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- All HBS Web
(2,482)
- People (4)
- News (599)
- Research (1,348)
- Events (6)
- Multimedia (66)
- Faculty Publications (953)
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- Article
The Social Purpose of Corporations
By: Nien-he Hsieh, Marco Meyer, David Rodin and Jens van ‘t Klooster
To think about the purpose of corporations is to think about what corporations are for. In this article, we argue that the concept of a purpose has an important role in thinking about the moral evaluation of corporations. We make three contributions. First, we... View Details
Keywords: Social Purpose; Corporate Purpose; The Corporation; Market Failures; Measurement Of Purpose; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics
Hsieh, Nien-he, Marco Meyer, David Rodin, and Jens van ‘t Klooster. "The Social Purpose of Corporations." Journal of the British Academy 6, no. s1 (2018): 49–73. ( DOI: https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/006s1.049.)
- October 28, 2021
- Article
Creating a Meaningful Corporate Purpose
By: Hubert Joly
Today, most company leaders believe that their companies’ larger purpose is to make a positive difference in the world—not just to maximize shareholder value. Defining a corporate why and making sure it guides decisions and operations has therefore become a cornerstone... View Details
Keywords: Corporations; Purpose; Meaningfulness; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation
Joly, Hubert. "Creating a Meaningful Corporate Purpose." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (October 28, 2021).
- October 2024
- Module Note
Purpose of the Firm
By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
Purpose of the Firm (PoF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to “make a difference in the world”—that is, to address a significant societal problem as a commercial... View Details
Keywords: Social Accounting; Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Mission and Purpose; Leadership
Spar, Debora L., and Julia M. Comeau. "Purpose of the Firm." Harvard Business School Module Note 325-035, October 2024.
- Article
The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose
By: Ranjay Gulati
Most forward-thinking executives have embraced the notion that purpose-driven companies can solve social and environmental problems while also generating wealth, creating win-win outcomes that benefit everyone. But ideal solutions are rare. Many purpose-driven... View Details
Keywords: Purpose; Sustainability; Mission and Purpose; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Profit; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Decision Making
Gulati, Ranjay. "The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose." Harvard Business Review 100, no. 2 (March–April 2022): 45–55.
- January–February 2019
- Article
Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance
By: Claudine Gartenberg, Andrea Prat and George Serafeim
We construct a measure of corporate purpose within a sample of U.S. companies based on approximately 500,000 survey responses of worker perceptions about their employers. We find that this measure of purpose is not related to financial performance. However, high... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Employee Motivation; Belief Systems; Corporate Performance; Human Capital; Middle Management; Culture; Corporate Culture; Meaning; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Employees; Perception; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness
Gartenberg, Claudine, Andrea Prat, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance." Organization Science 30, no. 1 (January–February 2019): 1–18.
- 2019
- Working Paper
Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose
In this paper, I address how the ascendance of the theory of shareholder value maximization into the central consciousness of public corporations and its canonization as the only legitimate expression of corporate purpose has contributed to both a widening breach... View Details
Keywords: Capitalism; Justice; Corporate Purpose; Shareholder Value Maximization; Ethical Reciprocity; Economic Systems; Business Ventures; Mission and Purpose; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Salter, Malcolm S. "Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-104, April 2019.
- March 2023 (Revised November 2023)
- Module Note
The Social Purpose of the Firm
By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
The Social Purpose of the Firm (SPF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to “make a difference in the world” – that is, to address a significant societal problem as a... View Details
Keywords: Social Accounting; Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Mission and Purpose; United States; Sweden; Kenya; Netherlands
Spar, Debora L., and Julia M. Comeau. "The Social Purpose of the Firm." Harvard Business School Module Note 323-051, March 2023. (Revised November 2023.)
- Article
Use Purpose to Transform Your Workplace
By: Leena Nair, Nick Dalton, Patrick Hull and William Kerr
Is keeping pace with the future of work incompatible with using purpose to guide the organization? Unilever is stretching its well-known commitment to purpose for a new and daunting challenge—the transformation of its workforce of more than 149,000 employees. Its... View Details
Keywords: Future Of Work; Purpose; Unilever; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Talent and Talent Management; Transition; Decision Making; Transformation
Nair, Leena, Nick Dalton, Patrick Hull, and William Kerr. "Use Purpose to Transform Your Workplace." Harvard Business Review 100, no. 2 (March–April 2022): 52–55.
- May 2020
- Article
Tackling Climate Change Requires Organizational Purpose
By: Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim
Unchecked climate change presents a profound threat to economic growth and political stability but despite widespread public concern about the issue, global emissions of greenhouse gases have not declined. Indeed current “business as usual” predictions imply that... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Sustainability; Environment; Climate Change; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Leadership
Henderson, Rebecca, and George Serafeim. "Tackling Climate Change Requires Organizational Purpose." AEA Papers and Proceedings 110 (May 2020): 177–180.
