Publications

February 2000 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law

By: Debora L. Spar and Jennifer Burns

For over a century, the international diamond market has been dominated by one of the most successful cartels on earth. Run by the legendary De Beers Corp., the cartel has managed to keep diamond prices increasing and to prevent the defection that dooms most other... View Details

Keywords: Lawfulness; Monopoly; Luxury; Business and Government Relations; Consumer Products Industry; Mining Industry; Africa; United States

June 2014
Article

The Price of Wall Street's Power

By: Gautam Mukunda

Over and over again, executives make decisions that aren't in their companies' best interests, in response to pressure from Wall Street. Though many believe this happens because firms have a "fiduciary duty" to maximize shareholder returns, U.S. executives do not, as a... View Details

January 2021
Article

The Effects of Menu Costs on Retail Performance: Evidence from Adoption of the Electronic Shelf Label Technology

By: Ioannis Stamatopoulos, Achal Bassamboo and Antonio Moreno

We use the adoption of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) by an international grocery retailer in 2015 to identify the effects of physical menu costs (i.e., labor and material costs of price adjustment) on retail performance. We find that the installation of ESLs increased... View Details

Keywords: Retail Operations; Dynamic Pricing; Revenue Management; Operations; Price; Revenue; Management; Retail Industry

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Article

The Price of a CEO's Rolodex

By: Christopher Parsons, J. Engelberg and P. Gao

CEOs with large networks earn more than those with small networks. An additional connection to an executive or director outside the firm increases compensation by about $17,000 on average, more so for "important" members, such as CEOs of big firms. Pay-for-connectivity... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Executive Compensation

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05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Deep Links: Business School Students’ Perceptions of the Role of Law and Ethics in Business

Keywords: by Constance E. Bagley, Gavin Clarkson & Rachel Power; Legal Services

October 2022
Case

Pricing at Echosec Systems

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Annelena Lobb and Alexis Lefort

This case follows the evolution of pricing strategy at Echosec Systems, a Canadian open source intelligence firm. The case provides information on pricing as the company grows and diversifies its product offerings. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Price; Product Development; Information Industry; Canada; United States

Article

Novelty and Disclosure in Patent Law

By: Suzanne Scotchmer and Jerry R. Green

The stringency of the novelty requirement in patent law affects the pace of innovation because it affects the amount of technical information that is disclosed among firms. It also affects ex ante profitability of research. We compare weak and strong novelty... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Law

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22 Apr 2021
News

More Companies Raising Prices on Goods, Expected throughout 2021

July 2016
Article

Do Prices Determine Vertical Integration?

By: Laura Alfaro, Paola Conconi, Harald Fadinger and Andrew F. Newman

What is the relationship between product prices and vertical integration? While the literature has focused on how integration affects prices, this paper provides evidence that prices can affect integration. Many theories in organizational economics and industrial... View Details

Keywords: Price; Vertical Integration; Product

July 2016
Case

The EC Rains on Oracle/Sun (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg

Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun was on a fast track until the EC's antitrust concerns about open-source MySQL ignited a transatlantic war of words delaying the deal. Sun's performance suffered and its customers were approached by competitors while regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Law; Antitrust; EC Regulation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Multinational Firms and Management; Laws and Statutes; Monopoly; Business and Government Relations

13 Jul 2021
News

Conflicting, Contradictory Results in Studies of Alleged Racism, Voter Suppression in Election Laws

August 2018
Article

An Introduction to the Competition Law and Economics of 'Free'

By: Benjamin Edelman and Damien Geradin

Many of the largest and most successful businesses today rely on providing services at no charge to at least a portion of their users. For consumers, it is easy to celebrate free service. At least in the short term, free services are often high quality, and users find... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Quality; Competition; Economics

Research Summary

Attention Arousal Through Price Partitioning

Existing evidence suggests that preferences are affected by whether a price is presented as one all-inclusive expense or partitioned into a set of mandatory charges. To explain this phenomenon, we introduce a new mechanism whereby price partitioning affects a consumers... View Details

11 Dec 2006
Research & Ideas

Fixing Price Tag Confusion

data on when such exploded prices work best. We asked Wathieu to discuss his research. Sean Silverthorne: As you note in the paper, a number of recent studies have concluded... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

January 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

Confidentiality in Settlement Negotiations: Ethics & Law

By: Michael A. Wheeler, Dana Nelson and Gillian Morris

Legal policy has a long history of protecting confidentiality of negotiations that are designed to produce settlement. However, within the past several decades there has been a significant push toward openness. Compelling arguments support confidentiality: It helps... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation; Attorney and Client Relationships; Policy; Corporate Disclosure; Negotiation

18 Apr 2019
News

Mauricio Macri freezes prices

15 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Legislating Stock Prices

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Karl Diether & Christopher Malloy; Financial Services

August 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Pricing at Netflix: The Sequel

By: Elie Ofek and Amy Klopfenstein

This case continues the themes discussed in "Pricing at Netflix" (Case 521-004). Following the conclusion of the original case, Netflix developed new, high-profile original content, added millions of subscribers, and introduced another price increase in January 2022.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Advertising; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Finance; Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Advertising Industry; North and Central America; United States

April 2022
Case

Marsha Simms: Trailblazer in Corporate Law

By: Robin Ely, Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Olivia Hull

Follows the journey of lawyer Marsha Simms from her childhood in racially-segregated St. Louis to the upper echelons of the New York legal community. Describes her education, career choices, accomplishments, and setbacks. Highlights significant moments such as her... View Details