When Marriott International acquired Starwood in 2016 for $13.6 billion, neither company was awareof a cyber-attack on Starwood’s reservation system that dated back to 2014. The breach, which exposed the sensitive personal data of nearly 500 million Starwood customers, is a perfect example of what we call a “data lemon” — a concept drawn from economist George Akerlof’s work on information asymmetries and the “lemons” problem. Akerlof’s insight was that a buyer does not know the quality of a product being offered by a seller, so the buyer risks purchasing a lemon — think of cars.
Don’t Acquire a Company Until You Evaluate Its Data Security
Beware the “data lemon.”
April 16, 2019
Summary.
In M&A, acquiring companies routinely conduct a comprehensive appraisal of the target company’s assets, liabilities and commercial potential. This article proposes that acquirers do an equally rigorous evaluation of the target’s data security.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Digital Intelligence . Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Excel in a world that's being continually transformed by technology.