Publications

March 2017 (Revised December 2017)
Case

The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (A)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Saloni Chaturvedi

Responsibility for working conditions in contract factories within the supply chain presents an ongoing challenge for managers and an area of debate. Much of the debate approaches the challenge from the perspective of large global apparel brands. This case helps... View Details

Keywords: Apparel; Bangladesh; Corporate Responsibility; Human Rights; Supply Chains; Labor; Working Conditions; Supply Chain; Safety; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh

Lynn Sharp Paine is a Baker Foundation Professor and John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration, Emerita, at Harvard Business School. A member and former chair of the General Management unit, she has served in numerous leadership positions including Senior... View Details

20 Nov 2019
Video

Zia Mody

Zia Mody, a founder of AZB & Partners, a leading corporate law firm in India, describes the role of an active judiciary and an independent press in bringing societal and corporate change.

View Details

17 Jun 2014
News

Harvard Business School Prof. Emeritus Joseph Hinsey dead at 82

December 2014 (Revised April 2016)
Module Note

Responsibilities to Employees

By: Nien-he Hsieh

The note provides a framework to conceptualize managers' responsibilities to employees in relation to economic, legal and ethical considerations. The note frames the central ethical challenge for managers as exercising power in a fair manner. The fair exercise of power... View Details

Keywords: Leadership & Corporate Accountability; Legal Aspects Of Business; Responsibility; Ethics; Fairness; Employees; Decision Making; Leadership; Jobs and Positions; Labor; Law

Research Summary

Professor Bagley's research focuses on the intersection of law and management, including strategies for using law both defensively to reduce risk and offensively as a strategic asset to create value. She also studies corporate governance and social responsibility,... View Details

April 3, 2016
Guest Column

The Power of C.E.O. Activism: How Politically Outspoken Executives Sway Public (and Consumer) Opinion

By: Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

Some CEOs are making news by taking public stances on controversial social issues largely unrelated to their core business. This article summarizes the insights from our research paper that shows that such "CEO activism" can influence public opinion and consumer... View Details

Read Now

Samuel Antill is an assistant professor of business administration in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches the Finance II course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Antill’s research interests are in corporate... View Details

Mihir A. Desai

Mihir A. Desai is the Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School and a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He received his Ph.D. in political economy from Harvard... View Details

November 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Oracle vs. PeopleSoft (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Guhan Subramanian and David Millstone

Focuses on the hotly contested takeover battle between software rivals Oracle and PeopleSoft in 2003 and 2004. Raises novel issues of takeover law under Delaware corporate law as well as issues of fair competition under California law. A central issue is whether the... View Details

Keywords: Takeover; Fiduciary Duty; Mergers and Acquisitions; Applications and Software; Ethics; Law; Governing and Advisory Boards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competition; Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United States

March 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

CEO Activism (A)

By: Michael W. Toffel, Aaron K. Chatterji and Julia Kelley

This case introduces CEO activism, a phenomenon in which business leaders engage in political or social issues that do not relate directly to their companies. The case uses several examples to describe why business leaders are engaging in CEO activism and the potential... View Details

Video

A Conversation with HBS Online Professor Mihir Desai

17 Oct 2024
Video

John Coates: Most Americans aren’t aware of how concentrated the financial sector has gotten

July 2005
Background Note

Guth v. Loft: Synopsis

By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Provides a brief overview of the Supreme Court of Delaware's opinion in the 1939 case of Guth v. Loft, a widely cited application of the "corporate opportunity doctrine." Explores the corporate law principles regulating when a corporate manager can or cannot take... View Details

Keywords: Courts and Trials; Lawfulness; Management; Opportunities

20 Nov 2019
Video

Zia Mody

Zia Mody, founder of AZB & Partners, a leading corporate law firm in India, describes her policy of providing mentorship and advice to women through marriage and motherhood in order to retain them as... View Details

Video

Jessica Clarke presents "The Right to Nonbinary Gender?"

December 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

France Télécom (A): A Challenging Restructuring

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Ashley V. Whillans

These cases explore the impacts of industry shocks, resulting corporate actions that had a devastating impact on employees, and the legal conviction of corporate leaders for “institutional harassment."

This case series follows the evolution of France... View Details