Publications

16 Sep 2015
Op-Ed

The Real Duty of the Board of Directors

We routinely hear board directors, CEOs, and CFOs of publicly-listed corporations refer to shareholders as owners of the corporation. Under this thinking, it is natural to conclude that the board’s duty is to its shareholders. Contrary to... View Details

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles & Tim Youmans

Peter Tufano

Peter Tufano is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and Senior Advisor to the Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability. From 2011 to 2021, he served as the Peter Moores Dean at View Details

2009
Book

The Concept of Capitalism

By: Bruce R. Scott

This monograph on the concept of capitalism is the intellectual core of a larger work, entitled Capitalism, Its Origins and Evolution as a System of Governance, due for publication November 2009. The purpose of this monograph is to put forth an original concept of... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Framework; Governance; History; System; Theory

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January 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (A)

In May 2005, JP Rangaswami, the chief information officer at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), wonders how to extend the bank's use of blogs. Corporations are now increasingly using these tools to diffuse news, opinions, and knowledge and improve... View Details

Keywords: Blogs; Information Technology; Performance Productivity; Governance Compliance; Investment Banking; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

2013
Working Paper

Overcoming Organizational Barriers to Waste Heat Recovery

By: Chonnikarn Fern Jira and Deishin Lee

Waste heat recovery is a proven technology for improving energy efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of energy-intensive manufacturing firms. However, evidence suggests that opportunities for recovering waste heat are untapped. By showing how the process... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Energy; Capital Budgeting; Waste Heat Recovery; Manufacturing; Energy Industry; Manufacturing Industry

November 1999
Background Note

Operating Segment Disclosures

By: David F. Hawkins

Discusses the accounting rules that govern operating segment disclosure. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Operations

2011
Chapter

The Economics of Housing Finance Reform

By: David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

This paper analyzes the two leading types of proposals for reform of the housing finance system: (i) broad-based, explicit, priced government guarantees of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and (ii) privatization. Both proposals have drawbacks. Properly-priced... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Housing; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics

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June 2023 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Lima, Peru

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Max Hancock

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Peru. It highlights Peru's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Mining Industry; Peru; Latin America

September 2016
Case

Partners Group: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Ricardo Andrade

Partners Group (PG), a Swiss-based PE manager, initiated a series of strategic shifts and evolved from a predominately fund-of-funds manager into a large, multi-asset class PE firm focused on direct investments. PG was the first PE firm to go public in 2006. A number... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Management Practices and Processes; Entrepreneurship

Ranjay Gulati is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration and the former Unit Head of the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. His pathbreaking research, which focuses on unlocking organizational and unleashing... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; computer; financial services; industrial goods; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; professional services; retailing

03 Apr 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Clear and Present Danger: Planning and New Venture Survival Amid Political and Civil Violence

Keywords: by Shon Hiatt & Wesley Sine

2012
Working Paper

The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization

By: Karthik Ramanna

The globalization of accounting standards as seen through the proliferation of IFRS worldwide is one of the most important developments in corporate governance over the last decade. I offer an analysis of some international political dynamics of countries' IFRS... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Standards; Globalization; IASB; IFRS; Politics; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Global Strategy; Corporate Governance; Policy; Government and Politics; Standards; China; India; Canada

SSRN

March 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Whose Money Is It Anyway? (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Richard G. Hamermesh and Rachel Gordon

The Brigham and Women's Physician's Organization (BWPO) and its corporate parent disagree over who has jurisdiction over significant legacy funds. Are they controlled by the BWPO or do they belong to BWPO's corporate parent? The BWPO and its corporate parent must... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Investment Funds; Governance Controls; Agreements and Arrangements; Boundaries; Health Industry

May 2009
Article

Synchronicity and Firm Interlocks in an Emerging Market

By: Tarun Khanna and Catherine Thomas

Stock price synchronicity has been attributed to poor corporate governance and a lack of firm-level transparency. This paper investigates the association between different kinds of firm interlocks, control groups, and synchronicity in Chile. A unique data set... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Price; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Resource Allocation; Emerging Markets; Ownership Stake; Chile

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21 Sep 2017
HBS Seminar

Nicholas Argyres, Washington University in St Louis

26 May 2020
News

US And China Spare Over Coronavirus

April 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Risk Management at Apache

After initiating a hedging strategy, Apache Corp. is interested in revisiting its decision to determine if hedging is value-adding. This case investigates how the company initially decided to hedge against commodity price risk and how it implemented its hedging... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Investment; Corporate Finance