Publications

Article

Laws versus Contracts: Legal Origins, Shareholder Protections, and Ownership Concentration in Brazil, 1890–1950

By: Aldo Musacchio

This article examines some of the institutional conditions that facilitated the development of equity markets in Brazil. A critical factor was the addition of protections for investors to corporate bylaws, which enabled relatively large corporations in Brazil to... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Equity; Financial Markets; Investment; Governance Controls; Business History; Ownership Stake; Brazil

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20 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Mobilizing Private Sector Action For Racial Equity in Milwaukee: SE Summer Fellow Zach Komes (MBA 2022)

finance/insurance, healthcare, and more), and how to pitch the strategic advantages of the region. Moreover, I am grateful for the opportunity to put into practice the skills I have refined in the MBA program such as strategy development,... View Details

24 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

IPR: Protecting Your Technology Transfers

transferring rents to multinational corporate patent holders headquartered in the world's most advanced countries, especially the United States. IPR advocates countered that improved IPR would spur innovation, and that even if this... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

Mar 2012
Article

Choosing the United States

A location decision is, in many respects, a referendum on a nation's competitiveness. When a company decides, say, to build a new plant in China rather than in the United States, it is effectively voting on the question of which country... View Details

May 1987 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.: Planning and Control System

By: Robert L. Simons

Detailed description of the planning and control systems in use at Johnson & Johnson. Focuses on the actions of managers in one subsidiary in revising budget targets. Illustrates intensive strategic planning and financial planning process in a large, decentralized... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Planning; Forecasting and Prediction; Accounting Audits; Budgets and Budgeting; Business Strategy; Financial Management; Business or Company Management; Management Systems; Public Administration Industry; Financial Services Industry

21 Jun 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Multi-Sided Platforms: From Microfoundations to Design and Expansion Strategies

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Technology

08 Nov 2024
HBS Case

What Wartime Service Taught These Historic Leaders

during military conflicts. As countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom honor their veterans this month, Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons reflects on how service during wartime shaped the executive skills of these View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Entertainment & Recreation

October 2012
Case

Hill Country Snack Foods Co.

By: W. Carl Kester and Craig Stephenson

Hill Country Snack Foods, located in Austin, Texas, manufactures, markets, and distributes snack foods and frozen treats. The CEO is passionate about maximizing shareholder value and believes in keeping tight control over costs and operating the business as efficiently... View Details

Keywords: United States; Financial Strategy; Debt Management; Retail Trade; Risk Management; Food; Capital Structure; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas

Teaching Interest

Digital Marketing Strategy

By: John A. Deighton

When the tools of marketing change, strategies change too. The focus of this course is on firms trying to navigate the transition from offline to online market-making and strategy development. Our concern is primarily with corporations that have products and... View Details

October 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Acme Investment Trust: January 2001

By: Josh Lerner

The managers of a large corporate pension fund must decide whether to invest in a private equity fund that is offering a guaranteed rate of return of 20% on part of its portfolio. The background behind and implications of the guarantee are explored. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Private Equity; Motivation and Incentives; Asset Management; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry

January 2025
Case

Davivienda Bank’s Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia (Abridged)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2022, this abridged case examines the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda— a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking sector and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Banking Industry; Latin America; Central America; South America; Colombia

2008
Working Paper

From Social Control to Financial Economics: The Linked Ecologies of Economics and Business in Twentieth Century America

By: Marion Fourcade and Rakesh Khurana

As the main producers of managerial elites, business schools represent strategic research sites for understanding the formation of economic practices and representations. This article draws on historical material to analyze the changing place of economics in American... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Business Education; Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business History; Chicago

April 2011
Supplement

Felipe Calderón: Leading with Light and Power (B)

By: J. Bruce Harreld and David Lane

This sequence of cases explores how leaders get their team focused on framing, analyzing, and ultimately acting upon complex decisions. The A case provides an inside look as President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, works with his cabinet ministers to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cases; Crime and Corruption; State Ownership; Business or Company Management; Economics; Risk and Uncertainty; Finance; Performance; Management Teams; Strategic Planning; Energy Industry; Mexico City

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20 Dec 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Demise of Cost and Profit Centers

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

Program

The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports

sale of creative goods and services Balance risks and rewards to manage multiple new releases simultaneously Execute strategic marketing decisions that take into account different industry players' roles... View Details

Keywords: Media & Entertainment; Media & Entertainment

23 May 2011
Op-Ed

Leading and Lagging Countries in Contributing to a Sustainable Society

Editor's note: Please see related story, Corporate Sustainability Reporting: It's Effective. To what extent companies contribute to a sustainable society is a question increasingly important, not only to the companies themselves, but also... View Details

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles & George Serafeim

July 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Cisco Systems: Are You Ready? (A)

By: James L. Heskett and John P. Morgridge

An Internet service provider, INS, in which Cisco Systems has a minority ownership stake, receives an offer of $3.1 billion from Cisco's rival Lucent. Cisco's management has to decide whether to act on a request from INS management that Cisco make a counteroffer. The... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Ownership Stake; Strategic Planning; Innovation and Management; Technology; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

May–June 2024
Article

Setting Gendered Expectations? Recruiter Outreach Bias in Online Tech Training Programs

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Karim R. Lakhani and Roberto Fernandez

Competence development in digital technologies, analytics, and artificial intelligence is increasingly important to all types of organizations and their workforce. Universities and corporations are investing heavily in developing training programs, at all tenure... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Gender; Training; Recruitment; Personal Development and Career

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2023
Working Paper

Setting Gendered Expectations? Recruiter Outreach Bias in Online Tech Training Programs

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Karim R. Lakhani and Roberto Fernandez

Competence development in digital technologies, analytics, and artificial intelligence is increasingly important to all types of organizations and their workforce. Universities and corporations are investing heavily in developing training programs, at all tenure... View Details

Keywords: STEM; Selection and Staffing; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Training; Equality and Inequality; Competency and Skills