Publications

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15 Jul 2015
News

Greece bailout includes a €50 billion asset fund. Here’s how to avoid wasting it

March 2010 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Sheila Mason & Craig Shepherd (Abridged)

The case describes two individuals who have met and are in the process of starting a company together. Each is still at his/her former employer, and each has signed a different employment agreement that, on paper, may prohibit some of the contemplated acts—i.e.,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Resignation and Termination; Intellectual Property; Law; Agreements and Arrangements

February 2022
Supplement

SpartanNash Company: The Amazon Warrants (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, E. Scott Mayfield and Daniel Fisher

As of 12/31/21, Amazon held $22 billion of equity and warrants in related companies. In fact, it often requests a free grant of warrants when it enters into a new commercial agreement with a supplier. Over the past 20 years, Amazon has gotten warrants almost 20... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Value Creation; Consumer Behavior; Negotiation; Distribution; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Equity; Distribution Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

May 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

World Trade Organization, The: After the Seattle Protests

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met in Seattle to plan the next round of trade negotiations, only to face protestors and fail to reach agreement on an agenda. This case discusses the evolution of the WTO, its rules, and some of the controversy... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agreements and Arrangements; Failure; Northwestern United States

Scott Kirsner profiles the sequence of events that led to my undertaking research on noncompete agreements (with Lee Fleming and Deborah Strumsky). He also discusses the "chilling effect" of noncompetes based on discussions with local labor lawyers. View Details

2007
Case

Continuous Process Improvement at Deere & Company

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

After decades of tense relationships with the United Auto Workers, Deere & Company broke through with a landmark agreement that built an expectation of continuous improvement into the compensation plan. The company then built a set of management forums and processes to... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Machinery and Machining; Agreements and Arrangements; Management Practices and Processes; Labor Unions; Compensation and Benefits; Auto Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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07 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Excerpt: ‘The Art of Negotiation’

book excerpt The Swing Of Things From Chapter 6, The Art of Negotiation: How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World By Michael Wheeler Paying heed is one aspect of improvising. Comping is another. Being provocative is a third. When... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael A. Wheeler

February 1974 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Bougainville Copper Ltd. (B)

Provides details of the mining agreement between Bougainville Copper and the government of Papua New Guinea; some historical, cultural, social, political, and economic information on Papua New Guinea; and historical and financial information on Bougainville Copper.... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Agreements and Arrangements; Mining; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; Oceania

20 Jun 2016
News

HBX Adds to Roster of Collaborating Colleges and Universities, Announces Over $1 Million in Institutional Need-based Scholarships Awarded for the HBX CORe Program

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

September 2015
Case

Hexion/Apollo's Courtship of Huntsman Corporation (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Danielle V. Holland

In July 2007, after several failed attempts to acquire Huntsman Corporation, Hexion/Apollo prevailed in a bidding war for the company and signed a definitive merger agreement. Apollo had down bid Huntsman during previous attempts to acquire the company, and Huntsman... View Details

Keywords: Fiduciary Outs; Topping Rights; Revlon Duties; Solvency Opinions; Reverse Termination Fees; Litigation Strategy; Law

Awards

Harold and Margaret Sprout Award

By: James K. Sebenius

Winner of the 1986 Harold and Margaret Sprout Prize presented by International Studies Association for Negotiating the Law of the Sea: Lessons in the Art and Science of Reaching Agreement (Harvard University Press, 1984). View Details

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Fundamentals of Family Business System Governance

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the purposes and ingredients in the governance (or steering) of a family business system. Explores at a high level the governance of the family business, its owners, and the family. Focuses on how these governance structures, processes, plans, and agreements... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Family Ownership

October 2016
Supplement

Airbnb in Amsterdam (B)

By: Mitchell Weiss, Emer Moloney and Vincent Dessain

In December 2014, Amsterdam and Airbnb announced an MOU to promote responsible home sharing and to simplify the payment of tourist tax for hosts in the city. It was the most comprehensive agreement that Airbnb had with any city in the world. Its final provision read,... View Details

June 2017
Article

The Surprising Effectiveness of Hostile Mediators

By: Ting Zhang, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton

Contrary to the tendency of mediators to defuse negative emotions between adversaries by treating them kindly, we demonstrate the surprising effectiveness of hostile mediators in resolving conflict. Hostile mediators generate greater willingness to reach agreements... View Details

Keywords: Mediation; Conflict; Negotiation; Hostility; Negotiation Style; Emotions; Conflict and Resolution

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28 Oct 2016
News

AT&T, Time Warner, and What Makes Vertical Mergers Succeed

Natalia Garbiras-Diaz

Natalia received her Ph.D. in Political Science in 2021 from the University of California, Berkeley, where she is currently a Research Associate at the Center on the Politics of Development. Prior to joining Harvard Business School, she was a Max Weber Fellow at... View Details

June 1999 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Basil "Buzz" Hargrove and de Havilland, Inc. (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Angela Keros

Buzz Hargrove, national president of the Canadian Auto Workers, needs to find a way to secure an agreement from a negotiated contract with de Havilland, Inc. Local union leaders feel the deal is not good enough, but Hargrove is convinced management will close the plant... View Details

Keywords: Media; Power and Influence; Negotiation Deal; Leadership; Agreements and Arrangements; Business Exit or Shutdown; Labor Unions; Negotiation Types; Management Teams; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Canada