Publications

December 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

W.R. Grace & Co.: Dealing with Asbestos Torts

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

A manufacturer of building products and specialty chemicals, W. R. Grace & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 in response to a flood of lawsuits alleging that its products contained asbestos, and had caused hundreds of thousands of people to contract... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy Reorganization; Business Failures; Environmental Regulations; Class Action Lawsuits; Natural Environment; Valuation; Health Disorders; Capital Structure; Restructuring; Lawsuits and Litigation; Chemicals; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Legal Liability; Construction Industry; Construction Industry; United States

December 1999 (Revised April 2002)
Case

International Business Machines Corporation (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

Perform financial ratio analysis to identify changes in IBM's business mix and profitability. Teaching purpose: Ratio analysis. View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Capital Structure; Performance Efficiency; Business Earnings; Business Model; Private Sector; Commercialization; Computer Industry; Computer Industry

12 Nov 2018
Research & Ideas

'Always On' Isn't Always Best for Team Decision-Making

and high performers draw on them less. NEXT UP: NEW COLLABORATION TOOLS Not all intermittency is gone, despite management trends and collaboration tools pushing the always-on ethos. Sprints used by agile teams are an example of View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

01 Jun 2015
News

The Military and the MBA: Gene Markowski (MBA 1973)

innovation and disruption. But I think it’s a two-way street. There are military concepts—like the focus on structure and ethics—that are useful in the business world, too. I often have business people tell me stories about how they spent... View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; Government

05 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 5

facilitating face-to-face interactions can provide information that impacts the formation of scientific collaborations. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/13-023.pdf Risky Business: The Impact of Property Rights on Investment and Revenue in the Film... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 8, 2008

unprecedented expansion of higher education and, in the most recent time, efforts at reform and restructuring. Harvard has overhauled its undergraduate curriculum in a comprehensive fashion for the first time in 30 years. European universities have witnessed even more... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

China’s 60-Year Road from Revolution to World Power

in state industries—became a closed caste, an industrial elite with hereditary jobs, and with privileges and security far above that of their rural cousins. If anything, the gap between urban and rural identities became greater. And the... View Details

Keywords: by William C. Kirby

29 Sep 2011
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Leveraging Intellectual Property

the problem can be curtailed if studios adopt a multipart strategy. Key concepts include: Despite a thriving movie industry in India, Hollywood studios have experienced difficulty making much money there. Researchers discovered a... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

19 Oct 2010
First Look

First Look: October 19, 2010

industries by virtue of his efficiencies in agricultural production and in downstream logistics. He now needs to consider whether, and how aggressively, to expand abroad, either with production facilities or by exporting Brazilian output.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 11

structurally constrained context. Structural positions influence the resources available to actors and color the motivations that shape their actions. Resources equip actors to exert agency, while... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 13

trusts. Read the paper: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03585522.2011.617574 Working PapersWhen to Sell Your Idea: Theory and Evidence from the Movie Industry Author:Hong Luo Abstract How completely should an innovator... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 20, 2007

problem for the consortium is how much to raise its previous bid. A reasonable bid must be based upon how much value the private equity consortium can create through improvements in Hertz's global operations on the one hand, and a more efficient capital View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Mar 2016
First Look

March 15, 2016

transparency and weak governance in resource rich countries. However, we document that industry self-regulation has generated information to substitute for the gap in voluntary company disclosure. We also find some evidence that these... View Details

06 Dec 2016
First Look

December 6, 2016

originating catalyst for the Industrial Revolution and modern capitalism casts new light on American credit markets, practices of offshore investment, and understandings of human capital. Rather than seeing slavery as outside the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Google Inc. (Abridged)

By: Benjamin Edelman and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes Google's history, business model, governance structure, corporate culture, and processes for managing innovation. Reviews Google's recent strategic initiatives and the threats it poses to Yahoo, Microsoft, and others. Asks what Google should do next. One... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Search Technology; Web Services Industry

April 1988 (Revised May 1992)
Case

Gaz de France

By: W. Carl Kester

The treasurer of Gaz de France is an aggressive, proactive manager of his company's liability structure, running one of the largest swap books of any non-financial corporation in the world. Currency futures, interbank forwards, and currency options are also frequently... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Borrowing and Debt; Currency Exchange Rate; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Policy; Management; Organizational Structure; Energy Industry; Europe

March 1999
Case

Hans Fritz at Novartis Thailand (A): The First Month

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Dr. Hans Fritz is 37 years old when he arrives in Bangkok on March 1, 1998 to assume his position as general manager of Novartis Thailand. Novartis is the world's largest pharmaceutical company. He had lobbied to transition from a staff position to this line management... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Transition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Working Conditions; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Crisis Management; Decision Making; Pharmaceutical Industry; Thailand