Publications

28 Jun 2017
News

Patent Trolling Isn’t Dead — It’s Just Moving to Delaware

24 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 24, 2008

two recently identified bounds: bounded ethicality and bounded awareness. By organizing diverse theories into a clear framework, the taxonomy should aid researchers and educators in identifying new strategies for improving decision... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 2019
Article

Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers

We provide the first large-sample evidence on the behavior and impact of nonpracticing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual-property space. We find that, on average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms and target cash in... View Details

Keywords: Patent Trolls; Innovation; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Ethics; Innovation and Invention

SSRN

Find at Harvard

05 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 5

prepay for participating merchants' goods and services. Within a model of repeat experience good purchase, we examine two mechanisms by which a discount voucher service can benefit affiliated merchants: price discrimination and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2017
Comment

Discussion: Do Common Inherited Beliefs and Values Influence CEO Pay?

By: Lauren Cohen

The origin of preferences is something we know strikingly little about in economics. Given the central importance of preferences, we have not invested nearly the time we should into this concept. And so, as an overarching research direction, I am heartened by the push... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Values and Beliefs; Ethnicity

Find at Harvard

Read Now

March 2018
Teaching Note

Project Titan at Northrop Grumman

By: C. Fritz Foley, Lauren G. Pickle, David Lane and F. Katelynn Boland

Teaching Note for HBS No. 215-001. In March of 2011, Northrop Grumman divested shipbuilding assets through the spin-off of Huntington Ingalls Industries. This case reviews many of the key questions faced by Northrop's CEO, CFO, and top management team during this... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Reorganization; Spin Off; Asset Sales; Managing Portfolios Of Businesses; Managing Change; Diversification; Change Management; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

July 2024
Article

Buying the Verdict

By: Lauren Cohen and Umit Gurun

We document evidence that firms systematically increase specialized, locally targeted advertising following the firm being taken to trial in that given location, precisely following initiation of the suit. In particular, we use legal actions brought against publicly... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Advertising; Marketing Strategy

March 2023
Case

Between Two Minds: The Staglin Family

By: Lauren Cohen, Ronnie Stangler and Grace Headinger

Garen Staglin, Founder and Chairman of One Mind, reflected on his life’s work in brain health. As he contemplated stepping down in the next few years, he weighed how to pass along this legacy to his son, Brandon Staglin, the impetus behind and next generation of the... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Well-being; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Mission and Purpose; Health Industry

April 2023
Case

Elliott Management: Capital Allocation in Biopharma

By: Amitabh Chandra, Paul Clancy and Lauren Gunasti

The case explores the intersection of capital allocation and shareholder activism in the biopharmaceutical industry. As many biopharma companies face looming patent expirations for key medicines, the case asks the question of whether investing in R&D and M&A is an... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Strategy; Capital Allocation; Biopharmaceutical Industry; Shareholder Activism; Investment Activism; Resource Allocation; Research and Development; Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

24 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 24

Fisman, and Lauren WeberHarvard Business School Case 711-054 In June 2007, the offices of Russian hedge fund Hermitage Capital were raided by Moscow police; in the months that followed, Hermitage founder... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 1

When information is asymmetric (the quality of a potential partner is known only to himself), it may seem that partner choice is not possible without signaling. Many mutualisms, however, exist without signaling, and the mechanisms by... View Details

May 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

fidentiaX: The Tradable Insurance Marketplace on Blockchain

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen and Jiahua Xu

Three years ago, Alvin Ang and his partner founded fidentiaX in Singapore, with the ambition to create the world’s first marketplace for tradable insurance policies on blockchain. With a 26-page white paper, the start-up closed a successful fundraising round through an... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Insurance; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technology Adoption; Business Strategy; Insurance Industry; Technology Industry; Singapore

2008
Working Paper

The Small World of Investing: Board Connections and Mutual Fund Returns

By: Lauren Cohen, Andrea Frazzini and Christopher J. Malloy

This paper uses social networks to identify information transfer in security markets. We focus on connections between mutual fund managers and corporate board members via shared education networks. We find that portfolio managers place larger bets on firms they are... View Details

Keywords: Asset Pricing; Investment Portfolio; Governing and Advisory Boards; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Social and Collaborative Networks; Financial Services Industry

Read Now

2024
Chapter

Managing, Preserving, and Unlocking Wealth through FinTech

By: Grace Headinger, Lauren Cohen and Zhaoheng Gong

In nearly every generation, a sentiment like Einstein’s has been expressed as a cautionary tale to constrain the development and application of technology. In spite of these calls, technology has time and again proven its utility and ability to improve across and upon... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Technological Innovation; Finance

Read Now

28 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 28, 2018

different types of physicians. By understanding the dynamic effect of sales calls across heterogeneous physicians, we provide guidance on the design of optimal call patterns for route sales. The findings reveal that the long-term... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Web

2024 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

Reunions 2024 Reunion Presentations At Reunions, HBS faculty and other thought leaders address a range of issues facing business and society. Program recordings and materials (slide deck, handouts, etc.) are made available only when permission is given View Details

October 2019
Case

China Merchants Bank: Ushering in the Era of Family Office in China

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Billy Chan and Dawn H. Lau

China Merchants Bank, the sixth-largest lender in China, intends to boost its family office business as a result of an increase in the population of ultra-high net worth individuals. Already ranked China’s number-one private bank with AUM exceeding US$300 billion, the... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Strategy; Banks and Banking; Organizational Design; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; China