Publications

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Mar 2012
Article

Macroeconomic Policy and U.S. Competitiveness

The United States is on a glide path to fiscal disaster, with experts projecting that the federal government will take in far less money than it spends--indefinitely. Our current fiscal policy is eroding competitiveness in several ways,... View Details

December 2017 (Revised January 2019)
Case

In the Eye of a Geopolitical Storm: South Korea's Lotte Group, China and the U.S. THAAD Missile Defense System (A)

By: Andy Zelleke and Brian Tilley

By late 2016 and early 2017, Lotte Group, a South Korean chaebol (large family-controlled business group) had become embroiled not only in the domestic political turmoil surrounding President Park Geun-hye, but also—uncomfortably—in a four-country geopolitical storm. ... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Politics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; National Security; International Relations; Decision Making; Government and Politics; Leadership; South Korea; China; Japan

13 Feb 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 13, 2018

misinterpretation to assure that state and local governments can appropriately respond to the digital activities that impact physical realities. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2008
Article

Real and Accrual-Based Earnings Management in the Pre- and Post-Sarbanes Oxley Periods

By: Daniel Cohen, Aiyesha Dey and Thomas Lys

We document that accrual‐based earnings management increased steadily from 1987 until the passage of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002, followed by a significant decline after the passage of SOX. Conversely, the level of real earnings management activities declined... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Outcome or Result

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September 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Bill Connors and The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown)

By: Linda A. Hill and Eric Mankin

In 2017, Bill Connors, the President of Comcast’s Central Division, launched a startup accelerator in Comcast’s new Atlanta Regional headquarters. Comcast was America's largest cable and internet service provider, having built a profitable business bundling television... View Details

Web

Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

rather than current drivers like volume of care, procedures, geography, or the discounts negotiated by insurers. Only then can we create a system that delivers sustained improvements in health outcomes and efficiency. Read About The... View Details

Research Summary

International Financial Integration and Entrepreneurship (joint with Andrew Charlton)

By: Laura Alfaro

We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. Researchers have stressed the role of new firm activity and economic dynamism on growth. Yet, the empirical effects of international capital... View Details

24 Sep 2024
Blog Post

Climate Finance in Africa: Health, Self-Interest, Avoided Future Cost

African people, businesses, cities, and nations are increasingly stressed by climate related perils like drought, river flooding, extreme heat, and sea level rise. This is already leading not just to destruction of assets but also challenges to lives and livelihoods –... View Details

01 Sep 2009
News

Professor, Historian, and Storyteller

but so too were people. Often ruthless, insatiably curious, amazingly driven, the fascinating men and women that helped create American business history are a very important thread in this book. History is... View Details

Keywords: News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services

February 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Electric Car Wars, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

Electric cars had long been championed by environmentalists as a superior solution to the internal combustion engine (ICE), but, despite large government incentives and strong pioneering efforts by a few automakers over the years, electric and hybrid cars and light... View Details

15 May 2017
Sharpening Your Skills

The Promises and Limitations of Big Data

hiring decisions than humans. In these stories from our recent archives, Harvard Business School researchers outline the promises of big data—and the limitations of trying to harness data from a firehose. The Civic Benefits of Google... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Utilities; Public Administration; Health

July 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Knowledge Transfer: Toyota, NUMMI, and GM

By: Willy Shih

New United Motors Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. It was an opportunity for GM to learn about the Toyota Production System, which was quite different from the mass production processes American automakers used at the... View Details

Keywords: Culture Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Joint Ventures; Transformation; Selection and Staffing; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Sharing; Labor Unions; Management Systems; Performance Improvement; Production; Labor and Management Relations; Auto Industry; Japan; United States

Web

Video - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Michael Porter spoke at the hearing,... 14 Jun 2013 Presentation Why Business Can Be Good at Solving Social Problems Why Business Can Be Good at Solving Social Problems by Michael E. Porter Why do we turn to... View Details

February 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Background Note

Note on Valuing Control and Liquidity in Family and Closely Held Firms

Most companies around the world are family controlled and/or closely held. The need to value these companies routinely arises in practice for a variety of reasons, e.g., to buy out minority shareholders; for gift and estate tax purposes; to tie executive compensation... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Financial Liquidity; Governance Controls; Valuation

06 Dec 2021
News

How Technology Changes Who You Are & The Nuts and Bolts of Making Friends

2009
Other Paper

Trade Policy and Firm Boundaries

By: Laura Alfaro, Paola Conconi, Andrew F. Newman and Harald Fadinger

We examine how trade policy affects firms' organizational choices. We embed a model of firms' vertical integration decisions into a standard perfectly-competitive international trade framework. In the model, integration decisions are driven by a trade-off... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Policy; Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Vertical Integration; Boundaries