Working Papers
Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What to Do About It (revised)
| Author: | Benjamin Edelman |
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Abstract
The Internet's current numbering system is nearing exhaustion: existing protocols allow only a finite set of computer numbers ("IP addresses"), and central authorities will soon deplete their supply. I evaluate a series of possible responses to this shortage: sharing addresses impedes new Internet applications and does not seem to be scalable. A new numbering system ("IPv6") offers greater capacity, but network incentives impede transition. Paid transfers of IP addresses would better allocate resources to those who need them most, but unrestricted transfers might threaten the Internet's routing system. I suggest policies to facilitate an IP address "market" while avoiding major negative externalities—mitigating the worst effects of v4 scarcity, while obtaining price discovery and allocative efficiency benefits of market transactions.
Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-091.pdf
Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?
| Authors: | Karthik Ramanna and Ewa Sletten |
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Abstract
In a sample of 102 non-European Union countries, we study variations in the decision to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). There is evidence that more powerful countries are less likely to adopt IFRS, consistent with more powerful countries being less willing to surrender standard-setting authority to an international body. There is also evidence that the likelihood of IFRS adoption at first increases and then decreases in the quality of countries' domestic governance institutions, consistent with IFRS being adopted when governments are capable of timely decision making and when the opportunity and switching cost of domestic standards are relatively low. We do not find evidence that levels of and expected changes in foreign trade and investment flows in a country affect its adoption decision; thus, we cannot confirm that IFRS lowers information costs in more globalized economies. Consistent with the presence of network effects in IFRS adoption, we find that a country is more likely to adopt IFRS if other countries in its geographical region are IFRS adopters. (No PDF is available.)
Cases & Course Materials
Basic Techniques for the Analysis of Customer Information Using Excel 2007: A Step-by-Step Approach
Harvard Business School Note 109-052
The objective of this note is to provide a set of easy, step-by-step guides for some analytical techniques that are useful in the analysis of cases discussed in the course "Competing and Winning through Customer Information" (CWCI). The instructions that follow use datasets from three of the cases in the course: "Slots, Tables, and All That Jazz: Managing Customer Profitability at the MGM Grand Hotel," HBS No. 106-029; "MercadoLibre.com," HBS No. 106-057; and "Bancaja: Developing Customer Intelligence (A)," HBS No. 107-055. These datasets are available upon request from the author.
Purchase the note:
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=109052
DermaCare: Zapping Zits Directly
Harvard Business School Case 808-064
DermaCare has developed an innovative new product for the treatment of acne that they hope to sell to consumers via direct-response television. The unconventional nature of the product and its distribution has led the company to seek angel financing. The Silicon Valley Band of Angels has agreed to finance the company and has submitted a proposed term sheet. Recently, however, a venture capital (VC) group has submitted a competing term sheet. The company must decide whether to accept financing from the Angels or the VC group.
Purchase the case:
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=808064
Dubai: Global Economy
Harvard Business School Case 709-043
This case, along with Saudi Arabia: "Modern Reform, Enduring Stability" (709-042), provides an opportunity to discuss Saudi Arabia's efforts to modernize, without really Westernizing, in sharp contrast to Dubai, a nearby Arab Emirate. As Saudi Arabia's development strategy unfolds in the past six years, it is contrasted to social and political pressures within the country, volatility in global oil markets, and severe political problems in the Middle East.
Purchase the case:
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=709043
One Firm One Future at Davis Langdon
Harvard Business School Case 409-044
Rob Smith, senior partner of construction consultancy Davis Langdon, has just led the firm through a major organizational change in Europe and the Middle East. In the past, the firm's compensation arrangements did not encourage partners to collaborate across the firm to serve clients' increasingly global and complex needs. In 2007, under Smith's leadership, the partnership agreed to implement holistic change, which included shifting from geographical to sector structure and creating a profit-sharing system that rewarded more than just financial contribution and encouraged partners to work together for the benefit of the firm as a whole. In the midst of the global economic crisis, Smith must decide whether and how to extend on a global basis the alignment the firm achieved in Europe and the Middle East.
Purchase this case:
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=409044
Perfect Storm over Zurich Airport (A)
Harvard Business School Case 408-023
Josef Felder, CEO of Zurich Airport, faces several crises as he tries to transform the Airport from a slow-moving, conflict-ridden, government-owned entity into a privatized, world-class airport.
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http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=408023
Purchase the supplement:
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=408058
Saudi Arabia: Modern Reform, Enduring Stability
Harvard Business School Case 709-042
This case, along with "Dubai: Global Economy" (709-043), provides an opportunity to discuss Saudi Arabia's efforts to modernize, without really Westernizing, in sharp contrast to Dubai, a nearby Arab Emirate. As Saudi Arabia's development strategy unfolds in the past six years, it is contrasted to social and political pressures within the country, volatility in global oil markets, and severe political problems in the Middle East.
