Publications

October 2018
Supplement

African Bank Investments Limited (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

October 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Joe Bachelder: Executive Pay Negotiator

By: Jason R. Barro, Brian J. Hall and Aaron Zimmerman

Joe Bachelder was the leading executive pay negotiator in the United States, securing generous contracts for CEOs and executives at Fortune 500 companies. The CEO of Victor Sports Co. resigned, and the board offered the job to Charles Suarez, a star executive from a... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Executive Compensation; Retail Industry; Sports Industry

December 2001 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Compensation at Level 3 Communications

Level 3's unique compensation plan rewarded managers for the firm's performance only if the firm's stock price movement exceeded that of the market. This design was intended to maximize shareholder value by tying manager's performance more closely to that of the firm,... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Telecommunications Industry

October 2021 (Revised September 2022)
Case

GoPro: Becoming a Subscription Hero

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2021, Nick Woodman, founder and CEO of GoPro, was reviewing the company’s subscription offering, considering whether to extend it beyond benefits that were directly related to the company’s iconic camera. Founded in 2002, GoPro had gained renown for its innovative... View Details

Keywords: Subscription Model; Pricing; Lifestyle Brands; Value Proposition; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; California

January 2001 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pharmacyclics: Financing Research & Development

By: Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback and Aldo Sesia

Pharmacyclics (NASDAQ: PCYC), a pharmaceutical company that manufactures products that will improve existing therapeutic treatments for cancer, arteriosclerosis, and retinal disease, was considering a $60 million private placement in February 2000. The company had more... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry

October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Busang (A): River of Gold

By: Debora L. Spar

In 1995, Bre-X Minerals, a tiny Canadian mining firm, struck gold. Deep in the heart of the Borneo jungle, it discovered what appeared to be one of the world's largest and most cost-effective gold deposits. Almost immediately, the firm's stock price shot upwards and... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mining; Mining Industry; Canada; Indonesia

25 Oct 2006
Op-Ed

Fixing Executive Options: The Veil of Ignorance

The latest corporate governance crisis is buried in the details of executive compensation contracts. Don't like the timing of the stock option grant you got or the strike price of the contract? No worries!... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai & Joshua Margolis

March 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Patagonia: 'Earth Is Now Our Only Shareholder'

By: Brian Trelstad, Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael Norris and Susan Pinckney

In September 2022, Yvon Chouinard, the iconoclastic founder of outdoor apparel company Patagonia, announced a new ownership model for his company. Chouinard and his family had held complete control of the company's voting and non-voting stock since its founding 50... View Details

02 Jan 2020
Op-Ed

Medicare for All or Public Option: Can Either Heal Health Care?

offer insurance at genuinely lower prices, but only if it is implemented without the financing gimmicks that have artificially lowered the costs of Medicare at the expense of future generations. The pricing of the public View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger and James Wallace; Health; Public Administration

01 Aug 2016
Blog Post

Reflecting on the Value of an MBA

investments in future payoffs. This is where the call option comes in. In the second-semester Finance course, you’re introduced to the Black-Scholes method of option pricing. I'll leave the specifics to... View Details

February 1987 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Arley Merchandise Corporation

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Involves the initial public offering of a firm's stock. The offering includes a money-back guarantee to investors from the issuing firm which comes in the form of a "put" option. Option valuation is thus an important issue in this case. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Stocks; Cases; Valuation; Stock Options; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Service Industry

November 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

International Paper (A)

Concerns the decision of International Paper, the world's largest pulp and paper corporation, about when to adopt the provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 106 (SFAS 106), "Employers' Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other than Pensions." SFAS... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Compensation and Benefits; Pulp and Paper Industry

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March 2025
Case

Taylor Guitars: Making Employee Ownership Work the Taylor Way

By: Dennis Campbell, Petros Kusmu and Stacy Straaberg

In 2013, guitar manufacturer Taylor Guitars’ co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug were considering several exit options including selling to a competitor or to a private equity firm. The co-founders decided, instead, to embark on a seven-year process to transfer 100%... View Details

11 Jan 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales

Keywords: by Andrea Barbon, Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni, and Augustin Landier; Financial Services

05 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Are Stockbrokers Illegally Leaking Confidential Information to Favored Clients?

Source: Raw Pixel Stockbrokers are taking advantage of their privileged position to increase profits for favored investors and hedge funds, all at the expense of their other customers, new research suggests. A team of economists has found... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

January 2025
Article

Overcoming Barriers to Employee Ownership: Insights from Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

By: John Guzek and Ashley Whillans

This research investigates the limited adoption of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) among small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. Through interviews with 30 SMB owners across various industries, we identify the key barriers to ESOP adoption as lack of... View Details

Keywords: Profit Sharing; Employee Ownership; Management Practices and Processes; Compensation and Benefits; Small Business; Adoption; Employees

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Read Now

Carl Kester is a Baker Foundation Professor and the George Fisher Baker Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Finance Unit. He served as Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs (2006-2010), Chairman of the... View Details

Keywords: asset management; banking; education industry; financial services; investment banking industry; pharmaceuticals; private equity (LBO funds)

August 2020 (Revised May 2021)
Case

PayPal: The Next Chapter

By: Michael Porter, Mark Kramer and Annelena Lobb

Can a social purpose and stakeholder capitalism confer a powerful competitive advantage in the age of COVID-19? For PayPal, the answer is yes. After spinning off from eBay in a 2015 IPO, the company declared its purpose as "democratizing financial services" by ensuring... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Finance; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Social Entrepreneurship; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry