheme at Boots considered a proposal to move 100% of the pension assets into a bond portfolio, which would be passively managed. The Boots Co. PLC was a leading retailer of cosmetics and toiletries in the United Kingdom, and... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Employees; Asset Management; Capital Structure; Investment Portfolio; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom

08 Feb 2018
Op-Ed

What’s Missing From the Debate About Trump’s Tax Plan

this point of view, including most Republican lawmakers, the important thing is to have people pay their fair share of taxes, based on a sense of equal sacrifice or on how much they benefit from government activities that allow our... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Weinzierl

January 2020
Case

A Tough Call: SEAL Team Leader in Kandahar (A)

By: George A. Riedel

The case, which is a disguised version of real events, is set in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2013) during the long running Afghan war. Lt. Paul Rickson, a Navy SEAL Platoon Commander, is leading a team of 30 U.S. and Afghan soldiers on a mission to clear hostile forces in... View Details

Keywords: War; Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Decision Choices and Conditions; Afghanistan

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

2024
Working Paper

Webmunk: A New Tool for Studying Online Behavior and Digital Platforms

By: Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin and Chris Karr

Understanding the behavior of users online is important for researchers, policymakers, and private companies alike. But observing online behavior and conducting experiments is difficult without direct access to the user base and software of technology companies. We... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Technology Adoption; Behavior; Research; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web

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November 2007
Article

If Private Equity Sized Up Your Business

By: Robert C. Pozen

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. As the dust settles on the recent frenzy of private equity deals (including... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Investment Return; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry

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18 Jun 2007
Op-Ed

Leveling the Executive Options Playing Field

governance view of taxation," suggests that tax authorities can be meaningful monitors who complement the activities of shareholders concerned with opportunistic insiders. Under the current dual-reporting system, it is impossible for... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

by differences in the information-processing activities associated with each function and apply this insight to refine and extend existing theories of centralization. We also discuss the implications of our results for organizational... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

April 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Corporate Solutions at Jones Lang LaSalle (2001)

By: Ranjay Gulati and Lucia Menzer Marshall

Peter Barge, CEO of the newly created Corporate Solutions Group of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), is executing a restructuring of the U.S. corporate real estate services division that will enable the company to offer its clients integrated solutions. Barge has created an... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Restructuring; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Integration

11 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Shrinking the Racial Wealth Gap, One Mortgage at a Time

loan officer, identifying people as white, Black, Hispanic, or Asian. They then pinpointed 255,000 active loan officers for the year 2019. To parse the “soft” information that minority loan officers rely on, Sunderam and colleagues... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

January 1995 (Revised January 1995)
Case

USAA: Business Process Review for the Great Lakes Region (Abridged)

By: James L. Heskett

Presents the results of a service process analysis of USAA's claims processing activity in its Great Lakes Region. Explores not only issues of redesigning the process but also the organizational implications of various alternatives. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Mortgages; Management Practices and Processes; Business Processes; Organizational Design; Mathematical Methods; Real Estate Industry; North America