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    • COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      Cold Call
      A podcast featuring faculty discussing cases they've written and the lessons they impart.
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      • 02 Mar 2021
      • Cold Call Podcast

      Can Historic Social Injustices be Addressed Through Reparations?

      Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their descendants believe historic social injustices should be addressed through reparations. Professor Mihir Desai discusses the arguments for and against reparations in response to the Tulsa Massacre and, more broadly, to the effects of slavery and racist government policies in the US in his case, “The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations.”  Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

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      AcquisitionRemove Acquisition →

      New research on acquisition from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including leveraged buyouts, management challenges that come with growth-by-acquisition, and M&A trends.
      Page 1 of 17 Results
      • 14 Jan 2021
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Dog Eat Dog: Measuring Network Effects Using a Digital Platform Merger

      by Chiara Farronato, Jessica Fong, and Andrey Fradkin

      With heated debate over antitrust regulation of online platforms, this study finds that when a larger platform acquired its greatest competitor, users were not better off with a single platform compared with two competitors, despite marked efficiency improvements experienced by the acquiring platform.

      • 30 Nov 2020
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Short-Termism, Shareholder Payouts, and Investment in the EU

      by Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang

      Shareholder-driven “short-termism,” as evidenced by increasing payouts to shareholders, is said to impede long-term investment in EU public firms. But a deep dive into the data reveals a different story.

      • 26 Jun 2020
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Weak Credit Covenants

      by Victoria Ivashina and Boris Vallée

      Prior to the 2020 pandemic, the leveraged loan market experienced an unprecedented boom, which came hand in hand with significant changes in contracting terms. This study presents large-sample evidence of what constitutes contractual weakness from the creditors’ perspective.

      • 13 Jan 2020
      • Research & Ideas

      Do Private Equity Buyouts Get a Bad Rap?

      by Michael Blanding

      Elizabeth Warren calls private equity buyouts "Wall Street looting," but a recent study by Josh Lerner and colleagues shows they have both positive and negative impacts. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

      • 05 Nov 2019
      • Working Paper Summaries

      The Economic Effects of Private Equity Buyouts

      by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ben Lipsius, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda

      Private equity buyouts are a major financial enterprise that critics see as dominated by rent-seeking activities with little in the way of societal benefits. This study of 6,000 US buyouts between 1980 and 2013 finds that the real side effects of buyouts on target firms and their workers vary greatly by deal type and market conditions.

      • 21 Aug 2019
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Improving Customer Compatibility with Operational Transparency

      by Ryan W. Buell and MoonSoo Choi

      Service firms seeking prospective customers usually highlight the advantages of their offerings and downplay the tradeoffs. This study suggests a different approach: Provide transparency into advantages as well as tradeoffs. The transparency helps customers make informed decisions and can lead to better outcomes for both firms and customers over the long run.

      • 05 Jun 2019
      • Research & Ideas

      If Your Customers Don't Care What You Charge, What Should You Charge?

      by Kristen Senz

      Consumer inertia is the tendency of some customers to buy a product, even when superior options exist. Alexander J. MacKay discusses how that habit affects competitive strategy and even regulatory oversight. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

      • 04 Jun 2019
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Political Influence and Merger Antitrust Reviews

      by Mihir N. Mehta, Suraj Srinivasan, and Wanli Zhao

      This paper uses a large sample of United States mergers between 1998 and 2010 to study how political connections help firms obtain favorable antitrust regulatory outcomes for mergers. Given that antitrust regulators are subject to congressional oversight, the authors predict and find evidence that outcomes systematically favor firms that are constituents of politicians serving on judiciary committees.

      • 30 May 2019
      • Working Paper Summaries

      US Antitrust Law and Policy in Historical Perspective

      by Laura Phillips Sawyer

      Since the late 19th century, American antitrust law and policy has responded to multiple changes: technological advances that have transformed business structures, political imperatives that have reformed regulations and informed prosecutorial discretion, and economic theories that have reshaped the boundaries of government interventions into the economy. Today, antitrust remains a contested field.

      • 10 Apr 2019
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Trade Secrets Protection and Antitakeover Provisions

      by Aiyesha Dey and Joshua White

      The study examines managers’ responses when facing an increased threat of their firm being acquired. Results add to our knowledge of the use of antitakeover provisions, showing that managers, particularly in high-innovation firms, increase certain provisions to protect long-term innovation output in the presence of elevated acquisition risk.

      • 14 May 2018
      • Research & Ideas

      Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

      by Michael Blanding

      Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods seemed a Wall Street dream come true. But then Amazon's data-driven efficiency met the customer-driven culture at Whole Foods—and the shelves began to empty. Dennis Campbell and Tatiana Sandino discuss their new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

      • 12 Feb 2018
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity: Reply to Ayash and Rastad

      by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ron S. Jarmin, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda

      In 2014, the authors published an influential analysis of private equity buyouts in the American Economic Review. Recently, economists Brian Ayash and Mahdi Rastad have challenged the accuracy of those findings. This new paper responds point by point to their critique, contending that it reflects a misunderstanding of the data and methodology behind the original study.

      • 25 Jan 2016
      • Research & Ideas

      When Negotiating a Price, Never Bid with a Round Number

      by Carmen Nobel

      Investors who offer “precise” bids for company shares yield better outcomes than those who offer round-number bids, according to research by Petri Hukkanen and Matti Keloharju. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

      • 03 Sep 2009
      • What Do You Think?

      Are Retention Bonuses Worth the Investment?

      by Jim Heskett

      There is a time and place for retention bonuses but they should be used sparingly, wrote many respondents to this month's column, says Professor Jim Heskett. Others challenged the value of bonuses, and suggested compelling alternatives. (Online forum now closed; next forum begins October 2.) Closed for comment; 42 Comment(s) posted.

      • 15 Dec 2008
      • Research & Ideas

      The Surprisingly Successful Marriages of Multinationals and Social Brands

      by Sarah Jane Gilbert

      What happens when small iconic brands associated with social values—think Ben & Jerry's—are acquired by large concerns—think Unilever? Can the marriage of a virtuous mouse and a wealthy elephant work to the benefit of both? Professors James E. Austin and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard discuss their research. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

      • 28 Nov 2005
      • Research & Ideas

      Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

      by Geoffrey Jones

      In a new book, professor Geoffrey Jones looks at Unilever's decades-old transformation from fragmented underperformer to focused consumer products giant. This epilogue summarizes the years 1960 to 1990. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

      • 02 Apr 2001
      • Research & Ideas

      Not All M&As Are Alike—and That Matters

      by Joseph L. Bower

      In this Harvard Business Review article, Professor Joseph L. Bower shares some of the results of his year-long study of M&A activity sponsored by HBS. Discover how five distinct merger and acquisition strategies scenarios play out—and his recommendations for success. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

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