Publications

01 Sep 2015
First Look

First Look -- September 1, 2015

framework for obtaining reliable proxies of expected returns worldwide. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49238 Through the Grapevine: Network Effects on the Design of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1992 (Revised August 2004)
Supplement

Martin Marietta: Managing Corporate Ethics (C-1)

By: Lynn S. Paine

The division human resources officer must decide whether an older employee should be disciplined for misusing company time and for improperly filling out time cards for his work on government contracts. Intended to focus on the various factors relevant to disciplining... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Human Resources; Contracts; Management; Situation or Environment

March 2012 (Revised July 2018)
Case

V-Cola: General Instructions

By: Ian Larkin and Hal Movius

V-Cola is a six-party exercise that simulates a negotiation between a boutique advertising agency and a beverage company that is launching a new product. Each of the six parties has different incentives and information, which leads to a complex, realistic simulation... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Contracts; Information; Motivation and Incentives; Advertising Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2001
Case

Healthcare Brands Corporation

By: David F. Hawkins

A U.K. and a U.S. firm are entering into a merger agreement. Management must decide whether the merged companies should be domiciled in the United Kingdom and account for the merger as a pooling of interests or the United States and account for the merger as a... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Contracts; Health Industry; United Kingdom; United States

2010
Working Paper

Agency Revisited

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Daniel F. Spulber

The article presents a comprehensive overview of the principal-agent model that emphasizes the role of trust in the agency relationship. The analysis demonstrates that the legal remedy for breach of duty can result in a full-information efficient outcome eliminating... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Contracts; Agency Theory; Mathematical Methods; Behavior; Trust

Read Now

January 2021
Article

Chain Stability in Trading Networks

By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers, Alexandru Nichifor, Michael Ostrovsky and Alexander Westkamp

We show that in general trading networks with bilateral contracts, a suitably adapted chain stability concept (Ostrovsky, 2008) is equivalent to stability (Hatfield and Kominers, 2012; Hatfield et al., 2013) if all agents' preferences are fully substitutable and... View Details

Keywords: Matching; Trading Networks; Chain Stability; Stability; Competitive Equilibria; Full Substitutability; Laws Of Aggregate Supply And Demand; Contracts; Market Design; Balance and Stability

Read Now

06 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: February 6, 2018

J. Marinich, and Michael D. Shields Abstract—This study examines the effect of psychological contract breach on budgetary misreporting. Psychological contracts are mental... View Details

01 Mar 2003
News

Trust Me

The old adage “get it in writing” may be sound advice, but if you are looking to build trust, you might want to think twice about signing a contract. Recent research by HBS assistant professor Deepak Malhotra and Keith Murnighan (of View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

21 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 21, 2010

Conflict: The Effects of Contract Structure Authors:Deepak Malhotra and Fabrice Lumineau Publication:Academy of Management Journal (in press) Abstract Leveraging a longitudinal dataset concerning 102... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Oct 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Venture Capital’s Disconnect with Clean Tech

of the DoE. "It's definitely speeding things up compared with where they would have been without it." Deals Declining The question is how effective those publicly funded investments will be in... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities; Financial Services

31 May 2016
First Look

May 31, 2016

Porteus Abstract—We extend the Clark–Scarf serial multi-echelon inventory model to include procuring production inputs under short-term take-or-pay contracts at one or more stages. In each period, each such... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2011
Background Note

Just an MOU or a Real Deal?

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Mary Beth Findlay

Notwithstanding the professed intention of a party to an MOU, a "preliminary" agreement can have binding effect. This note explores the circumstances under which MOUs may give rise to binding and enforceable agreements. View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Contracts; Legal Liability; Management; Risk Management

01 May 2006
Research & Ideas

What Companies Lose from Forced Disclosure

other research examines the design of performance measurement systems and incentive contracts for rewarding teams and channel partners. In short, this research explores the... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

09 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 9

Cases & Course Materials Harvard Business School Case 612-016 Lowell General Physician Hospital Organization This case focuses on the Alternative Quality Contract (AQC), a novel payment program... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2009
Background Note

Evaluating M&A Deals: Floors, Caps, and Collars

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

As equity consideration has become more popular in acquisitions, so has the use of the "pricing-protection" mechanisms, such as floors, caps, and collars. These contractual devices provide insurance to the shareholders of the target and may protect the buyer as well.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Equity; Price; Contracts; Business and Shareholder Relations

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

basis of systematic performance. Focusing on relative total shareholder returns (rTSR), the predominant metric specified in these contracts and used by market participants to evaluate managers, we document... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 1994 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Repligen Corporation: January 1992

By: Josh Lerner and David Kane

Sandford Smith, CEO of Repligen, faces the breakdown of negotiations about a proposed joint venture with a large pharmaceutical firm. He must decide whether to proceed using his firm's internal resources or whether to seek to revise the proposed collaboration. If the... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Decisions; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Value