Publications

28 May 2012
Research & Ideas

A Pragmatic Alternative for Creating a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

unhealthy working environment. Yet it shouldn't take a negative headline to move companies toward CSR. In fact, Rangan says, many owners and executives of large, successful corporations are driven by their... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

21 Mar 2024
News

OC Alumni Get Clarity on AI; Inequality and Climate Change Explored in DC

Hernandez. “We had a very lively conversation, and many people came up afterwards, asking when is the next one!” DC Alumni and BEI Present Talk on Inequality and Climate View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

19 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Accountability or Greenwashing?

Keywords: by Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel

17 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Why We Don’t Study Corporate Responsibility

researchers might be able to address such issues as "how corporate practices contribute to or detract from stable societal institutions or democratic processes, or how might companies advance individual learning View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

June 26, 2019
Article

The Biggest Mistakes Companies Make With Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

There’s almost nothing worse for the corporate ego than thinking that you’re doing good and should be appreciated for it, only to find that you’re pilloried instead. The public doesn’t believe you, the community doesn’t want you, and your own employees won’t defend... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Leadership; Change; Business and Community Relations

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Article

Corporate Headquarters in the Twenty-first Century: An Organization Design Perspective

By: Sven Kunisch, Markus Menz and David J. Collis

The corporate headquarters (CHQ) of the multi-business enterprise, which emerged as the dominant organizational form for the conduct of business in the twentieth century, has attracted considerable scholarly attention. As the business environment undergoes a... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Business Headquarters

05 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

The Changing Face of American Innovation

declining thereafter. During this period, English and European contributions declined somewhat in magnitude. “Recent trends may be a warning flag.” The increased contribution by Asian ethnicities is evident within many institutions,... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Technology

February 2011
Case

oDesk: Changing How the World Works

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Jennifer M. Tydlaska

It is 2010, and Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, is contemplating the next steps for his organization. Founded in 2004 in California, oDesk operates an online marketplace which matches Employers with Contractors. oDesk provides fact-based information on Contractors, including... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consulting Industry

September 1992 (Revised August 2004)
Supplement

Martin Marietta: Managing Corporate Ethics (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine

The president of one of Martin Marietta's four main operating companies has learned of procurement irregularities in the company he manages. The problems involve U.S. government contracts the company is working on. After getting legal advice from the company's general... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Governing and Advisory Boards; Policy; Contracts; Leadership; United States

December 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

The case concerns the sale of Mãe Terra, one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods, to the consumer goods giant Unilever in 2017. Working with Unilever management, Mãe Terra’s CEO Alexandre Borges must determine whether and how to keep Mãe Terra's B... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Brazil; Latin America

March 2015
Case

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp: Redefining Success in the U.S. (A)

By: Gautam Mukunda, Thomas DeLong and Aldo Sesia

Over the course of a tumultuous weekend in April 2010, André Wyss was put in charge of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NPC), the U.S. sales and marketing subsidiary of Novartis Pharma AG. He was brought in at a critical point in the organization's evolution with... View Details

Keywords: LEAD; Talent Management; Leadership And Change Management; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

Sharing the Responsibility of Corporate Governance

Rhetoric and Independence Are Not Enough: Empowering Managers and Directors to Do What Is Right, you challenge the adequacy of the Business Roundtable's assertion that the selection of a well-qualified View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

2022
Working Paper

ESG: Hyperboles and Reality

By: George Serafeim

ESG has rapidly become a household name leading to both confusion about what it means and creating unrealistic expectations about its effects. In this paper, I draw on more than a decade of research to dispel several myths about ESG and provide answers to important... View Details

Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Disclosure; ESG Reporting; ESG Ratings; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Performance; Corporate Disclosure; Reports

SSRN

Editorial

ESG Returns Eventually Will Win Over Critics

By: George Serafeim

Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Reporting; Sustainability; Change; Change Management; Innovation; Environment; Climate Change; Sustainable Finance; Investment

May 1, 2020
Article

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Danielle Kost

The coronavirus pandemic caught the business world by surprise, but the catastrophe might force companies to face a crisis that has been unfolding in plain sight: climate change.
We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability

06 Feb 2015
News

U.S. corporate tax reform: why Obama’s good ideas don’t add up

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

The ABCs of Addressing Climate Change (From a Business Perspective)

something? Based on my experience as a real estate and construction CEO and my academic research on urbanization, new cities, and the finance of View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Energy; Utilities

Web

Aaron Sabin (MS/MBA 2023): Engineering a Climate Change Solution by Cutting the Cost of Carbon Capture - MBA

Blog Blog MBA Voices Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author Career and Professional Development Staff Author HBS Community Author HBS Faculty Author MBA Admissions Author MBA Students Topics Topics 1st Year (RC) 2+2 Program 2nd Year... View Details

November 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Restructuring at Nova Chemical Corporation (Abridged)

By: Scott P. Mason

Management of a diversified chemicals company faces two financial decisions: whether to finance a major investment in new production facilities for its rapidly expanding Environmental Products Division, and whether to sell a more slowly growing non-specialty chemicals... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decision Choices and Conditions; Chemicals; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Finance; Chemical Industry