Publications

January 2025
Supplement

Colbún’s Angostura Dam Project (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Nicolas Andrade

The A case describes Colbún Chile’s plans for the Angostura dam in the Bío Bío River, a hydroelectric construction venture with major challenges given the region’s history of indigenous resistance. This context was especially unfavorable given the highly contentious... View Details

Keywords: Bargaining; Dam; Stakeholder Analysis; Environmental Negotiation; Negotiation; Conflict and Resolution; Alternative Energy; Natural Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Energy Industry; Chile

Web

Strategic Plan | Information Technology

Strategic Plan Our strategic priorities and initiatives. Our North Star The Harvard Business School (HBS) IT three-year strategic plan (FY24–FY26) is organized around HBS IT’s five strategic priorities, as well as the IT mission and... View Details

January 2010
Background Note

In the Spotlight: The Market for Iron Ore

By: Aldo Musacchio, Tarun Khanna and Jenna Bernhardson

This note discusses the structure and functioning of the market for iron ore. This market has traditionally functioned using a benchmark pricing mechanism, in which large steel mills in Japan (now in China) negotiate the benchmark price with the largest of the big... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Mining; Price; Valuation; Business Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; China

Find at Harvard

January 1994 (Revised April 1994)
Case

EMC Corporation: Response to Shareholder Litigation (B)

By: Josh Lerner

Reports EMC's decision concerning the second shareholder class-action suit and its implications. Legislative efforts to reform securities litigation are also discussed. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Lawsuits and Litigation; Going Public; Policy; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technology Industry; United States

January 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Toward Golden Pond (A)

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, G.A. Donovan, Nancy Dai and Justin Seth Ginsburgh

The Rong-D companies must decide whether to build a luxury senior housing development in Chengdu, China. Demographics are very encouraging for this new product type, but there are numerous cultural, market, financial, and political risks that they must assess before... View Details

Keywords: Age; Investment; Housing; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Luxury; Chengdu

August 1990
Case

NASA After Challenger: Restoring an Image

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

In the days following the loss of the space shuttle Challenger and its crew in January of 1986, NASA officials were unwilling to communicate with the media or the public. A siege mentality took hold, and the press and public responded with intense criticism and... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Policy; Business and Community Relations; Situation or Environment; Conflict Management

October 2009 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Acciona and the Battle for Control of Endesa

Acciona, S.A. is a global infrastructure and renewable energy conglomerate that is publicly traded in Spain and controlled by the Entrecanales family. In 2006, the company joined the highly politicized cross-border takeover battle for Spain's largest electric utility,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Renewable Energy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Ownership Stake; Business and Government Relations; Business Strategy; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Spain

18 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Open Innovation Contestants Build AI-Based Cancer Tool

article, “Use of Crowd Innovation to Develop an Artificial Intelligence-Based Solution for Radiation Therapy Targeting,” is co-authored by Harvard Business School Professor Karim R. Lakhani and seven colleagues with expertise in radiation... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

01 Dec 2022
News

Educating, Connecting, and Mobilizing Around Climate Change

series focusing on topics such as “Accounting for Climate Change.” “The BEI’s mission is to educate, connect, and mobilize students, faculty, alumni, and other business leaders around climate change and View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

2009
Working Paper

Watch What I Do, Not What I Say: The Unintended Consequences of the Homeland Investment Act

By: Dhammika Dharmapala, C. Fritz Foley and Kristin J. Forbes

This paper analyzes the impact on firm behavior of the Homeland Investment Act of 2004, which provided a one-time tax holiday for the repatriation of foreign earnings by U.S. multinationals. The analysis controls for endogeneity and omitted variable bias by using... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Taxation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Behavior; United States

07 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Whatever Happened to Caveat Emptor?

guide them through purchasing decisions were now on their own. Governments stepped in to fill this gap. Q: You use the consumer protection experiences in France and Germany as the basis for your book. Why those two countries? A: The... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

2012
Working Paper

Payout Taxes and the Allocation of Investment

When corporate payout is taxed, internal equity (retained earnings) is cheaper than external equity (share issues). If there are no perfect substitutes for equity finance, payout taxes may therefore have an effect on the investment of firms. High taxes will favor... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Equity; Financing and Loans; Investment; Taxation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Motivation and Incentives

Read Now

August 2003 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Multinational Corporations in Apartheid-era South Africa: The Issue of Reparations

By: Geoffrey Jones and Cate Reavis

Considers the lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of apartheid against multinationals who operated in South Africa prior to 1994. Reviews the debates about divestment from and sanctions against South Africa from the 1950s. Includes case studies of companies that... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Multinational Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business and Government Relations; Prejudice and Bias; South Africa

November 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Supplement

Magna International, Inc. (A) (CW)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Yuhai Xuan

Magna International, Inc., a Canadian-based automotive parts manufacturer, is considering whether and how to unwind its dual-class ownership structure. A family trust controlled by the founder owns a 0.65% economic interest in the company but has 66% of the votes via a... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Voting; Governance Controls; Market Transactions; Production; Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Canada

January 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Necessity and Invention: Monetary Policy Innovation and the Subprime Crisis

By: Aldo Musacchio and Dante Roscini

This case describes the efforts of Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, to improve liquidity in money markets during the subprime crisis. The case explains the four main new tools for monetary policy (or quantitative easing) the Federal Reserve has used... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Money; Financial Liquidity; Central Banking; Policy; Business and Government Relations