Publications

29 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Do CEO Activists Make a Difference? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

January–February 2018
Article

The New CEO Activists

By: Aaron K Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

Though corporations have been lobbying the government and making campaign donations for a long time now, in recent years a dramatic new trend has emerged in U.S. politics: CEOs are taking very public stands on thorny political issues that have nothing to do with their... View Details

Keywords: Government Policy; Rights; Leadership & Corporate Accountability; Sustainability; Leadership; Corporate Accountability; Policy; Social Issues; Communication Intention and Meaning; United States

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March 2025
Case

The Changing Climate on Wall Street

By: Clayton S. Rose, Maxim Pike Harrell and Michael Norris

Increasing and conflicting regulatory requirements and political pressures regarding climate change tested the leaders of U.S. financial institutions, as they struggled to determine how best to comply while managing their business and its risks. In October 2024,... View Details

September 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Doing Business in Brazil

By: Aldo Musacchio, Gustavo A. Herrero, Ricardo Reisen de Pinho, Cintra Scott and Jill Avery

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Brazil. It highlights Brazil's ongoing economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2014 in the context of its historical, political, and cultural background. The case summarizes some of... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; Brazil

March 2008 (Revised July 2010)
Case

China in Africa: The Case of Sudan

This case examines the relation between China's demand for resources and political risk. View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Environmental Sustainability; Sudan; China

2024
Report

Overcoming Barriers to Resolving Gaza and Beyond

By: James K. Sebenius

As of early January 2024, discussion of the Gaza war heavily focuses on its humanitarian costs, cease fire possibilities, hostage prospects, and “day after” options. Yet what longer-term strategy guides actions on these vital issues while offering a more positive... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; War; International Relations; Israel; Middle East

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February 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Institutional Neutrality, Restraint or Convenience?

By: Clayton S. Rose, Nicole Zelazko and Alexis Lefort

In the fall of 2023 and winter of 2024, college campuses across the U.S. experienced protests and encampments in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. These... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Cost vs Benefits; Ethics; Governance; Leadership; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Adaptation; Disruption; Communication Strategy; Higher Education; United States

November 1994
Case

Dow Corning and the Breast Implant Controversy (A)

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller

In early 1994, Dow Corning Corp. debates whether to participate in a proposed $4.2 billion product liability settlement. Specifically, the firm must decide whether to contribute $2 billion to end a class action suit filed by women suffering from connective tissue... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Ethics; Health Disorders; Government Legislation; Crime and Corruption; Legal Liability; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Communication Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Health Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

20 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Activist CEOs Are Rising Up—and Their Customers Are Listening

When former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced earlier this year he was thinking about running for president of the United States, it wasn’t a new idea. Past CEOs seeking the White House have included Carly Fiorina, Ross Perot, Herman Cain, Steve Forbes, Mitt... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

06 Dec 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Doing Business in Emerging Markets

protections has done little to manage the risk in many of these politically unstable environments. Professor Louis T. Wells, coauthor of a new book on making foreign investment safe, discusses the current... View Details

May 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Case

India's Amul: Keeping Up with the Times

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Tarun Khanna, Namrata Arora and Tanya Bijlani

Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative founded in 1947—eight months before India's independence from British rule—and owned by over three million farmers in the state of Gujarat. It is India's largest food product marketing organization, selling 46 products, including... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Expansion; Dairy; India; Cooperatives; Milk; Leadership; Agriculture; Agribusiness; Competition; Marketing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; India

31 Oct 2014
Op-Ed

Ebola’s Call To Arms About Disaster Preparedness

it is self-limiting. It is chiefly a disease of caregivers for that very reason. In that regard, we must give the doctors and nurses on the front lines credit for being willing to take significant risks to help and treat others afflicted... View Details

Keywords: by Gautam Mukunda; Health

Research Summary

Notes on the Impact of Wealth in Bargaining

Joint work with Chen-Ying Huang, National Taiwan University.

We provide the first investigation of the politically important question of whether wealthy individuals are advantaged or disadvantaged in bargaining. We show that in a simple Nash-Rubinstein style model,... View Details

09 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Fearing Fox News, Democratic-leaning Companies Delayed Negative Announcements

by companies to reduce the threat of politically slanted negative press, focusing on FNC and the 2000 presidential election. "Depending on what the media reports on, it can actually create reputational costs for firms" The... View Details

Keywords: by Jen Deaderick; Media & Broadcasting

15 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

The Unspoken Messages of COVID-19 Restrictions

residents were more likely to identify as Republican. Right-leaning areas were more willing to dine out, even indoors, perhaps because people who supported GOP candidates perceived infection risk to be lower, as other research has found.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Food & Beverage

February 2018
Case

Infrastructure in Nigeria: Unlocking Pension Fund Investments

By: John Macomber and Pippa Tubman Armerding

The so-called “infrastructure finance gap” was a problem in Nigeria as in many parts of the world. Infrastructure projects like power plants and dams were very large capital investments that could generate long-term consistent cash flows, but their financing and... View Details

Keywords: Pension Fund Investing; Infrastucture; Power/Energy; Credit Enhancement; Infrastructure; Project Finance; Investment Funds; Emerging Markets; Nigeria; Africa