Publications

April 2, 2018
Article

The Right Way for Companies to Publicize Their Social Responsibility Efforts

By: Mark R. Kramer

It’s a common complaint. Companies keep trying to show the world that they are socially conscious and keep losing the battle. Anheuser-Busch and Hyundai even devoted this year’s Super Bowl ads to lauding their philanthropic efforts with decidedly mixed responses.... View Details

Keywords: Public Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Communication Strategy

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June 2003 (Revised October 2004)
Case

StorageNetworks: Restarting a Public Company (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Todd H Thedinga

Peter Bell, founder and CEO of StorageNetworks, faces the problem of "restarting" a public company by changing its business model from being a storage-services provider to being a storage software developer. The task seems challenging, but surely doable, with $200... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Diversification; Change Management; Cash; Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

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08 May 2024
News

Public Companies Are Alive and Well

06 Feb 2006
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs of Public Companies Offer Earnings Guidance?

practice of providing detailed information about the company's "quarterly standings, stock prices, new acquisitions, etc.," concludes that "anyone who has stock or investments in a public View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

13 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Public Companies Underinvest in the Future

Financial data on US companies is easy to come by—if they are listed on the stock market. More than 99 percent of them are not, presenting a challenge for researchers intent on studying how privately held firms operate. “It seemed natural... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

16 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Private Meetings of Public Companies Thwart Disclosure Rules

In the fall of, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a new rule meant to combat the problem of selective disclosure among public companies and their favorite investors. Regulation Fair Disclosure... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

August 2003
Case

StorageNetworks: Restarting a Public Company (B)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology Industry

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16 Jan 2012
News

Private Meetings of Public Companies Thwart Disclosure Rules

September 2017 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Public Entrepreneurs? Picking a Path

By: Mitchell Weiss and Matthew Segneri

Direct entry into government remained an uncommon post-HBS path, with only 1%–2% of recent classes going directly into the public sector. But, for public-minded MBAs, government wasn’t the sole province for public problem-solving. MBAs could join or launch companies... View Details

July 2010 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Public Architecture

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Christopher Marquis and Bobbi Thomason

Public Architecture is a non-profit architecture company dedicated to creating social and professional change through design for the public good. Public has focused on three strategies to create change: 1) promoting the design community's commitment to pro bono work,... View Details

Keywords: Design; Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Strategy; Integration

23 Jun 2015
News

Governance reforms add significance to being a public company

January 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

National Public Broadcasting

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Bob Williams, the CEO of National Public Broadcasting (NPB), was considering an unsolicited offer to purchase the company in the early spring of 2006. The company was a media underwriting representative for public television and radio stations throughout the United... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Management; Ownership; Advertising Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

24 Jul 2015
News

Why CEO Activism Could Change the World of Public Companies

May 2019
Teaching Note

Tesla, Inc. in 2018

By: Siko Sikochi and Suraj Srinivasan

Teaching Note for HBS No. 119-013. The case facilitates a discussion about corporate governance and its role in achieving sustainable profitability and driving long-term shareholder value. The discussion can focus on such questions as what constitutes good governance,... View Details

Keywords: Public Company; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Cost vs Benefits

August 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Public Health Insurance Exchanges: The Massachusetts Experience

By: Regina Herzlinger and Jordan Bazinsky

The CEO of Tufts Health Plan, James Roosevelt, is wondering whether to offer insurance products on the Massachusetts Connector, the first U.S. exchange. He wonders if he should enter these uncharted waters at all. And, if yes, with a broad network or a narrow network... View Details

Keywords: Health Insurance Exchange; Healthcare Reform; Public Health Insurance Exchange; Decision Making; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

09 Nov 2022
News

Public Good

Photo via LinkedIn Photo via LinkedIn When she joined United Way Miami in August as the organization’s CEO, Symeria Hudson (MBA 1997) made a Friday her first day on the job so she could use the weekend to reflect on all she’d seen and heard. Going forward, she’s stuck... View Details

Keywords: nonprofit management; social enterprise; leadership; United Way; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

September 2024
Supplement

National Public Broadcasting (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details. Abstract: This (B) case supplement is designed for use by faculty only to support classroom instruction in conjunction with "National... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Media; Ownership; Strategy; Advertising; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States