Publications

2012
Working Paper

No News Is Good News: CSR Strategy and Newspaper Coverage of Negative Firm Events

By: Jiao Luo, Stephan Meier and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

One of the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, it has been argued, is that they build up a reservoir of public good will, shielding companies in times of trouble. In this paper, we test the view that CSR provides protection from public ire by... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Crisis Management; Media; Newspapers; Business and Community Relations; Corporate Strategy

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18 Oct 2016
Op-Ed

Why Business Should Invest in Community Health

more pressing crisis management activities. Local sales organizations, which are often tasked with local-level implementation of community health activities, prioritize product sales, supply, and... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch, Howard Koh, and Pamela Yatsko; Health

June 2001
Case

Cerner Corporation (A)

By: D. Quinn Mills and Matt Salloway

The CEO thinks people are not working long enough hours. He sends a memo. This series describes the backlash. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Style; Leadership Style; Nonverbal Communication; Employees; Organizational Culture; Health Industry

10 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 10

FarriHarvard Business School Case 310-090 In late January 2009, Thomas Fekete, managing director at Barclays Wealth in London, redeemed the most illiquid positions in the so-called Wealth Absolute Return Fund (WAR), one of Barclays... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Jun 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: A Startup Takes On the Credit Ratings Giants

intelligence firm for nearly $2 billion, he remained active in venture capital, start-ups and charity work. In 2009 he founded the risk management consulting firm K2 Global Consulting with his eldest son. That was also the year he asked... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Banking; Financial Services

March 2011
Supplement

Padraig O'Ceidigh and Aer Arann: Building a Business in the Context of a Life - What Happened

By: Janet J. Kraus and Shirley Spence

Provides an epilogue to the problem posed in the companion case: what to do in the face of potential liquidation? View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Crisis Management; Air Transportation; Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Success; Decision Making; Air Transportation Industry; Republic of Ireland

November 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Loewen Group Inc., The

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jose Camacho

A publiclytraded funeral home and cemetery consolidator faces imminent financial distress. The company has aggressively grown through use of debt. Restructuring the debt is potentially very costly to creditors, shareholders, suppliers, and other corporate stakeholders.... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Restructuring; Capital Structure; Cost of Capital; Debt Securities; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Crisis Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Service Industry

19 Oct 2010
First Look

First Look: October 19, 2010

oriented venture? Continue to operate and expand the company? Expand to other neighboring countries? Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/310041-PDF-ENG JP Morgan Private Bank: Risk Management during the Financial... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2018
Case

Zenefits Board of Directors (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

In early 2018, the time seemed right for Zenefits investor and director Lars Dalgaard to reflect on whether Zenefits had the right board of directors to shepherd the company through its next stages of growth. For the company whose name combined the words “benefits,”... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business Model; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Leadership; Risk Management; Venture Capital; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States; California

October 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Case

SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST (A)

By: Frank Nagle, George A. Riedel, William R. Kerr and David Lane

On December 12, 2020, SolarWinds learned that malware had been inserted in its software, potentially granting hackers access to thousands and thousands of its 300,000 customers. General Counsel Jason Bliss needed to orchestrate the company response without knowing how... View Details

Keywords: Cyberattacks; Cybersecurity; Corporate Disclosure; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Legal Liability; Information Technology Industry; United States

March 2018 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Gene Lee Navigates the Darden Takeover

By: Joshua D. Margolis, H. Lawrence Culp, James Barnett and Aldo Sesia

Following a full takeover of Darden Restaurant’s Board of Directors, Darden COO Gene Lee is weighing an offer to become interim CEO. View Details

Keywords: Shareholder Activism; Investment Activism; Crisis Management; Personal Development and Career; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

November 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

eDonkey--Deciding the Future of File Sharing

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Sam Yagan, CEO of the upstart MetaMachine, Inc., received a letter from the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA) asking him to shut down eDonkey, MetaMachine's popular file-sharing system. In September 2005, more than 30 million users relied on... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Crisis Management; Music Entertainment; Legal Liability; Copyright; Information Technology Industry; Music Industry; United States

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13 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Global Investments Are Still a Good Bet

sectors that are booming. However, as markets in different countries have increasingly moved in tandem or correlated, from 50 or 60 percent in the 1990s to more than 90 percent after the financial crisis of 2008, that strategy has seemed... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

March 2011
Case

Padraig O'Ceidigh and Aer Arann: Building a Business in the Context of a Life

By: Janet J. Kraus and Shirley Spence

In April 2010, the eruption of a volcano wreaked havoc in the airline industry and placed Aer Arann on the bring of liquidation. For founder, sole owner and chairman Padraig O'Ceidigh, the airline has been a personal as well as business passion. The case provides a... View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Crisis Management; Air Transportation; Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Success; Decision Making; Air Transportation Industry; Republic of Ireland

December 1999 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Avon Products China (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jennifer Gui

In April 1998, when the Chinese central government bans all forms of direct selling in China in April 1998, executives at Avon China must decide how to respond. The first direct sales company to enter China after its opening to outsiders, Avon sparked widespread... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Sales; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Government and Politics; Market Participation; China

May 1996 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Enron Development Corporation: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B)

By: Krishna G. Palepu, V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarayu Srinivasan

A new administration/government takes power in a state in India and cancels a power project agreed upon/created by the previous state government and an American-based energy company. The project cancellation is based on allegations of irregularities, exorbitant costs,... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Conflict Management; Energy Industry; India; United States

June 2010
Teaching Note

Australia: The Riches and Challenges of Commodities (TN)

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

Teaching Note for 709007. View Details

Keywords: Futures and Commodity Futures; Financial Crisis; Demand and Consumers; Trade; Natural Environment; Business and Government Relations; Policy; Growth and Development Strategy; Australia

March 2018
Teaching Note

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (A) and (B)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines the ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must determine how to... View Details