- September 2023
- Article
Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms
By: Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim
Analyzing data from approximately 1.5 million employees across 1,108 established public and private US companies, we find that the strength of employee beliefs related to purpose is weaker in public companies. Among public companies, those beliefs are stronger for... View Details
Keywords: Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Culture; Corporate Culture; Public And Private Organizations; Hedge Fund; Executive Pay; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Employees; Attitudes; Executive Compensation; Ownership
Gartenberg, Claudine, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms." Management Science 69, no. 9 (September 2023): 5087–5111.
- January 9, 2023
- Editorial
The Pursuit of Profit with Purpose Requires Patience
By: George Serafeim
Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Purpose Of Business Schools; Entrepreneur; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Profit; Entrepreneurship
Serafeim, George. "The Pursuit of Profit with Purpose Requires Patience." Financial Times (January 9, 2023).
- Article
181 Top CEOs Have Realized Companies Need a Purpose Beyond Profit
By: Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim
On August 19, 2019, the Business Roundtable (BR) issued a memo entitled “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.” The Business Roundtable, one of the most preeminent business lobbies in the United States, includes 192 CEOs of leading U.S. companies from Apple to... View Details
Keywords: Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Stakeholder Management; CEO; Mission and Purpose; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Strategy
Gartenberg, Claudine, and George Serafeim. "181 Top CEOs Have Realized Companies Need a Purpose Beyond Profit." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 20, 2019).
- May 2021
- Teaching Note
BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 120-042 View Details
- April 6, 2022
- Article
5 Principles of Purposeful Leadership
By: Hubert Joly
The traditional model of the leader-hero who saves the day, knows it all, is the smartest person in the room, and is too often driven by power, fame, glory, or money is not appropriate in today’s environment. People today expect a different kind of leader. While each... View Details
Keywords: Leadership, Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Purpose; Roles; Authenticity; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Leadership Style
Joly, Hubert. "5 Principles of Purposeful Leadership." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (April 6, 2022).
- Editorial
What Mark Zuckerberg Understands About Corporate Purpose
By: George Serafeim
Keywords: Leadership; Facebook; Corporate Purpose; Mission; Mission And Purpose; Vision; Employee Engagement; Globalization; Inclusion; Capitalism
Serafeim, George. "What Mark Zuckerberg Understands About Corporate Purpose." Harvard Business Review (website) (February 22, 2017).
- January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
- Case
BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit
The case revolves around the actions that Barbara Novick, co-founder and Vice-Chair of Blackrock, and Michelle Edkins, Global Head of Investment Stewardship, would need to take in response to the controversial CEO letters from Laurence (Larry) Fink, Chairman and CEO of... View Details
Keywords: Boards Of Directors; Institutional Investors; Disclosure; Transparency; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Profits; ESG; ESG Disclosure Metrics; Corporate Sustainability; Engagement Strategy Of Institutions; Stewardship Role Of Institutions; BlackRock; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Institutional Investing; Accounting; Corporate Disclosure; Mission and Purpose; Profit; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Diversity; Corporate Accountability; Financial Services Industry; United States
Deshpandé, Rohit, Aiyesha Dey, and George Serafeim. "BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit." Harvard Business School Case 120-042, January 2020. (Revised July 2020.)
- 2013
- Article
Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose
By: Nien-he Hsieh
Do multinational corporations (MNCs) have a responsibility to address unjust conditions—not simply by refraining from contributing to injustice, but also by actively working to bring about a just state of affairs? This paper examines whether this question can be... View Details
Keywords: Multinational Corporations; Global Justice; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Responsibility; Human Needs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Hsieh, Nien-he. "Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose." Notizie di Politeia 29, no. 111 (2013).
- Editorial
The Type of Purpose That Makes Companies More Profitable
By: George Serafeim and Claudine Gartenberg
Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Middle Management; Vision; Culture; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Profit
Serafeim, George, and Claudine Gartenberg. "The Type of Purpose That Makes Companies More Profitable." Harvard Business Review (website) (October 21, 2016).
- June 2019 (Revised August 2024)
- Module Note
Purpose Brands
By: Rory McDonald, Clayton M. Christensen and Shaye Roseman
Introduces a framework for innovation and brand building that is connected to an understanding of customers' Jobs to Be Done. View Details
Keywords: Brand ＆ Product Management; Brand Architecture; Brand Building; Innovation; Product Development Strategy; Product Differentiation; Brands and Branding; Product Development
McDonald, Rory, Clayton M. Christensen, and Shaye Roseman. "Purpose Brands." Harvard Business School Module Note 619-075, June 2019. (Revised August 2024.)