Publications

2010
Chapter

Backlash to Arbitration: Three Causes

By: Louis T. Wells

There are at least three reasons for the current backlash among developing countries against the international regime that governs disputes between foreign investors and host governments. First is the inconsistency of the decisions rendered by arbitration panels... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; International Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Government Relations; Conflict Management

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2015
Working Paper

Collateral Shortages and Intermediation Networks

By: Marco Di Maggio and Alireza Tahbaz-Salehi

This paper argues that in the presence of trading frictions and agency problems, the interbank market may be overly fragile, in the sense that small changes in the liquidity of assets used as collateral may lead to large swings in haircuts and a potential credit... View Details

Keywords: Financial Intermediation; Financial Networks; Secured Lending; Collateral; Repo Runs; ABCP Collapse; Networks; Negotiation; Financing and Loans; Financial Crisis

February 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Teaching Note

Renegotiating NAFTA

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

On January 16, 2020, the Senate passed a landmark trade deal that would replace the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Until the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed, considerable debate had surrounded it. The new agreement... View Details

Keywords: NAFTA; Trade; Agreements and Arrangements; Policy; Cost vs Benefits; North America

December 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Common Agricultural Policy and the Future of French Farming

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull, Vincent Marie Dessain and Elena Corsi

Presents the history and evolution of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, from early price supports to the 2003 decision to "decouple" payments to European farmers. Explores the logic behind agricultural supports, with a focus on the economic, political, and cultural... View Details

Keywords: History; Agreements and Arrangements; Price; Policy; Trade; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France; European Union

11 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 11, 2009

margin can obscure the more subtle intensive margin effects of changes in financing constraints. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-010.pdf Insider Trading Preceding Goodwill Impairments Authors:Karl A. Muller III,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

gymnasiums, etc.)? How should they prioritize these items? Purchase the case: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207073 The Hong Kong & China Gas Company Ltd.: Negotiating Joint Ventures... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2012 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Gerry Pasciucco at AIG Financial Products

By: Gautam Mukunda and Thomas J. DeLong

Gerry Pasciucco was appointed to lead American International Group's Financial Products (AIGFP) group after the government bailout of AIG in 2008 and charged with the task of shutting down the division while minimizing the government's losses. AIGFP's failed trades had... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Crisis Management; Financial Crisis; Management Teams; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; United States

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

respond to a revised proposal from two private equity firms to take the company private. In November of 2006, the Board had unanimously approved an offer of $37.60 per share after going through intense negotiations with numerous firms,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

band in 1927, and that the broadcasters themselves were divided at the FRC's hearings. Paper: http://www.tobinproject.org/sites/tobinproject.org/files/assets/Moss%20Lackow%20Capturing%20History%20%281.16.13%29.pdf What Roger Fisher Got Profoundly Right: Five Enduring... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2011
Working Paper

The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures

By: Thomas F. Hellmann and Noam Wasserman

This paper examines the division of founder shares in entrepreneurial ventures, focusing on the decision of whether or not to divide the shares equally among all founders. To motivate the empirical analysis we develop a simple theory of costly bargaining, where... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Equity; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Deal; Ownership Stake; Value

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March 1990 (Revised October 1994)
Case

IBM-Fujitsu Dispute

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Describes a dispute between IBM and Fujitsu over allegations that Fujitsu stole proprietary IBM software for controlling mainframe computers. Also describes a novel arbitration agreement intended to resolve the dispute, an overview of intellectual property law in the... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Ethics; Intellectual Property; Law; Negotiation Process; Relationships; Software; Information Technology Industry

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September 2019
Case

Celgene: Business Development and Distributed Research

By: Peter Barrett and Kareem Reda

This case looks at the deal-making process between Celgene, a large publicly traded pharmaceutical company, and Agios, an early-stage biotech company. The framework of a potential deal is explored and the potential road-blocks to Agios’ profitability are discussed. ... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Alliances; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Research; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry

June 2001 (Revised September 2010)
Exercise

Deal-crafting Toolkit

By: Michael A. Wheeler

Illustrates the potential sources of value creation as well as practical barriers to its achievement. Students analyze five brief scenarios that would yield efficient trades over valuation, discount rates, expectations, and risk tolerance, but that might be thwarted by... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Process; Behavior; Valuation; Value Creation

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26 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 26

company, visited Cuba in the early 1990s to negotiate a deal to export nickel for its Canadian refineries. The case describes the difficulties of doing business in Cuba and the challenges Delaney overcame to turn Sherritt into a large... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 26

facilitating social comparison among agents. Overall, the findings demonstrate the power of non-financial rewards to motivate agents in settings where there are limits to the use of financial incentives. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-008.pdf... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2012
Working Paper

The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures

By: Thomas F. Hellmann and Noam Wasserman

This paper examines the division of founder shares in entrepreneurial ventures, focusing on the decision of whether or not to divide the shares equally among all founders. To motivate the empirical analysis we develop a simple theory of costly bargaining, where... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Equity

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March 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Eliot Spitzer: Pushing Wall Street to Reform

By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer faced a decision about how to stop wrongdoing committed by major Wall Street firms during the Internet boom. The equities analysts of Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street firms were charged with objectively advising retail... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decisions; Financial Institutions; Stocks; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Laws and Statutes; Lawsuits and Litigation; Conflict of Interests; Internet; Financial Services Industry; United States