Publications

June 2016
Article

Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation for Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Bryan Hong, Zhichuan (Frank) Li and Dylan B. Minor

We link the corporate governance literature in financial economics to the agency cost perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to derive theoretical predictions about the relationship between corporate governance and the existence of executive compensation... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Incentives For CSR; Non-financial Performance Measures; Agency Costs; Board Independence; Institutional Holdings; Managerial Power; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Executive Compensation; Corporate Governance

November 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

The Weir Group: Reforming Executive Pay (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Federica Gabrieli

In February 2018, the Remuneration Committee together with the full Board of Directors of the Scotland-based engineering company The Weir Group had to decide whether to seek a shareholder vote at the upcoming Annual General Meeting in April on a proposal to reform the... View Details

Article

Impact-Weighted Financial Accounts: A Paradigm Shift

By: Ethan Rouen and George Serafeim

The last decade has seen an exponential increase in corporate sustainability activities and efforts by investors to use these activities in their portfolio formation, valuation, and stewardship activities. This paper explains the need for a uniform strategy to measure... View Details

Keywords: Impact-Weighted Accounts; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Measurement and Metrics; Standards

July 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

GM's Capital Allocation Framework

By: C. Fritz Foley, F. Katelynn Boland and Michael Lemm

In March of 2015, General Motors announced the details of a newly established capital allocation framework. This framework provided a target for return on invested capital, guidelines for capital structure choices, and policies related to payouts. Senior managers face... View Details

Keywords: Performance Metrics; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Auto Industry; Transportation Industry; United States

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Airlines Industry

By: George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the airlines industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates of fare... View Details

May 2012
Technical Note

Frameworks for Dialogue and Research about Social Impact Investing

By: Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard

Social Impact Investment is a rapidly expanding field, but terminology in the field is poorly defined and imprecise. This note suggests frameworks that help to clarify important dimensions of SII projects, distinguishing and clarifying key differences in approaches to... View Details

Keywords: Development Stage Enterprises; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Instruments; Performance Measurement; Balanced Scorecard; Investment Funds; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Research; Framework; Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry

2014
Working Paper

Profits and Economic Development

By: Dan Schwab and Eric Werker

Are rents, or excess profits, good for development? Using industry-level manufacturing data, this paper demonstrates a negative effect of rents, measured by the mark-up ratio, on productivity growth. The negative effect is strongest in poor countries, suggesting that... View Details

Keywords: Firm Performance; Rent; Mark-up; Competition; Manufacturing; Development Economics; Profit; Economic Growth; Renting or Rental

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Telecommunications Industry

By: George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the telecommunications industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates of network... View Details

June 2015
Supplement

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture (B)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case, an update on "Henkel: Building a Winning Culture (A)," describes Henkel's strong performance against its tough 2012 objectives, as well as the new objectives CEO Kasper Rorsted set for 2016. View Details

Keywords: Kasper Rorsted; Rorsted; Henkel; Germany; Personal Care; Consumer Products; Culture; Performance Management; Performance Metrics; Stretch Goals; Strategy; Measurement and Metrics; Performance; Management; Consumer Products Industry; Germany

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Water Utilities Industry

By: George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the water utilities industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates of water... View Details

November 2023 (Revised August 2024)
Background Note

Life Cycle Assessment: An Overview

By: Willy C. Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic approach to quantifying the environmental impacts—including resources consumed and wastes produced—associated with the entire life cycle of a product, from the production or extraction of the raw materials used in its creation,... View Details

Keywords: Life-cycle; Environmental Performance; Design; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Measurement and Metrics; Standards; Accounting; Environmental Accounting

September 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

STARZPLAY: Shooting for the Stars

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini and Alpana Thapar

In mid-2021, Maaz Sheikh, cofounder and CEO of STARZPLAY, a Dubai-based subscription video on demand (SVOD) provider that catered to the Middle East and North Africa region, was wrestling with how to find the right balance between continued subscriber growth and... View Details

May 2021
Article

Value-Based Healthcare in Urology: A Collaborative Review

By: Chanan Reitblat, Paul A. Bain, Michael E. Porter, David N. Bernstein, Thomas W. Feeley, Markus Graefen, Santosh Iyer, Matthew J. Resnick, C.J. Stimson, Quoc-Dien Trinh and Boris Gershman

Context:
In response to growing concerns over rising costs and major variation in quality, improving value for patients has been proposed as a fundamentally new strategy for how healthcare should be delivered, measured, and... View Details

Keywords: Value-based Healthcare; Integrated Practice Units; Outcome Measurement; Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Health Care and Treatment; Value; Cost Management; Strategy; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics

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Research Summary

Social Determinants of Health

By: Susanna Gallani

Healthcare provider organizations are becoming progressively more involved in ways to improve health equity and address social determinants of health (SDOH). In this line of work, Prof. Gallani studies organizational factors interacting with the implementation of SODH... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare Organizations; Performance Management; Accountability; Health Industry

Article

Tread Lightly Through These Accounting Minefields

By: H. David Sherman and S. David Young

In the current economic climate, there is tremendous pressure—and personal incentive for managers—to report sales growth and meet investors' revenue expectations. As a result, more companies have been issuing misleading financial reports, according to the SEC,... View Details

Keywords: Derivatives; Benchmarking Performance; Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Assets

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October 2022
Case

Sustainable Finance at Itau BBA

By: George Serafeim, Maria Loumioti and Benjamin Maletta

As of August 2022, the Itau BBA had structured dozens of sustainability linked bonds, which made future interest payments a function of the borrower meeting a target for a sustainability metric, and had solidified its reputation as a pioneer of sustainable finance in... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility; Environmental Sustainability; Growth Strategy; Debt Contracting; Performance Metrics; Risk Assessment; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Financial Instruments; Risk Management; Debt Securities; Measurement and Metrics; Banking Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Latin America

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Interactive Media and Services Industry

By: DG Park, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the interactive media and services industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact... View Details

September 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Forecasting Climate Risks: Aviva’s Climate Calculus

By: Mark Egan and Peter Tufano

In late 2021, Ben Carr, Director of Analytics and Capital Modeling at Aviva Plc (Aviva)—a leading insurer with core operations in the UK, Ireland and Canada,—was preparing for an upcoming presentation before the company's board which included its CEO, Amanda Blanc,... View Details

Keywords: Climate Risk; Climate Finance; Forecasting; Insurance; Risk Measurement; Climate Change; Risk Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance Industry; United States