Publications

2009
Working Paper

Corporate Misgovernance at the World Bank

By: Ashwin Kaja and Eric D. Werker

We test for evidence of corporate misgovernance at the World Bank. Most major decisions at the World Bank are made by its Board of Executive Directors. However, in any given year the majority of the Bank's member countries do not get a chance to serve on this powerful... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards

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July 2005 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Jesse Holman Jones and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Bridget Gurtler

Jesse Holman Jones is regarded as one of the most influential men in reviving the American economy from the Great Depression. With only an 8th grade education, he rose to the top of the banking, real estate, and lumber industries, as well as the upper echelons of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Strategy; Business History; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence

February 2002 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Morgan Stanley Japan, 2002

By: Tarun Khanna and Louis P. DiLorenzo, Jr

Thierry Porte, president of Morgan Stanley Japan, had spent the brisk November day in Tokyo with Eric Best, Morgan Stanley's head of scenario planning, outlining the exercise that all of the managing directors in Japan would participate in shortly. Japan remained mired... View Details

Keywords: Planning; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Investment Banking; Multinational Firms and Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Japan; United States

November 2000
Case

Building Brand Community on the Harley-Davidson Posse Ride (Multimedia Case)

Concerns the second Harley-Davidson Posse Ride, a grueling 2,300 mile, 10-day trek from South Padre Island, TX to the Canadian border that is billed "for serious riders only." Harley Owner's Group (H.O.G.) Director Mike Keefe must decide whether this rolling rally... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Brands and Branding; Motorcycle Industry

December 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Client Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong, David M. Darst, Ann K Rusher and Catherine M. Conneely

The 1997 merger of retail giant Dean Witter and investment bank Morgan Stanley was a year old when Bob Sculthorpe was appointed director of Private Client Services (PCS) at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW). The firm was still operating under two separate broker-dealer... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Investment Banking; Brands and Branding; Salesforce Management; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

October 1996 (Revised December 1997)
Case

American Cyanamid (A): Boardroom Response to a Hostile Takeover Offer

American Home Products' (AHP) $9 billion hostile takeover of American Cyanamid (Cyanamid) was the largest mergers and-acquistions transaction in 1994, and made AHP the fourth largest pharmaceutical firm in the United States. At the time of AHP's offer, Cyanamid had... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

30 Apr 2021
News

This Harvard Professor Reveals the Secret Sauce for Remote Work - And It Has Nothing to Do With Zoom

Web

Ways to Give Today - Alumni

IRS rules. Contact Anne McClintock , Senior Director of Development, Planned Giving, to learn more. Annual opportunity: You can transfer up to $105,000 directly from your IRA to HBS. Your gift can be excluded from your federal taxable... View Details

13 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 13

how management and corporate boards of directors can best manage investor relations with activist stockholders such as hedge funds who are demanding major changes within a corporation to improve stockholder return. Beverage industry firm... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Marfrig's Quest for Sustainable Beef

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Pedro Levindo and Ruth Costas

Marfrig, one of the world’s leading meatpackers, strived to comply with its commitment to have a deforestation-free value chain in Brazil by 2030. The company also pledged to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases in accordance with the guidelines set by the... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Acquisition; Family Business; Communication Strategy; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Bonds; Food; Global Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Government and Politics; Political Elections; Leading Change; Marketing; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Brazil; Latin America; Argentina; Uruguay; North America; United States; Europe; Asia; China

July 2019 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Backstage at Boston Ballet

By: David G. Fubini, Ryan Raffaelli, Begum Agca Okutgen and Julia Kelley

This case asks students to consider how to prioritize goals when placed in a new leadership role. In August 2014, Meredith “Max” Hodges became the youngest Executive Director (ED) in the Boston Ballet’s 51-year history. In her first year, she was able to claim several... View Details

March 2015
Case

Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

By: Michael Chu, Vincent Dessain and Kristina Maslauskaite

An in-house venture capital fund for affordable private schools at the base of the pyramid established by Pearson, the world's largest education company, PALF sought to invest in business models providing superior educational outcomes in emerging markets on a... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Low Cost Private Schools; Investment Fund; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Transition; Investment; Development Economics; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Private Sector; Education; Education Industry; Asia; Africa

2014
Working Paper

Putting Skin in the Game: Managerial Ownership and Bank Risk-Taking

By: Jan Bouwens and Arnt Verriest

This paper examines the relation between managerial ownership and bank risk exposure for a large sample of international financial institutions. We seek empirical evidence suggested by theories concerning conflicts between managers and owners over risk-taking. We argue... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Equity Ownership; Financial Risk; Banks; Motivation and Incentives; Risk Management; Employee Ownership; Corporate Governance; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

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November 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

OppenheimerFunds and Take-Two Interactive (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Andrew Hill and Kaitlyn Simpson

Describes the dilemma faced by Emmanuel Ferreira, a fund manager at OppenheimerFunds. As the largest shareholder and a long-time investor in software publisher Take-Two Interactive, Ferreira contemplates whether or not to get involved with other investors in trying to... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations