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    Legal LiabilityRemove Legal Liability →

    New research on legal liability from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the relationship between integrity and legal liability, and why operational failures that trigger more financial and liability risks are associated with increased frontline worker problem-solving.
    Page 1 of 10 Results
    • 12 Aug 2020
    • Research & Ideas

    Why Investors Often Lose When They Sue Their Financial Adviser

    by Danielle Kost

    Forty percent of American investors rely on financial advisers, but the COVID-19 market rollercoaster may have highlighted a weakness when disputes arise. The system favors the financial industry, says Mark Egan. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 23 Mar 2020
    • Research & Ideas

    Product Disasters Can Be Fertile Ground for Innovation

    by Michael Blanding

    Rather than chilling innovation, product accidents may provide companies an unexpected opportunity to develop new technologies desired by consumers, according to Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 28 May 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    Investor Lawsuits Against Auditors Are Falling, and That's Bad News for Capital Markets

    by Martha Lagace

    It's becoming more difficult for investors to sue corporate auditors. The result? A weakening of trust in US capital markets, says Suraj Srinivasan. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 06 May 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    Consumers Blame Business for Global Health Problems. Can Business Become the Solution?

    by Danielle Kost

    Millions of people have been harmed by cigarettes, defective merchandise, pollution, addiction and other business by-products. now, pioneering companies are exploring healthier ways to operate, say Amy C. Edmondson and Dr. Howard K. Koh. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 31 Jul 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    How Does Product Liability Risk Affect Innovation? Evidence from Medical Implants

    by Alberto Galasso and Hong Luo

    This analysis examines how a surge in liability risk faced by upstream suppliers of general purpose technologies (polymers) affected downstream innovation in implant technologies. Implant patenting dropped by 36 percent relative to non-implant technologies.

    • 05 Jul 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Buying the Verdict

    by Lauren H. Cohen and Umit G. Gurun

    This paper documents systematic evidence that firms engage in specialized, locally targeted advertising when taken to a court trial in a given location. Policymakers should consider what impact such targeted advertising is having—and whether it is a desired impact—on juries and the judicial process more generally.

    • 11 Jun 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Why South Korea's Samsung Built the Only Outdoor Skating Rink in Texas

    by Michael Blanding

    New research by Lauren Cohen and Umit Gurun finds that when some companies are sued, they put their advertising dollars to work in unusual ways to influence local juries. Meet 'TiVo,' the championship steer. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 17 Dec 2009
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Integrity: Without It Nothing Works

    by Michael C. Jensen

    "An individual is whole and complete when their word is whole and complete, and their word is whole and complete when they honor their word," says HBS professor Michael C. Jensen in this interview that appeared in Rotman: The Magazine of the Rotman School of Management, Fall 2009. Jensen (and his coauthors, Werner Erhard and Steve Zaffron) define and discuss integrity ("a state or condition of being whole, complete, unbroken, unimpaired, sound, in perfect condition"); the workability that integrity creates for individuals, groups, organizations, and society; and its translation into organizational performance. He also discusses the costs of lacking integrity and the fallacy of using a cost/benefit analysis when deciding whether to honor your word. Key concepts include: The personal and organizational benefits of honoring one's word are huge—both for individuals and for organizations—and generally unappreciated. We can honor our word in one of two ways: by keeping it on time and as promised, or if that becomes impossible, by owning up to the parties counting on us to keep our word in advance and cleaning up the mess our failure to keep our word creates in their lives. By failing to honor our word to ourselves, we undermine ourselves as persons of integrity, and create "unworkability" in our lives. Integrity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for maximum performance. There are unrecognized but significant costs to associating with people and organizations that lack integrity. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 23 Sep 2009
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Operational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting

    by Julia Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer & Michael W. Toffel

    Operational failures occur within organizations across all industries, with consequences ranging from minor inconveniences to major catastrophes. How can managers encourage frontline workers to solve problems in response to operational failures? In the health-care industry, the setting for this study, operational failures occur often, and some are reported to voluntary incident reporting systems that are meant to help organizations learn from experience. Using data on nearly 7,500 reported incidents from a single hospital, the researchers found that problem-solving in response to operational failures is influenced by both the risk posed by the incident and the extent to which management demonstrates a commitment to problem-solving. Findings can be used by organizations to increase the contribution of incident reporting systems to operational performance improvement. Key concepts include: Operational failures that trigger more financial and liability risks are associated with more frontline worker problem-solving. By communicating the importance of problem-solving and engaging in problem-solving themselves, line managers can stimulate increased problem-solving among frontline workers. Even without managers' regular engagement in problem-solving, communication about its importance can promote more problem-solving among frontline workers. By explaining some of the variation in responsiveness to operational failures, this study empowers managers to adjust their approach to stimulate more problem-solving among frontline workers. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 03 Mar 2003
    • Research & Ideas

    Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

    by Staff

    The life of a startup can be precarious, a wrong turn disastrous. Harvard Business School professor Constance Bagley discusses the most frequent legal flops made by entrepreneurs, everything from hiring the wrong lawyer to puffing up the business plan. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

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