Publications

May 2008
Supplement

Tribune Company, 2007 (CW)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

This case describes the proposed acquisition of Tribune Company by Sam Zell in 2007. Tribune Company is one of the largest newspapers and broadcasting companies in the United States. Zell's proposed acquisition is unusual in several respects. It is two-tiered, employs... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Credit; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Employees; Markets; Market Transactions; Negotiation Deal; Business and Shareholder Relations; Sales; Perspective; Journalism and News Industry; United States

January 2025
Case

Reimagining the Employee Experience at the LEGO Group

By: Amy Edmondson, Mark Mortensen and Elisabeth Powell

In 2024, the LEGO Group faced a decision about the future of LEGO’s Benefits Experience Strategy and the “Best of Both” remote/hybrid work policy. With over 28,500 employees spanning global hubs, retail stores, and manufacturing plants, LEGO leaders had to consider... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Employee Relationship Management; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Alignment; Compensation and Benefits; Europe

August 2019
Background Note

Note on Shared Ownership

By: Ethan Bernstein and Nick Rekenthaler

While several tactics can drive company performance by instilling a sense of shared ownership among employees, perhaps the most direct is to actually share ownership with employees. Many public and private companies across industries have done just that, and studies... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Human Resources; Employees; Human Capital; Ownership; Cooperative Ownership; Employee Ownership; Customer Ownership; Governance

24 Jul 2013
Op-Ed

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy: HBS Faculty Weigh In

Once the hub of American manufacturing, Detroit is in a long state of economic decline. The rubber finally hit the road last week, when the city filed for bankruptcy protection. The challenges ahead for those that call the Motor City home are daunting, from a... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber, Robert C. Pozen, Eric D. Werker & Benjamin Kennedy; Auto

18 Apr 2011
News

Capitalism Meets Conservation

compensate for carbon emitted elsewhere. Patagonia Sur partners with corporations, families, and academic institutions to offset all or a portion of their carbon footprint. HBS grads attending the 2011 Spring Reunion can purchase carbon... View Details

Keywords: Accommodation; Hospitality; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

15 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: November 15

and third-party content (complements or substitutes). As a result, first-party content is a strategic instrument that plays a dual role. On the one hand, it enables platforms facing unfavorable expectations to compensate for their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

Growing CEOs from the Inside

them a lame duck. At worst, they may want to avoid leaving. So a board member might ask, "Don't you think we should discuss succession? You might get hit by a truck." And the CEO will say, "I have a successor in mind, and I've told John [the chair of the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Employment

December 1998 (Revised June 1999)
Case

STT Aerospace

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Jeremy Dann

Experienced entrepreneur Charles Damon conducted a "roll-up" from 1987-1994 within the commercial airliner interior products industry. Damon's company, STT Aerospace, took advantage of an industry-wide recession in the early 1990s by buying when asset prices were low.... View Details

Keywords: Retention; Business Strategy; Selection and Staffing; Entrepreneurship; Financial Crisis; Growth and Development Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Acquisition; Product Development; Aerospace Industry

Find at Harvard

January 1991 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Westchester Distributing, Inc. (B)

By: Robert L. Simons and Robert Boxwell

Describes the actions taken by the owner/president to resolve the dilemma. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Customers; Problems and Challenges; Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Behavior; Distribution Industry

12 Oct 2016
Research & Ideas

Break the Rules of How Business is Done

doesn’t always have to be time consuming or distracting. The company Amplitude challenged how businesses handle equity compensation by extending the company options exercise windows to years versus the standard 90-day window most... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

14 Feb 2023
Blog Post

Recruiting During Uncertainty: How to Meet Students Where They Are

employees about how big decisions are made. To provide students with further insight into your company culture, connect them with recent hires so they can ask direct questions about employees’ experiences. You can also share more details about your company benefits,... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

01 Feb 1997
News

Herzlinger on Health Care: Revolution in Evolution

that patients may feel are necessary; and squeezing down compensation for talented physicians and hospitals. Indeed, activist American consumers even rebel against perfectly rational HMO tactics like reducing hospital lengths of stay.... View Details

01 Jun 2001
News

Group Therapy: The Role of Business Groups in Emerging Economies

States, but they sometimes deliver superior value in certain emerging markets, where their scope allows them to leverage their own resources to compensate for deficiencies in the economic support system. Second, Khanna’s work suggests... View Details

Keywords: Peter K. Jacobs; Market Research, Photo, Translation, Veterinary and Other Services; Professional Services

January 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Maritz Automotive

By: Ashley V. Whillans and Lamar Pierce

This case focuses on Charlotte Blank, the Chief Behavioral Officer at Maritz, as she tries to assist a major automotive manufacturer (CarCo) with increasing their sales by prepaying monthly bonuses to independently franchised car dealers and clawing them back if the... View Details

Keywords: Loss-framing; Sales; Performance Improvement; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Theory; Auto Industry

March 2000
Case

Dell Computer Corporation: Share Repurchase Program

By: George C. Chacko and Luis M. Viceira

Dell Computer Corp. announced a share repurchase program shortly after a significant stock price drop. In this announcement, the company also states that it will use options contracts. This case looks at the options transactions and how they relate to Dell's employee... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Stock Options; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Computer Industry