Publications

Apr 25 2018
Testimonial

Clarifying Governance Responsibilities

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Governance of the Business Family

By: John A. Davis

Explains the purposes, processes, standards, plans, and agreements that together help to govern (or steer) a family that owns a family business. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Family Ownership

Educators

2025
Working Paper

The Invention of Corporate Governance

By: Yueran Ma and Andrei Shleifer

The analysis of corporate governance begins with a central feature of modern capitalism—the separation of ownership and control in large corporations—first empirically documented by Berle and Means (1932). Such separation entails several agency problems reflecting... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Law; Business and Shareholder Relations

Register to Read

October 1980 (Revised April 1981)
Background Note

Note on Government Contracting and Methods of Government Procurement

By: J. Ronald Fox

Keywords: Contracts; Business and Government Relations

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Fundamentals of Family Business System Governance

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the purposes and ingredients in the governance (or steering) of a family business system. Explores at a high level the governance of the family business, its owners, and the family. Focuses on how these governance structures, processes, plans, and agreements... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Family Ownership

Educators

September 1988 (Revised April 1989)
Case

Government Services Co.

26 Nov 2010
News

Pricing Corporate Governance

10 Feb 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Government Preferences and SEC Enforcement

Keywords: by Jonas Heese

15 Apr 2010
News

European Corporate Governance Institute Fellow

19 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior

A tiny nudge can motivate big change. (Source: dziewul) Most governments aren’t subtle when they want citizens to do something. The United States spends close to $1 billion annually on advertising--trying to convince citizens to do... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 2024
Module Note

Governance for Non-Profit Social Enterprises

By: Brian Trelstad, Gerald Chertavian and Alexis Lefort

An overview of the various roles a non-profit board of directors plays, including the board’s principal responsibilities and how those evolve as organizations grow and scale. Looks closely at the overall role in setting the mission of the organization; supervising and... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; United States

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Governance of the Family Business Owners

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the principal ways in which the owners of a family business achieve their governance objectives of a suitable identity and sensible direction and the discipline to achieve these. Covers the responsibilities and rights of owners, plus governance procedures,... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Goals and Objectives; Family Ownership

Educators

28 Jul 2021
News

Governance Reform and Shared Value

28 Aug 2012
HBS Seminar

FGI Roundtable: Innovation in Government - Creating adaptive government

25 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Adjusting the Fit for Government

The role of government in Africa must be to establish an "investor friendly" environment, according to Obiageli Ezekwesili, a panelist at the Africa Business Conference's debate on "Government and the Enabling... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

10 Jun 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Governance and Internal Capital Markets

Keywords: by Zacharias Sautner & Belén Villalonga

19 Jul 2017
News

Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior

2014
Article

The Governance of Social Enterprises: Mission Drift and Accountability Challenges in Hybrid Organizations

By: Alnoor Ebrahim, Julie Battilana and Johanna Mair

We examine the challenges of governance facing organizations that pursue a social mission through the use of market mechanisms. These hybrid organizations, often referred to as social enterprises, combine aspects of both charity and business at their core. In this... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Hybrid Organizations; Nonprofit; Performance Measurement; Legal Form; Agency Theory; Stakeholder Management; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Accountability