Publications

This paper investigates how executive employment contracts influence corporate financial policies during the final year of the contract term, using a new, hand-collected data set of CEO employment agreements. On the one hand, the impending... View Details

2014
Working Paper

The Contract Year Phenomenon in the Corner Office: An Analysis of Firm Behavior During CEO Contract Renewals

By: Ping Liu and Yuhai Xuan

This paper investigates how executive employment contracts influence corporate financial policies during the final year of the contract term, using a new, hand-collected data set of CEO employment agreements. On the one hand, the impending expiration of fixed-term... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Contracts; Behavior; Employment

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May 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

McKesson

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Natalie Kindred

McKesson, a large, diversified drug distribution and health care IT company, is considering development of new business offerings to help private practice physicians remain independent. The company, with $122 billion in 2010 revenues, just made its first foray into... View Details

Keywords: Health Care Industry; Health Care Policy; Organizational Transformations; Health Services; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Service Operations; Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Policy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; United States

March 1993 (Revised June 1993)
Supplement

McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc. (B)

Describes McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc.'s investment decision and strategic plans in 1990, following the situation in the (A) case. Outlines the competitive situation in other types of mobile communications in the United States and the United Kingdom in 1991. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Communication Technology; Competition; Mobile Technology; Telecommunications Industry; United Kingdom; United States

14 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 14

firms face market uncertainty about consumers' preferences for innovation on two product attributes and technology uncertainty about the success of their R&D investments. Firms can conduct costly market... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Sep 2018
Blog Post

Working to Keep Pirates At-Bay: My Summer in Cyber Security

After spending three years working in consulting before coming to HBS, I knew I wanted to use my summer to expand beyond the world of Board of Directors advisory and multi-national company strategic planning and try something completely... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

November 1999
Case

Adam Opel AG (A) and (B) (Condensed)

By: Joseph L. Bower

Focuses on the strategic issue of how to approach the East German market after the Berlin wall came down in late 1989. Within an unusually rich economic-political and organizational-personal context, the chairman of GM's German subsidiary has to respond to Volkswagen's... View Details

Keywords: Adoption; Decision Choices and Conditions; Situation or Environment; Risk and Uncertainty; Auto Industry; Germany

Program

Leadership for Senior Executives

Summary Uncertainty and change are relentless challenges for today's leaders. Between expanding globalization, rapid technological shifts, and evolving social norms, how can leaders make the right strategic... View Details

November 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Background Note

Online Content Providers

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown

Describes the business model for online content providers, companies that distribute copyright content via the Internet. Focuses on their revenue and cost drivers and on the ways that online content providers create value for consumers. Also investigates the benefits... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Customers; Value Creation; Business Model; Internet and the Web; Cash Flow; Risk and Uncertainty; Growth and Development Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Profit; Information Industry

Find at Harvard

08 Nov 2016
First Look

November 8, 2016

Strategy By: Moldoveanu, Mihnea Abstract—I introduce algorithmic and meta-algorithmic models for the study of strategic problem solving, aimed at illuminating the processes and procedures by which strategic... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2008
Other Unpublished Work

Accounting, Risk Management and the Aftermath of a Control Debacle

By: Anette Mikes

Despite the widespread adoption of risk management systems in the financial services industry, recent control debacles highlight the apparent lack of top managerial attention to risk controls. Yet in order to understand the workings and uses of risk controls (or any... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Governance Controls; Management Systems; Accounting; Conflict and Resolution; Trends; Financial Services Industry

January 2024
Case

National Football League and Private 5G

By: Andy Wu, Grant Son and Shuoyo Chen

On September 9, 2021, the National Football League (NFL) designated Verizon as its official 5G partner in a 10-year deal, committed to enhance the experience for NFL teams, players, and fans in stadiums. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “Verizon will help us... View Details

Keywords: Football; National Football League; 5G; Verizon; Communication Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technology Adoption; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Sports Industry; Telecommunications Industry

April 1989 (Revised September 1989)
Case

CIBA-GEIGY AG: Impact of Inflation and Currency Fluctuations

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

The chairman of the second-largest Swiss multinational company is preparing for a board discussion on the impact of a constantly strengthening Swiss franc. The case raises strategic issues in terms of international competitiveness, financial reporting issues of how to... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Currency; Financial Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Switzerland

Web

Curriculum - MBA

confidentiality of clinical trial data, concerns about unjust research trials in low resource countries, and uncertainty about the value of genetic testing in drug development and study design will be explored. Pediatric Bioethics... View Details

17 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The Investment Strategies of Sovereign Wealth Funds

Keywords: by Shai Bernstein, Josh Lerner & Antoinette Schoar; Financial Services

January 1980 (Revised April 1994)
Case

New Balance Athletic Shoes

By: Kim B. Clark

Faced with growth exceeding 100% per year, James Davis, president of New Balance, must decide how to meet the need for additional capacity. Several factors contribute to a climate of extreme uncertainty. Several options are considered, ranging from a second shift to... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Strategy; Information; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Performance Capacity; Risk and Uncertainty; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Republic of Ireland

24 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 24, 2009

at Solvay's attempts to develop talent management and mobility processes that allow the firm to align its strategic needs with the complexities of its individual employees' needs and lives. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2019
Case

DeepMap: Charting the Road Ahead for Autonomous Vehicles

By: Shane Greenstein and Nicole Tempest Keller

Founded in 2016, DeepMap developed high definition (HD) mapping software and localization services for Level 4+ autonomous vehicles. Traditional navigational maps were accurate to a few meters, which was sufficient for drivers but not for machine-driven vehicles that... View Details

Keywords: Mapping Software; Autonomous Vehicles; Business Startups; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Technology Adoption; Service Delivery; Global Range; Resource Allocation; Strategic Planning; Technology Industry; Auto Industry

Article

Beyond Statistics: The Economic Content of Risk Scores

By: Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, Raymond Kluender and Paul Schrimpf

"Big data" and statistical techniques to score potential transactions have transformed insurance and credit markets. In this paper, we observe that these widely-used statistical scores summarize a much richer heterogeneity, and may be endogenous to the context in which... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Risk and Uncertainty; Insurance Industry