Publications

2011
Case

Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes: Transforming the Management Control System in Time of Crisis

By: Ning Jia, F. Warren McFarlan and Xiaohui Li

Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) that manufactures cast pipe products and steel products. The company had grown to become a dominant player in the ductile iron pipe industry, holding more than 40% domestic market share and nearly... View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Cost Centers; Manufacturing; Profit Centers; China

February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

China: Building "Capitalism with Socialist Characteristics"

By: Debora L. Spar

Describes China's phenomenal development from a poor, communist country to a global powerhouse. Provides background on China's history and culture, details the reforms launched in 1978 by Seng Xiaoping, and describes the situation as of 2006, focusing on the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Government and Politics; China

24 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

What’s Government’s Role in Regulating Home Purchase Financing?

proposals, which would include the wind down of two government sponsored enterprises—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Between them they generated more than half of all US mortgage credit before failing in September 2008. According to a new paper from Harvard researchers,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

June 2013 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Estonia: Transition, EU Membership, and the Euro

By: Michael E. Porter, Christian Ketels and Örjan Sölvell

The case discusses the economic development of Estonia, covering specifically the period from regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 until 2015. It tracks the process from the initial transition towards a market economy to becoming an EU member country,... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Macroeconomics; Microeconomics; Policy; Government and Politics; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Estonia

February 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Chile: The Conundrum of Inequality

By: Bruce R. Scott and Jessica Leight

Following the violent overthrow of the Allende regime, Chile embarked on economic reforms that emphasized free markets. These reforms were followed by rising inequality as well as growth. In 2005, business leaders speak out on the necessity of reducing the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Systems; Equality and Inequality; Government and Politics; Markets; Chile

April 2002 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Transformation of Seattle Public Schools, 1995-2002

Investigates the reform of the Seattle Public Schools from 1995 to 2002. To initiate reform in 1995, the district hired John Stanford, an Army general, and Joseph Olchefske, an investment banker, as the district's superintendent and chief financial officer,... View Details

Keywords: Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Organizational Structure; Education; Business Strategy; Public Administration Industry; Education Industry; Seattle

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March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

China: To Float or Not To Float? (D)- Bank of America's Strategic Investment in China Construction Bank

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

With its $3 billion investment in Chinese state bank China Construction Bank, Bank of America--the second U.S. bank behind Citigroup in terms of assets and market capitalization--was one of several foreign banks directly participating in China's banking sector reform.... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Banks and Banking; Foreign Direct Investment; International Relations; Banking Industry; China; United States

Research Summary

Capital Flows and Capital Goods (joint with Eliza Hammel)

By: Laura Alfaro

We examine one of the channels through which financial integration can help promote growth. In particular, we study the effects of capital account liberalization on the imports of capital goods. We pay particular attention to the effects of equity market... View Details

18 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

How Disruptive Innovation Changes Education

have made the market difficult to penetrate and lasting reform hard to come by. That said, our lenses show how any organization can innovate successfully, and the forces at work in schools and districts are... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

15 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Solving the Health Care Conundrum

possible, why previous efforts to reform the system have not worked, and what to do about it. 2. The root cause of these problems is that the competition taking place has been the wrong kind. The major actors in health care—providers,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter; Health

April 2010 (Revised May 2013)
Case

Mexico: Crisis and Competitiveness

By: Aldo Musacchio, Richard H.K. Vietor and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

In 2010, the bicentennial anniversary of Mexico's revolution against Spain, President Felipe Calderon hoped he could orchestrate several crucial reforms that Mexico needed. Mexico had not grown much over the course of the last decade, losing competitiveness to China... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Mexico

06 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Expensing Options Doesn’t Solve the Problem

WorldCom or Adelphia. The failures at those companies were more likely caused by a combination of fraud committed by individuals, inadequate control and governance systems that tolerated clear conflicts of interest, and a frothy market in... View Details

Keywords: by William Sahlman

December 2013
Article

Land Politics and Local State Capacities: The Political Economy of Urban Change in China

By: Meg Rithmire

Despite common national institutions and incentives to remake urban landscapes to anchor growth, generate land-lease revenues, and display a capacious administration, Chinese urban governments exhibit varying levels of control over land. This article uses a paired... View Details

Keywords: China; Land Politics; Urban Planning; Local Government; Northeast China; Property Rights; Urban Development; Property; Government and Politics; China

2010
Article

Has the Shift to Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Promoted Technology Transfer, FDI, and Industrial Development?

By: Lee Branstetter, C. Fritz Foley and Kamal Saggi

This article reviews recent research conducted by the authors that finds that intellectual property rights reform increases technology transfers, foreign direct investment inflows, and industrial development. It also places the findings of this work in the broader... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Rights; Information Technology; Body of Literature; Foreign Direct Investment; Industry Growth

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03 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 3

either by targeting distribution to high-use households (a screening effect), or by stimulating use psychologically through a sunk-cost effect. We develop a methodology for separating these two effects. We implement the methodology in a field experiment in Zambia using... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

OAO YUKOS Oil Company

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Joshua N. Rosenbaum

This case presents the history and current position of Russia's second-largest oil company, YUKOS, as it seeks listing on the NYSE as an ADR and attempts to rid itself from a punishing "governance discount" by the capital markets. This is a company with a history of... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Capital Markets; Corporate Governance; Developing Countries and Economies; Energy Sources; Energy Industry; Russia

18 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

The Bias of Wall Street Analysts

analysts perform is assessing the need for external financing to fund operations. Thus, analysts are already intimately aware of what financing needs a company is likely to have. Accordingly, in periods leading up to a need to go to View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

January 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

ByteDance: TikTok and the Trials of Going Viral

By: William C. Kirby and John P. McHugh

In 2020, TikTok became the most valuable start-up ever. The short-form, video-sharing social media platform emerged as the crown jewel of the Chinese technology firm ByteDance, realizing 850 million monthly users and an estimated worth of $180 billion. However, a... View Details

October 2002 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Welfare State and its Impact on Business Competitiveness, The: Sweden Inc. for Sale?

By: Huw Pill, Petter Johnsson, Ola Nordquist and Ingrid Vogel

The Swedish Model--sometimes presented as a third way between savage capitalism and unrealistic socialism--was much lauded in the 1960s. It was viewed as a strategy that addressed social concerns while supporting economic growth. However, the financial and currency... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Welfare; Government and Politics; Taxation; Competition; Public Administration Industry; Sweden