Publications

October 2009 (Revised April 2010)
Supplement

Societe Generale (B): The Jerome Kerviel Affair

By: Francois Brochet

This case illustrates the tension/balance that firms with complex and risky business models must consider in designing their internal controls. It describes the environment in which a derivatives trader engaged in massive directional positions on major European stocks... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Governance Controls; Crisis Management; Financial Services Industry

March 2006
Background Note

Strategic Compliance Management

Explains the construct of strategic compliance management (SCM) and asserts that managers and their firms can perform more effectively, that is, create or capture more value or better manage risk, when they comply with applicable laws, search for innovation... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Risk Management; Governance Compliance

March 2002 (Revised July 2004)
Case

RWE and the Proposal for a German Electricity Regulator

In April 2001, Dietmar Kuhnt, CEO of the German energy giant RWE, had to make a decision that would affect his company's future. Profits in the electricity sector depended heavily on regulatory rules that influenced industry structure and pricing. RWE had emerged... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Governance Compliance; Business Strategy; Energy Industry; Germany

22 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 22

fieldworkers and community members make strategic use of the cultural understandings, norms, and identities that govern family, gender, and caste relations to build new community-based networks that promote the rights of children. Yet... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2001
News

BOOK: Ruling the Waves

in their early stages, to threaten governmental control and authority. While aspects of its power may indeed be diminished, government inevitably survives these apparent challenges, Spar observes, because the state provides "the property... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

Portrait Project

Emily Slota

I was raised to speak truth to power. In fourth grade, I walked my first picket line. By eleventh grade, I had learned to filibuster government class until Mr. Michalski would agree to discuss international human trafficking. It was like... View Details

21 Sep 2015
News

Funding Progress Back Home

estimates indicate that global diaspora remittances amount to $550 billion a year. Homestrings investors choose from among funds or projects in Africa selected because they meet economic, social, and good governance objectives. Typical... View Details

17 Dec 2014
News

Facilitating an understanding of business and society in Turkey and the surrounding region

Turkey, government officials, and prominent business leaders, laying the foundation for future research. Çekin also develops connections between companies in Turkey and HBS’s FIELD (Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development)... View Details

Career Coach

Laurie Matthews

it all very human and worth your time. Besides her MBA, Laurie has a Master's in Education from Harvard's Graduate School of Education, and is a graduate of the Leadership Coaching Certificate program at Georgetown. Her BA in View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products; Entrepreneurship; Hospitality; Retail

January 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Lobbying for Love? Southwest Airlines and the Wright Amendment

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis A. Yao, Libby Cantrill and Patricia Wu

The fall of 2004 brought exciting news to Love Field, the Texas headquarters of Southwest Airlines. Delta Airlines, one of Southwest's main competitors, had announced that it would dramatically decrease service from the nearby Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Business and Government Relations; Opportunities; Competitive Advantage; Air Transportation Industry; Texas

2007
Working Paper

Accountability in Complex Organizations: World Bank Responses to Civil Society

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Steve Herz

Civil society actors have been pushing for greater accountability of the World Bank for at least three decades. This paper outlines the range of accountability mechanisms currently in place at the World Bank along four basic levels: (1) staff, (2) project, (3) policy,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Business and Community Relations; Social Enterprise; Motivation and Incentives

Read Now

February 2002
Case

Strategy of the Firm Under Regulatory Review: The Case of Chilectra

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Alexander Dyck

Discusses the largest electric distribution company in Chile and one of the five largest private Chilean companies. Introduces the exercise of operating control in order to improve the profitability of the investments, privatization, and international expansions. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Growth and Development Strategy; Privatization; Emerging Markets; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Global Strategy; Governance Compliance; Utilities Industry; Chile

17 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

The Reputation Risks of Sharing Fake News

As partisan vitriol flies in the final month before the US presidential election, a new study offers insight into the question of why people share political misinformation. Even when a news article would flatter their political party, people tend to expect that sharing... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

May 2016
Supplement

2016 Update: Argentina Turns the Page

By: David E. Bell, Forest Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

This brief case is a supplement to “Cresud and Argentina” (515-043) and “Note on Agriculture in Argentina” (515-069). Set in early 2016, it describes developments in Argentina under newly elected President Mauricio Macri, including the country’s return to international... View Details

July 2013
Case

Slicing Pie with a Razor: Ockham Technologies' Founding Agreement

By: Noam Wasserman and Yael Braid

Ockham Technologies' three founders are about to craft their founding agreement and split the equity among themselves. Uncertainty lingers over each member's future contributions, though—how is the team to devise a durable and effective split? Jim Triandiflou and Ken... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

February 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Stock Reform of Shenzhen Development Bank

By: Li Jin, Li Liao, Aldo Sesia and Jianyi Wu

Shenzhen Development Bank, China's first publicly traded company, was undergoing the non-tradable share reform. Its current controlling shareholder, private equity firm Newbridge Capital LLC, needs to negotiate with its diverse minority shareholders to find a... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Corporate Governance; Managerial Roles; Emerging Markets; Negotiation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Banking Industry; China

Article

Management Accounting and Control: Lessons for and from the World's Tiniest Businesses

By: Srikant M. Datar, Marc J. Epstein and Kristi Yuthas

The article discusses skills microentrepreneurs need to manage and expand their businesses. After interviewing hundreds of microfinance clients around the globe, the authors were able to identify five tools drawn from management accounting where improved knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Expansion; Business or Company Management; Microfinance; Cost Management; Risk Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Accounting; Opportunities

Find at Harvard

January 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Disaster in April: The Obligations of Kelly Construction

By: John D. Macomber, Christopher M. Gordon and Ben Creo

A construction company experiences a crane accident with multiple fatalities. The CEO, a client, and an employee must make choices to meet the company's obligations. Set in 2006, the case looks at the choices faced by board members of a museum that is an important... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Family Business; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Contracts; Crisis Management; Construction Industry

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Ockham Technologies: Living on the Razor's Edge

By: Noam T. Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry