Impact Measurement - Publications - Faculty & Research

17 Jan 2023
In Practice

8 Trends to Watch in 2023

As 2023 begins, businesses and employees face an uncertain economy and labor market, as the twin dilemmas of inflation and interest rates weigh on forecasts. Harvard Business School faculty share the top trends that they believe will shape the workplace and markets... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

12 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

Swiping Right: How Data Helped This Online Dating Site Make More Matches

tell if these online matches came to fruition in real life.) Defining desirability To sort matches, the researchers measured desirability, though not in the “supermodel” sense. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: The team determined... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

winter 1985
Article

The Nonpecuniary Costs of Automobile Emissions Standards

By: Timothy F. Bresnahan and Dennis Yao

An important component of the costs of automotive air-pollution control has been nonpecuniary: a decline in vehicle performance characteristics. This regulatory impact on what the auto industry calls "drivability" has never been quantified, although there is... View Details

Keywords: Transportation; Pollutants; Cost; Standards; Performance; Quality; Auto Industry

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Regulatory Change/Business-Government Relations

“Sources of Learning Heterogeneity: Discontinuous Regulatory Shock and its Impact on Organizational Search Behaviors”

Co-authoring with Jerry Kim, in this study I look at how discontinuous regulatory shock shapes organizational... View Details

Keywords: Business ＆ Government Relations; Regulations; Regulatory Capture; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

2012
Working Paper

A Framework for Research on Corporate Accountability Reporting

By: Karthik Ramanna

This paper provides an accounting-based conceptual framing of the phenomenon of corporate accountability reporting. Such reporting is seen as arising from a delegator's (e.g., a citizenry) demand to hold a delegate (e.g., shareholders) to account. When effective,... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; For-Profit Firms; Framework; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Research; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues

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Executive Education | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Innovation - Virtual MAR 20-28, 2025 | Virtual Designed to help nonprofit leaders use performance measurement to enhance their organization's ability to achieve their mission, this program explores how participants can use performance... View Details

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Blog | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Impact Measurement Inclusive Finance International Development K-12 Education Leadership Fellows Leadership in Challenging Times MBA Programs Microfinance Non Profit Management Nonprofit Supportive Services... View Details

04 Apr 2023
What Do You Think?

How Does Remote Work Affect Innovation?

productivity, mainly by eliminating commute time, the evidence thus far suggests two things: We don’t yet know how to measure productivity changes from remote work and that, even when we learn, the impact... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Healthy Outcomes - Managing the Future of Work

outcomes such as higher retention and better engagement. Read the Report Featured Videos Joseph Fuller Why Employers Should Care About the Care Economy Why Employers Should Care About the Care Economy Joseph Fuller Joseph Fuller Measuring... View Details

24 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Rethinking Activity-Based Costing

practical capacity is grossly in error, the process of running the time-driven ABC system will reveal the error over time. The capacity of most resources is measured in terms of time availability. Returning to our example, let's assume... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & Steven R. Anderson

05 Jul 2016
First Look

July 5, 2016

measure of carbon embedded within their institutional clients’ assets under custody to help clients understand the climate risk in their portfolios. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51261 Finding... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 May 2022
HBS Case

Apple vs. Feds: Is iPhone Privacy a Basic Human Right?

Apple debuted new privacy measures that blocked law enforcement from accessing its customers’ data. “There is an opportunity to do work that is infused with moral purpose.” He said shareholders who were only looking for a return on... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

September 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Mobil USM&R (C): Lubricants Business Unit

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The general manager of a Lubricants Business Unit in Mobil's U.S. Marketing and Refining division launched a project to develop a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for his unit. The purpose was to provide focus for all employees of the unit, enabling it to operate on an... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Employees; Customization and Personalization; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Management Teams; Projects; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

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10 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

How to Live Happier in 2023: Diversify Your Social Circle

studies from the World Health Organization and users of an app in France. In total, they examined the social interactions of 50,000 people, all pointing to the same finding. Fine-tuning your mix To a lesser extent, social portfolio diversity also had a View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

24 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

“Business leaders need to think about the social impact of the business decisions they’re making—and then measure their impact.” “Even in markets where there is anti-Black bias on average, making it easy for... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Food & Beverage

Web

Social Enterprise - Faculty & Research

environmental dimension of CSR. Spring 2014 Article What Impact? A Framework for Measuring the Scale & Scope of Social Performance By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan Organizations with social missions, such as nonprofits and social... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

Thinking Ahead

As we wind down 2023, there’s talk everywhere of generative AI and how it will fundamentally alter the world as we know it; but how does that translate for your corner of the business world? Is TikTok something you need to take seriously? (Is it time to dance?) We... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Illustrations by Chris Gash; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

15 Podcast Episodes That Grabbed Listeners in 2023

an Impact Great business leaders are problem solvers. That’s what sparked Susan Tynan to found Framebridge, a custom framing company. When Tynan couldn’t find a reasonably priced place to frame her beloved posters, she launched a... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

21 Jul 2021
Research & Ideas

What Does an ESG Score Really Say About a Company?

Receiving more information can clarify the complex, but not when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores. A recent study shows that the more information a company discloses about its ESG practices, the more rating agencies disagree on how well... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

August 2021
Article

Don't Take Their Word for It: The Misclassification of Bond Mutual Funds

By: Huaizhi Chen, Lauren Cohen and Umit Gurun

We provide evidence that bond fund managers misclassify their holdings, and that these misclassifications have a real and significant impact on investor capital flows. In particular, many funds report more investment grade assets than are actually held in their... View Details

Keywords: Mutual Funds; Economics; Finance; Measurement and Metrics; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry

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