Publications

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June 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Creating World-Class Board Governance at SECO

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Emer Moloney

In Spring 2023, SECO CEO Massimo Mauri had the ambition to grow the €200 million revenue technology company to a €1 billion company by 2030. Founded in Italy in the 1970s, the family-owned company had gone through a period of growth and internationalization,... View Details

January 2012 (Revised April 2015)
Case

India 2014: The Challenges of Governance

By: Lakshmi Iyer and Richard H. K. Vietor

In January 2012, the government of India faced significant challenges to achieving three key objectives of high growth, inclusive development, and improved governance. The economy was experiencing a growth slowdown, persistently high inflation, and infrastructure and... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges; Economic Growth; India

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is Government Just Stupid? How Bad Decisions Are Made

In "You Can't Enlarge the Pie," the authors argue that barriers to effective government decision making result in poor decisions about critical issues like the environment, organ transplants, and energy policy. Why? Because... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, Jonathan Baron & Katherine Shonk

August 2019 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Family Matters: Governance at the Zamil Group

By: Christina R. Wing, Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

This case focuses on a large Saudi Arabian industrial conglomerate and family business Zamil Group’s corporate and family governance journey. The 12 sons of the founder led and grew the group successfully after taking over from their father in 1961. The secret to their... View Details

Keywords: Middle East; Family Ownership; Family-owned Business; Saudi Arabia; Family Business; Governance; Organizational Structure; Values and Beliefs; Steel Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; Bahrain

10 Dec 2001
Research & Ideas

Governance in India and Around the Globe

Tarun Khanna and Krishna Palepu are engaged in an ongoing project focused on understanding the convergence (or lack thereof) of corporate governance practices worldwide. That is, rules-on-books regarding corporate View Details

Keywords: by Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu; Technology

August 2015
Article

A Comparative-Advantage Approach to Government Debt Maturity

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson and Jeremy C. Stein

We study optimal government debt maturity in a model where investors derive monetary services from holding riskless short-term securities. In a setting where the government is the only issuer of such riskless paper, it trades off the monetary premium associated with... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Debt Securities

Find at Harvard

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Research Summary

Capitalism as a System of Governance

My research interest is in further exploration of the analytic utility of an original conception of capitalism as an indirect, three level system of governance for the economic relationships within political entities, and mostly within nation states. This three level... View Details

Research Summary

Risk Management as a Function of Government

By: David A. Moss

Professor Moss's academic work in this area explores how and why governments manage private-sector risks. Based on historical and institutional research, he argues that risk management constitutes a critical function of government with far-reaching implications. ... View Details

Teaching Interest

Business, Government and the International Economy

By: Dante Roscini

Business, Government, and the International Economy (BGIE) is a course about the broad economic and political context in which business operates. Throughout their careers business leaders are asked to formulate and lead their firm's responses to the external... View Details

Keywords: International Economy; Macroeconomics; Political Economy

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

Obama-to move government data to the Web-lead to public benefits much faster? Data.gov, the subject of a new HBS case study, taught for the first time this summer, highlights the potential of raw data to spur citizen creativity and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

01 Aug 2007
Op-Ed

Company Town: Fixing Corrupt Governments

and graft means that citizens are cheated out of a fair government that operates efficiently and in the public interest. It's time to consider a radical idea: Corporations and nonprofit groups, in addition to individuals, should be... View Details

Keywords: by Eric Werker

March 2005 (Revised June 2005)
Background Note

Arbitration between Foreign Investors and Host Governments

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

Explains the emergence of international arbitration as an option for foreign investors with disputes with governments of emerging markets. Presents issues about whether arbitration will remain acceptable to countries and governments. View Details

Keywords: Conflict and Resolution; Foreign Direct Investment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Emerging Markets; Government and Politics

July 2005
Case

Family Governance at the Cousin Consortium Stage

By: John A. Davis and Courtney Sampson

Explains the governance system for the Eddy family, who own the Port Blakely Companies. Provides the viewer with an inside look at the running of the family council and family assembly meetings. Also provides a brief history and overview of the forestry and real estate... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Business History; Business or Company Management; Family Ownership

January 2022 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Steem Versus Hive: Testing Blockchain Governance

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

This case examines a pivotal governance conflict that occurred in 2020 when Justin Sun, founder of the TRON blockchain, acquired Steemit Inc., the company behind a popular social media platform operating on the Steem blockchain. Steem, launched in 2016 by Daniel... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Mergers and Acquisitions; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry