Publications

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October 2002 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Starbucks and Conservation International

By: James E. Austin and Cate Reavis

Starbucks, the world's leading specialty coffee company, developed a strategic alliance with Conservation International, a major international environmental nonprofit organization. The purpose of the alliance was to promote coffee-growing practices of small farms that... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Production; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Cooperative Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Alliances; Nonprofit Organizations; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

January 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Portugal: Can Socialism Survive?

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason

Portugal was not ready to join the European Monetary Union in 1999. With strong unions, weak competitiveness, and a legacy of socialism, it could not compete with north-European countries. After borrowing extensively to fund deficits, Portugal went into debt crisis in... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Financial Crisis; Economic Systems; Portugal

11 May 2012
News

Charlotte's competitive muscle

04 Dec 2014
News

Can we manage?

10 Dec 2020
News

CEO turnover hit lowest level in years as boards sought stability during COVID's early days

May 2010 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Bank of America Acquires Merrill Lynch (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Charles E. Beresford

On December 22, 2008, Bank of America (BofA) chairman and CEO Ken Lewis convened a special board of directors meeting to review his company's pending acquisition of investment bank Merrill Lynch. Negotiations for the acquisition had begun a few months earlier, during... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Corporate Governance; Government Legislation; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry

December 2001 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Argentina's Convertibility Plan

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

Describes the political and economic development in Argentina from 1989 to 1995, with a focus on the role of the currency board. Culminates in Argentine policy makers (Menem in particular) contemplating how to respond to the tequila crisis in the middle of 1995.... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Government and Politics; Interest Rates; Balance and Stability; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Crisis; Crisis Management; Policy; Currency; Macroeconomics; Argentina

January 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Ben Bernanke: Person of the Year?

By: Lakshmi Iyer and Matthew C. Weinzierl

In response to the economic and financial crisis of 2008–2009, the Federal Reserve greatly expanded the scale and scope of its activities. Though lauded by many experts for its actions, the Fed and its chairman, Ben Bernanke, faced harsh criticism from some public... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Central Banking; Governance Controls; Policy; Crisis Management; Power and Influence; Public Administration Industry; United States

2013
Chapter

The Most Successful CEOs Come from Within

By: Joseph L. Bower

The financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession caused a crisis of public confidence in business and American-style capitalism, with its focus on maximizing shareholder value. Corporate leaders understood that reform was needed and that they needed to commit... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Business and Community Relations; Management Teams

May 1, 2020
Article

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Danielle Kost

The coronavirus pandemic caught the business world by surprise, but the catastrophe might force companies to face a crisis that has been unfolding in plain sight: climate change.
We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability

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December 2019
Case

The Business of Pain: Johnson & Johnson and the Promise of Opioids

By: Erik Snowberg, Trevor Fetter and Amy W. Schulman

This case is designed to provide an engrossing overview of stakeholder capitalism through a vigorous discussion of the conflicts that can arise when trying to serve multiple stakeholders. In 2007, Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) subsidiary Janssen has to decide whether or... View Details

Keywords: Opioids; Addiction; Stakeholder Capitalism; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Product Launch; Decision Making; Ethics; Social Issues; Pharmaceutical Industry

Article

Get Ready to Sell

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Bud Hyler

Time-to-market measures the time to have a product ready to ship. But that’s not revenue and cash. Many firms with superb R&D functions lack an understanding of what’s needed to be ready-to-sell. Meanwhile, relevant tools are increasing in scope and decreasing in cost.... View Details

Keywords: Ready-to-sell; Sales; Health Pandemics; Performance Effectiveness