Publications

2012
Article

Hiring Cheerleaders: Board Appointments of 'Independent' Directors

By: Lauren Cohen, Andrea Frazzini and Christopher Malloy

We provide evidence that firms appoint independent directors who are overly sympathetic to management, while still technically independent according to regulatory definitions. We explore a subset of independent directors for whom we have detailed, micro-level data on... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Management; Corporate Governance; Performance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Prejudice and Bias

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14 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Ethics Bots and Other Ways to Move Your Code of Business Conduct Beyond Puffery

benefits from regulatory and enforcement agencies if something goes amiss. For example, showing that a firm took pains to educate employees on legal regulations can potentially reduce fines by up to 95... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

April 2003
Article

The Role of Wages and Auditing during a Crackdown on Corruption in the City of Buenos Aires

By: Rafael Di Tella and Ernesto Schargrodsky

We study the prices paid for basic inputs during a crackdown on corruption in the public hospitals of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, during 1996 97. We find a well-defined, negative effect on the measures used to capture corruption. Prices paid by hospitals for... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Compensation and Benefits; Accounting Audits; Buenos Aires

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01 Apr 1996
News

Stewards of the Seventh Generation

heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere when coal and petroleum products are burned. That same day, the Wall Street Journal reported that in California and Arizona,... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso, Garry Emmons, Linda Goodspeed, and Elaine Gottlieb

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Is Performance-Based Pricing the Right Price for You?

role, performance-based pricing creates a greater sense of "fairness" for both buyer and seller. The third benefit may be even more important than the first two. We often see performance-based... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro; Manufacturing

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

2007
Case

Continuous Process Improvement at Deere & Company

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

After decades of tense relationships with the United Auto Workers, Deere & Company broke through with a landmark agreement that built an expectation of continuous improvement into the compensation plan. The company then built a set of management forums and processes to... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Machinery and Machining; Agreements and Arrangements; Management Practices and Processes; Labor Unions; Compensation and Benefits; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Keywords: Garry Emmons and Julia Hanna; Latin America; research; infrastructure; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments

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21 Oct 2016
News

The barbarian establishment

12 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Pay Workers More So They Steal Less

more than workers in competing organizations? Would theft decrease? Before doing her research, Sandino hypothesized that higher compensation would discourage stealing for several reasons. First, employees receiving higher pay would feel... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Retail

01 Dec 2000
News

Latin America's Decade

In One Hundred Years of Solitude, his epic allegory of Latin American history and sensibility, novelist Gabriel García Márquez describes how a revolutionary technology from the outside world is brought to the sleepy, archetypal hamlet of... View Details

June 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Platinum Capital

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

How should a venture capital firm divide compensation and decision rights between its founders and its next-generation partners? Platinum Capital faced this decision in July 2020. Platinum’s younger partners had just requested a piece of the firm’s highly lucrative... View Details

Keywords: Decision Rights; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Compensation and Benefits; Governance; Retention; Negotiation; Partners and Partnerships

24 Apr 2014
News

Taking a broad view of the impact of business on society and community

Masoud Sanai (PLDA 3, 2007) talks about how attending Harvard Business School helped him expand his view of business to include considering ways to also benefit society. (Published April 2014) View Details

February 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

NanoGene Technologies, Inc.

Describes a company during the start-up phase and focuses on the founders' decisions regarding splitting the equity and compensation. Also considers establishing policies and practices that will set the tone for the company as it grows. Discusses a number of specific... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business or Company Management; Compensation and Benefits; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Policy; Technology Industry

October 1993 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Measure of Delight: The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services (A)

By: Roy D. Shapiro and Michael D. Watkins

AT&T's Universal Card Services (UCS) has been extremely successful during its short lifetime. Dedicated to improving service quality and customer satisfaction, chief quality officer Rob Davis and his quality team have designed and put into place an unusual measurement... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Policy; Compensation and Benefits; Performance Evaluation; Quality; System; Telecommunications Industry