Purchase this case:
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=709042
Shanghai Diligence Law Firm
Harvard Business School Case 409-065
Shanghai Diligence Law Firm, started in January 2006, is a rapidly growing law firm in China's burgeoning legal services market. In addition to the usual challenges facing all professional service firms (picking and retaining talent and building a desired client portfolio), the firm faces some challenges and opportunities that are unique to its setting in China and the fact that the firm is not yet three years old. The legal profession in China is a new and rapidly growing one with a large number of small firms all trying to carve out a distinctive niche for themselves. One of the partners in the firm, Joseph Shang, has created an innovative compensation system he calls the "A-B-C-D Model" which enables even the most junior associates to earn compensation for bringing in new business. This model is a kind of hybrid between the typical compensation system found in a Chinese law firm and those found in UK and U.S. law firms. The goal of this approach to compensation is to enable the firm to get and keep promising lawyers while also giving them an incentive to help grow the business. Somewhat unusual for a typical law firm, or any type of professional service firm, this compensation model is only used in Shang's practice. The founder and CEO, Chenyao Wu, has his own version of an "A-B-C-D Model," and discussions are taking place about what the firm should be doing about compensation. In addition to compensation, the firm is grappling with issues regarding divergent views amongst the partners, building a brand in a very competitive marketplace, and the stability of the core team. Finally, the firm has been presented with an opportunity to join two other firms in a three-way merger and the partners are debating the risks and opportunities in going forward with this.
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http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=409065
Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates
Harvard Business School Case 409-079
Marcel Lorent, head of International Mobility at Brussels-based Solvay Group, faces decisions on the expatriation status of four of his firm's talented executives. Each decision will impact the candidate's professional and personal life and will have implications for effective management and growth in Solvay's global markets. The case explores these issues, with a close look at Solvay's attempts to develop talent management and mobility processes that allow the firm to align its strategic needs with the complexities of its individual employees' needs and lives.
Purchase this case:
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=409079
Publications
Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation
| Editors: | Laura M. Roberts and Jane E. Dutton, eds. |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Psychology Press, forthcoming |
Abstract
No abstract is available at this time.
Publisher's Abstract: http://www.workpsychologyarena.com/books/
Negotiauctions: New Dealmaking Strategies for a Competitive Marketplace
| Author: | Guhan Subramanian |
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| Publication: | W.W. Norton & Company, forthcoming |
Abstract
No abstract is available at this time.
American Democracy: The Perils of Imperialism
| Author: | Niall Ferguson |
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| Publication: | In America at Risk: Threats to Liberal Self-Government in an Age of Uncertainty, edited by Faulkner Robert and Susan Shell. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, forthcoming |
Abstract
Chapter excerpt: "Most American occupations of foreign countries have been of relatively short duration, which may well account for their relative lack of success in fundamentally altering the political institutions of the countries in question...this is the real problem—not the 'hegemonic pretensions' of the United States, but its chronic lack of imperial stamina."
Book link: http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=263002
The Nature of Partnering Experience and the Gains from Alliances
| Authors: | Ranjay Gulati, D. Lavie, and H. Singh |
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| Publication: | Strategic Management Journal (forthcoming) |
Abstract
We examine the conditions under which the prior partnering experience of firms contributes to value creation in their new alliances. We propose that prior experience with the same partners, i.e., "partner-specific experience," provides greater benefits than "general partnering experience" that encompasses all prior alliances with any partner. We further explore some of the boundary conditions for the effects of partner-specific experience. We suggest that the effect of partner-specific experience on value creation in alliances is moderated by the extent to which the assets of the new partner differ from those of the firm's prior partners. We also propose that the firm's own technological and financial resources increase the benefits of partner-specific experience. Finally, we predict that the value of partner-specific experience will increase under high levels of firm-specific uncertainty. We test these hypotheses with comprehensive longitudinal multi-industry data on joint ventures formed among Fortune 300 firms between 1987 and 1996. Based on stock market returns to joint-venture announcements, the results provide support for the contingent value of partnering experience. The implications for managing alliances and advancing organizational learning are discussed.
Long-Run Stockholder Consumption Risk and Asset Returns
| Authors: | Christopher J. Malloy, Tobias J. Moskowitz, and Annette Vissing-Jørgensen |
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| Publication: | Journal of Finance (forthcoming) |
Abstract
We provide new evidence on the success of long-run risks in asset pricing by focusing on the risks borne by stockholders. Exploiting micro-level household consumption data, we show that long-run stockholder consumption risk better captures cross-sectional variation in average asset returns than aggregate or non-stockholder consumption risk and provides more plausible economic magnitudes. We find that risk aversion estimates around 10 can match observed risk premia for the wealthiest stockholders across sets of test assets that include the 25 Fama and French size and value portfolios, the market portfolio, bond portfolios, and the entire cross-section of stocks.
A Nonsimultaneous, Extended, Altruistic-Donor Chain
| Authors: | Michael A. Rees, Jonathan E. Kopke, Ronald P. Pelletier, Dorry L. Segev, Matthew E. Rutter, Alfredo J. Fabrega, Jeffrey Rogers, Oleh G. Pankewycz, Janet Hiller, Alvin E. Roth, Tuomas Sandholm, Utku Ünver, and Robert A. Montgomery |
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| Publication: | New England Journal of Medicine 360, no. 11 (March 12, 2009): 1096-1101 |
Abstract
No abstract is available at this time.
Attitude Dependent Altruism, Turnout and Voting
| Author: | Julio J. Rotemberg |
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| Publication: | Public Choice (forthcoming) |
Abstract
This paper presents a goal-oriented model of political participation based on two psychological assumptions. The first is that people are more altruistic towards individuals who agree with them and the second is that people's well-being rises when other people share their personal opinions. The act of voting is then a source of vicarious utility because it raises the well-being of individuals who agree with the voter. Substantial equilibrium turnout emerges with nontrivial voting costs and modest altruism. The model can explain higher turnout in close elections as well as votes for third-party candidates with no prospect of victory. For certain parameters, these third-party candidates lose votes to more popular candidates, a phenomenon often called strategic voting. For other parameters, the model predicts "vote-stealing" where the addition of a third candidate robs a viable major candidate of electoral support.