Publications
Publications
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(996)
- Faculty Publications (199)
- January 2008
- Teaching Note
Pilgrim Bank (A): Statistics Review with Data Desk
By: Frances X. Frei
Teaching Note for 602104. View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm
This paper develops a theory of the firm in which a firm's centralized asset ownership and low-powered incentives give a manager 'interpersonal authority' over employees (in a world with differing priors). The paper derives such interpersonal authority as... View Details
- December 2006
- Article
Europe vs America: Institutional Hysteresis in a Simple Normative Model
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
We show how the differences in US and European institutions can arise in a normative model. The paper focuses on the labor market and the government's decision to set unemployment benefits in response to an unemployment shock. The government balances insurance... View Details
- April 2006
- Module Note
Cross-Border Financial Opportunities
By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs
Describes the fifth module in the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. This module explores how segmented capital markets create financing opportunities for firms and the mechanisms that evolve to take advantage of those opportunities. The issues... View Details
- 2006
- Working Paper
Too Motivated?
I show that an agent's motivation to do well (objectively) may be unambiguously bad in a world with differing priors, i.e., when people openly disagree on the optimal course of action. The reason is that an agent who is strongly motivated is more likely to follow... View Details
- March 2006
- Background Note
Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations
By: Frances X. Frei and Amy C. Edmondson
Explores ways in which service firms can influence the behavior of their customers. Drawing from research on employee motivation and applying it to customer motivation, the note describes two levels of managerial control: instrumental control, which shapes behavior... View Details
- March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
- Case
China: To Float or Not To Float? (E)- ABB Investment in China
By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel
In July 2005, China revalued its currency by 2.1% and adjusted its exchange rate regime toward a more market-based system. ABB, a global power and automation technologies company based out of Switzerland with operations in China, was among those companies confronted... View Details
- January 2006
- Article
Corporate Tax Avoidance and High Powered Incentives
By: Mihir A. Desai and Dhammika Dharmapala
- Article
Policy Implications of Weak Patent Rights
By: James J. Anton, Hillary Greene and Dennis Yao
Patents vary substantially in the degree of protection provided against unauthorized imitation. In this chapter we explore a range of work addressing the economic and policy implications of "weak" patents—patents that have a significant probability of being overturned... View Details
- 2006
- Working Paper
The Limits of Authority: Motivation versus Coordination
This paper studies the effects of open disagreement on motivation and coordination. It shows how, in the presence of differing priors, motivation and coordination impose conflicting demands on the allocation of authority, leading to a trade-off between the... View Details
- August 2005
- Background Note
Note on International Tax Regimes
By: Mihir A. Desai, Mark Veblen and Kathleen Luchs
Provides a framework for understanding different types of international tax regimes. Examines how alternative tax regimes tax the foreign income of their citizens (including corporate citizens); how tax regimes define foreign and domestic income; and how foreign tax... View Details
- July 2005 (Revised March 2010)
- Case
Foreign Direct Investment and Ireland's Tiger Economy (A)
By: Laura Alfaro, Vinati Dev and Stephen McIntyre
Describes Ireland's transformation from one of Europe's poorest countries to one of its richest in just 10 years, earning it the title Celtic Tiger. The spectacular story of growth and recovery is attributed, in large part, to foreign direct investment (FDI),... View Details
- April 2005 (Revised May 2005)
- Case
Executive Compensation at General Electric (A)
By: V.G. Narayanan and Michele Jurgens
Faced with falling share prices and the critical eye of the media focused on Jack Welch's retirement plan, newly appointed CEO Jeff Immelt had the challenge of reassessing GE as a leader of corporate integrity and good governance. Presents the changes Immelt initiated... View Details
- 2005
- Working Paper
Nominal versus Indexed Debt: A Quantitative Horse Race
By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk
The main arguments in favor of and against nominal and indexed debt are the incentive to default through inflation versus hedging against unforeseen shocks. We model and calibrate these arguments to assess their quantitative importance. We use a dynamic equilibrium... View Details
- December 2004 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
Nestle and Alcon--The Value of a Listing
By: Mihir A. Desai, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman
In response to a perceived undervaluation by the capital markets, Nestle is considering divesting a part of its ophthalmology subsidiary, Alcon, and must decide on a listing location. In the process, students are challenged to wrestle with the valuation of a... View Details
- January 2004 (Revised July 2006)
- Case
Executive Remuneration at Reckitt Benckiser plc
Reckitt Benckiser plc has developed an executive compensation system. This case outlines the structure of the system, its emphasis on performance-based pay and a global outlook, and explains the role of the human resources department, the board of directors, and... View Details
- December 2003 (Revised May 2004)
- Case
Sears Auto Centers (A) (Abridged)
By: Lynn S. Paine
In the early 1990s Sears faced and allegations by the California Department of Consumer Affairs that the company's auto repair centers had been overbilling customers and making unnecessary repairs. Top management must evaluate the problem and come up with a plan to... View Details
- December 2003 (Revised August 2004)
- Case
Circon (A) (Abridged)
By: Brian J. Hall, Christopher Rose and Guhan Subramanian
In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. CEO Richard Auhll recruited an old HBS friend, George Cloutier, to the Circon board to help him defend the company. Circon's primary defenses include a "poison pill" and a staggered board and... View Details
- November 2003 (Revised March 2006)
- Case
Dow Chemical's Bid for the Privatization of PBB in Argentina
By: Mihir A. Desai and Alexandra de Royere
What price should Dow Chemical bid for PBB, a petrochemical complex that is being privatized by the Argentine government? To answer this question, students are forced to consider the role of country risk, the underlying currency exposure of the business, and how to... View Details
- November 2003 (Revised November 2015)
- Case
Brazil at the Wheel
By: Geoffrey Jones
Taught in the second-year MBA elective on the Evolution of Global Business. Examines the costs and benefits of the Brazilian government's policies to encourage foreign multinationals to develop an automobile industry during the 1950s. A combination of incentives and... View Details