Publications

June 2011 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Gene Patents (A)

By: Richard Hamermesh, David Kiron and Phillip Andrews

In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our increasing knowledge of the Human Genome. The case issues... View Details

Keywords: Courts and Trials; Patents; Genetics; Judgments; Science-Based Business; Biotechnology Industry; United States

21 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 21, 2015

Publications In press Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift-giving: Mis-predicting Appreciation of Socially-responsible Gifts By: Cavanaugh, A., F. Gino, and G.J. Fitzsimons Abstract—Gifts... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2010 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Bardhaman (A): Shrachi and the West Bengal Housing Board

By: John D. Macomber and Viraal Balsari

A real estate developer decides whether to enter into a public private partnership with the government of West Bengal to develop a township on farmland. The decisions include whether to expand operations from the company's base in Kolkata to Bardhaman, 100 km away;... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Decisions; Private Equity; Design; Housing; Infrastructure; Projects; Real Estate Industry; West Bengal

Web

Curriculum - MBA

modifications? What are ways companies can tackle orphan diseases that affect a small number of patients? Summer Students are free to pursue an internship of their choosing during the summer between years of the programs. Internships could be in a variety of fields... View Details

Samuel L. Hayes

Samuel L. Hayes holds the Jacob H. Schiff Chair in Investment Banking Emeritus, at the Harvard Business School. He has taught at the School since 1970, prior to which he was a tenured member of the faculty of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He... View Details

September 1992 (Revised March 1993)
Case

Empresas ICA and the Mexican Road Privatization Program

By: Willis M. Emmons III and Monica Brand

Mexico's largest construction company, Empresas ICA, makes an initial public offering to international equity investors in April 1992 to help fund its participation in an ambitious new private-sector approach to highway development. Under the new program, launched by... View Details

Keywords: Construction; Transportation Networks; Infrastructure; Privatization; Private Equity; Investment; Initial Public Offering; Private Sector; Government and Politics; Policy; Construction Industry; Mexico

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31 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Climate Change Puts Heat on GMs

provide an innovative, positive story for the public and cost $6.4 to $8.6 million; and a 100 percent reduction would cost $9.1 to $11.3 million and match industry leader HSBC. According to Oberholzer-Gee,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

2015
Working Paper

Build It, Buy It or Both? Rethinking the Sourcing of Advertising Services

By: Alvin J. Silk and Marta M. Stiglin

This paper provides an update on the current state of in-house agencies. Whereas traditional consideration of internalizing advertising services was framed as a binary choice of build or buy, today's advertisers frequently pursue hybrid policies of build and buy to... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Advertising

SSRN

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2018
Chapter

Between Economic Planning and Market Competition: International Law and Economics in the U.S.

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

The impact of institutional economics in shaping the American regulatory tradition has largely been dismissed as an incoherent attack on the neoclassical economic paradigm. This essay briefly reconstructs the interwar institutionalist movement, exploring the... View Details

Keywords: Economics; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; United States

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February 1992 (Revised September 2019)
Case

The House of Tata

By: James E. Austin and Ashish Nanda

The case traces the evolution of the Tata group, one of the largest and highly respected Indian business houses, from its 19th century founding and early growth in diverse industries, to its response to changes in government regulation in independent India, up to its... View Details

Keywords: Indian Economy; International Business; Government And Business; Government Regulation; Synergy; Conglomerates; Business Conglomerates; Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations; Business History; Steel Industry; Steel Industry; Steel Industry; Steel Industry; Steel Industry; India

Sandra Sucher, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, is an internationally recognized trust researcher. The Power of Trust, her third book, is based on two decades of global research on how companies build stakeholder trust and how,... View Details

Keywords: service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry

2013
Working Paper

Improving Store Liquidation

By: Nathan Craig and Ananth Raman

Store liquidation is the time-constrained divestment of retail outlets through an in-store sale of inventory. The retail industry depends extensively on store liquidation, not only as a means for investors to recover capital from failed ventures, but also to allow... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Financial Condition; Operations; Retail Industry

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January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rural Taobao: Alibaba's Expansion into Rural E-Commerce

By: Tarun Khanna, Ryan Allen, Adam Frost and Wesley Koo

Alibaba's Rural Taobao initiative had been launched in 2014 as a public service initiative to increase e-commerce adoption in China’s remote rural areas. In the first two iterations of the initiative, dubbed “1.0” and “2.0,” Alibaba had partnered with local businesses... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Growth; Ecommerce; Corporate Social Responsibility; Business And Government; Emerging Market; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Emerging Markets; Rural Scope; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Decision Making; E-commerce; China

November 1981
Case

Questionable Payments Abroad: Gulf in Italy

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Gulf Oil in Italy was confronted by the need to increase the authorized capacity at a refinery in the face of substantial opposition. Raises the issue of their use of "facilitating gratuities" to minor officials, payments to influence news reports, and the employment... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Italy

October 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

H.J. Heinz Co.: The Administration of Policy (A)

Relates the April 1979 discovery of improper income transferal practices used at the H.J. Heinz Co. Background data on the company is presented, along with a detailed description of the organizational practices, the management incentive system, and the corporate... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business Processes; Compensation and Benefits; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

September 1983 (Revised December 1988)
Case

Cleveland Twist Drill (A)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Deals with the problems of implementing strategy in a declining industry and the negotiation of strategy with external constituencies, particularly labor unions. Traces Jim Bartlett's first nine months as president and asks for a plan of action. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Style; Negotiation Tactics; Labor and Management Relations; Corporate Strategy

December 1997 (Revised December 1998)
Case

ArthroCare

A young company in the medical devices area, ArthroCare, has been public for six months, and its stock--after initially performing very well--is now dropping. At the same time, the company is confronted with several tactical decisions that could impact near-term... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Decisions; Equity; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry