Publications

December 2020 (Revised September 2023)
Case

PG&E and the First Climate Change Bankruptcy

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

In early 2020, the California-based utility PG&E filed a second amended plan of reorganization. PG&E had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of more than $30 billion of legal claims brought against it for its alleged role in causing California wildfires. The... View Details

Keywords: Chapter 11; Utilities; Liabilities; Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Legal Liability; Climate Change; Utilities Industry; United States

09 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 9, 2008

Schoar, Jialan Wang Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-024.pdf The Contingent Nature of Public Policy and Growth Strategies in the Early Twentieth-Century U.S. Banking Industry Authors:Christopher Marquis, Zhi Huang... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Geoffrey G. Jones

I currently teach the history of global entrepreneurship over the last 200 years. The 28-session course called Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism has become one of the most popular second year electives in the MBA program at the Harvard Business School. The cases,... View Details

11 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 11

further identifies how the lengths over which agglomerative forces operate influence the shapes and sizes of industrial clusters; we confirm these predictions using variations across patent technology clusters. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times

received a call from a small manufacturing plant in Medfield, Massachusetts. They had read Douglas McGregor's now classic book The Human Side of Enterprise and wanted to implement, in their relatively new plant, his ideas about how people's View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

13 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 13

energy and potential of their people to deliver superior economic and social value. Book: http://hbr.org/product/higher-ambition-how-great-leaders-create-economic-/an/12957-HBK-ENG The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force That... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Going Green Makes Good Business Sense

where you stand. You also need to prevent competitors from imitating your methods. A second strategy is to up the ante on a competitive level within your industry by raising your own costs in order to provide an environmental good, but... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

12 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 12, 2019

But the leadership development industry is in a state of upheaval. The number of players offering courses to impart the hard and soft skills required of corporate managers has expanded well beyond traditional business schools, corporate... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

13 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 13, 2009

in expectation. We also show that by offering both CPC and CPA, an ad platform can weakly increase its revenues compared to offering either alternative alone. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-074.pdf Competition and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

31 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Bypass Marketing: Are Docs Influenced?

division president, Health Care, Harris Interactive; and Sandra Feibelmann, a member of the Institute for Health Policy. Manda Salls: When did the pharmaceutical industry begin direct-to-consumer advertising? Alvin Silk: DTCA has a long... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

Research Summary

Overview

By: Gunnar Trumbull

My research focuses on how firms and governments interact to support decarbonization. How do firms approach climate change from a strategic perspective? How can government policies support and accellerate those efforts in ways that boost national competitiveness? View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Strategy And Leadership; Climate Change; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Europe; China; India; Brazil

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

pronounced for firms with high growth opportunities, not controlled by a family, operating in "sin" industries, and exhibiting commitment to IR. I find that the results are robust to the inclusion of firm fixed effects, control for the quantity of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2022
Case

NIO: A Chinese EV Company's Global Strategy

By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin and Noah B. Truwit

Founded in November 2014 and based in Shanghai, NIO designed, jointly manufactured, and sold premium “smart” EVs. Its mission was to “shape a joyful lifestyle by offering high-performance smart electric vehicles and being the best user enterprise. At NIO Day 2021,... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Green Technology; Auto Industry; China; Europe; Norway

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

are incompatible mediated the relationship between ambient cultural disharmony and creativity. Alternative mechanisms such as negative affect and cognitive disruption were not viable mediators. Although ambient cultural disharmony... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

5,000 board members from around the world to find out. We found that, overall, innovation does not rank as a top strategic challenge for the majority of boards. Although directors in certain industries are more cognizant of the threat of... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

24 Jul 2013
Op-Ed

Detroit Files for Bankruptcy: HBS Faculty Weigh In

opportunities in the likes of London, Barcelona, Beijing, and Singapore. It's not easy, and it's not fun. But the alternative is even worse - a twisting, slow decline that squanders value. At first blush, the natural inclination for many... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber, Robert C. Pozen, Eric D. Werker & Benjamin Kennedy; Auto

September 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Gain Liquidity

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Evan Richardson

Samir Kaul, a Partner at Khosla Ventures, looked out his office window. It was late June, 2011, and like almost every day in Menlo Park, the sun was shining. Kaul was reflecting on what had been a very positive 10 months in the venture capital business. Over that span,... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financial Strategy; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Product Development; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry