Publications

05 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 5

and Finance Hypothesis Pass the Test of History? Authors:Musacchio, Aldo, and John D. Turner Publication:Business History Abstract For the body of work known as the law View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2012
Working Paper

Organization Design for Distributed Innovation

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Systems of distributed innovation—so-called business ecosystems—have become increasingly prevalent in many industries. These entities generally encompass numerous corporations, individuals, and communities that might be individually autonomous but related through their... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Innovation and Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Intellectual Property; Rights; Governance Controls

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16 Jul 2014
HBS Case

Marketing Obamacare

calculators" to explain benefits of new law in person. Stressed and Strained (25%): Those who wanted healthcare, but were too overwhelmed to think about it. Strategy: Emphasize affordability View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

August 2005
Background Note

Dual Class Share Companies

By: Samuel L. Hayes III, Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Provides a brief historical overview of dual class share companies in the United States, focusing on the New York Stock Exchange's evolving position on dual class structures since the 1920s, the impact of hostile takeovers on their use since the 1980s, and recent... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Debates; Capital Structure; Equity; Business History; Law; Organizational Structure; Business and Shareholder Relations; Perspective; Europe; United States

April 1998 (Revised February 2004)
Background Note

Legal Forms of Organization, The

Describes the various legal forms of organization including proprietorships, partnerships, limited partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. Explains the tax and liability attributes of each form, as well as other issues, which may influence the... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Taxation; Legal Liability; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships

01 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Crowdfunding a Poor Investment?

When Congress passed President Obama's JOBS Act in March 2012, one of the most intriguing provisions would enable crowdfunding—the ability for large groups of anonymous investors to fund startups. More than a year after the law was... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

February 2008
Article

Attracting Skeptical Buyers: Negotiating for Intellectual Property Rights

By: James J. Anton and Dennis A. Yao

Expropriable disclosures of knowledge to prospective buyers may be necessary to facilitate the sale of intellectual property (IP). In principle, confidentiality agreements can protect disclosures by granting the seller rights to sue for unauthorized use. In practice,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Disclosure; Intellectual Property; Knowledge Sharing; Lawsuits and Litigation; Rights; Agreements and Arrangements; Competition

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November 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Background Note

A Brief Note on Deferred Taxes: An Analysis Perspective

Provides an overview of accounting for deferred taxes. The primary objective is to provide external users with a basic understanding of deferred taxes. A simple illustrative example is provided, which is followed by a discussion of several important issues likely to be... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Statements; Taxation; Legal Liability; Valuation

September 2004
Article

Trust in Agency

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Existing models of the principal-agent relationship assume the agent works only under extrinsic incentives. However, many observed agency contracts take the form of a fixed payment. For such contracts to succeed, the principal must trust the agent to work in the... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Agency Theory; Relationships; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Contracts; Business Model; Emotions; Forecasting and Prediction; Ethics; Standards; Risk and Uncertainty

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16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

Working PapersSilent Saboteurs: How Implicit Theories of Voice Inhibit the Upward Flow of Knowledge in Organizations Authors:James R. Detert and Amy C. Edmondson Abstract This article examines, in a series of three studies, how people... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Does Market Capitalism Have a Future?

also cause political reactions harmful to capitalism. Other possible disruptions to the operation of capitalism were seen in the following: the global financial system, viewed by some as overly opaque, leveraged, interconnected, and... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

11 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: Dec. 11

awards, including the Grand Prix at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and a 2012 Gold Effie. Purchase this case:http://hbr.org/search/513032-PDF-ENG Creating the First Public Law... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

How Chapter 11 Saved the US Economy

employees, rather than doing what's necessary to rehabilitate the business." According to Gilson, this provides compelling evidence that "US bankruptcy laws and restructuring practices have played... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Financial Services

Article

Market Reactions to Sovereign Litigation

By: Faisal Z. Ahmed and Laura Alfaro

Recent rulings in the ongoing litigation over the pari passu clause in Argentinian sovereign debt instruments have generated considerable controversy. Some official-sector participants and academic articles have suggested that the rulings will disrupt or impede... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Debt; Litigation; Vulture Funds; Argentina; Sovereign Finance; Lawsuits and Litigation; Markets; Argentina

20 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 20, 2007

discipline to nationalized banks. Pharmaceutical Regulation in the United States and Europe Author:Arthur Daemmrich Periodical:Focus on Law Studies 23, no 1 (fall 2007): 8-11 Read the full paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Excerpt: ’Fortune Tellers’

effort they enjoyed wide institutional backing. Courts of law routinely supported those who made predictions based on dispassionate scientific rules rather than those who, say, enlisted the help of the stars. Many U.S. jurisdictions... View Details

Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman

January 1996 (Revised January 1996)
Teaching Note

Colonial Broadcasting Co. TN

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr. and George Wu

Teaching Note for (9-894-011). View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Advertising; Television Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

29 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 29, 2007

Cultural Change (forthcoming) Abstract We examine the impact of the 1993 Land Law of Vietnam which gave households the power to exchange, transfer, lease, inherit and mortgage their land-use rights. We use... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2000
Article

The Fable of Fisher Body

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Daniel F. Spulber

General Motors' (GM) acquisition of Fisher Body is the classic example of market failure in the literature on contracts and the theory of the firm. According to the standard account, GM merged vertically with Fisher Body in 1926, a maker of auto bodies, because of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Failure; Contracts; Vertical Integration; Market Transactions; Investment; Trust; Production; Assets; Supply Chain; Opportunities; Technology; Auto Industry