CRA International
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Management consulting, Economic consulting |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Founder | Jerry Kraft, John Kaler, Alan Willens |
| Headquarters | Boston , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Specialized testimony, litigation assistance, strategic guidance, analytical services |
| Website | www |
CRA International, Inc. operates under the trade name Charles River Associates and is a worldwide consulting enterprise headquartered in Boston. The company provides specialized testimony, litigation assistance, strategic guidance, and analytical services to a diverse clientele including law firms, corporations, accounting organizations, and governmental bodies.
Practice areas
The expertise offered by CRA encompasses a broad range of fields such as antitrust and competition economics, auction theory and competitive bidding strategies, energy sector analysis, finance and financial economics, forensic investigations, intellectual property matters, labor and employment issues, life sciences consulting, management consulting through its Marakon division, risk investigations and analytics, as well as transfer pricing.
History
Established in 1965 by Jerry Kraft, John Kaler, and Alan Willens, CRA transitioned to a publicly traded company in April 1998. The firm's European presence was bolstered in 2005 with the acquisition of Lexecon, an economic advisory firm operating in Europe and the United Kingdom. In 2009, the addition of Marakon introduced a management consulting arm centered on value-based management (VBM), prioritizing shareholder value as the chief corporate objective.
Marakon Associates, founded in 1978, was instrumental in developing VBM during the mid-1980s inspired by Dr. Bill Alberts' scholarly research. This methodology encourages top executives to establish performance benchmarks that correspond with shareholder returns such as stock valuation and dividend payouts.
In recent periods, CRA has enhanced its capabilities within life sciences and labor consulting sectors through strategic acquisitions including C1 Consulting (2017), bioStrategies Group (2022), and Welch Consulting (2022).
Economic forecasts used to oppose climate policymaking
Prior to major international environmental conferences like the 1992 Earth Summit and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol negotiations, Charles River Associates was commissioned by fossil fuel industry stakeholders to produce analyses suggesting that adherence to climate regulations would impose substantial economic burdens on the United States. CRA contested the Clinton administration's optimistic cost assessments related to Kyoto compliance, arguing that such policies would inflict considerable economic damage. Their projections—including those concerning the 2003 Climate Stewardship Act—were challenged by the Natural Resources Defense Council in 2005 for relying on unrealistic premises and miscalculating employment effects. A 2021 research study concluded that CRA’s reports—funded by fossil fuel interests from 1991 through 2009—tended to overstate economic costs while neglecting policy advantages, thereby significantly contributing to delays or weakening of climate initiatives.
See also
- Analysis Group
- Bates White
- Berkeley Research Group
- Brattle Group
- Compass Lexecon
- Cornerstone Research
- NERA Economic Consulting
Further reading
- McTaggert, James M.; Kontes, Peter W.; Mankins, Michael C. Value Imperative: Managing for Superior Shareholder Returns. Free Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0029206706
- Dodd, Dominic; Favaro, Ken. The Three Tensions: Winning the Struggle to Perform Without Compromise. John Wiley & Sons, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7879-8894-4
- Kontes, Peter. The CEO, Strategy, and Shareholder Value: Making the Choices That Maximize Company Performance. John Wiley & Sons, 2010. ISBN 978-0-470-87592-6