Publications

06 Jan 2012
Op-Ed

Where Green Corporate Ratings Fail

Environmental Protection Agency, illustrating the widespread belief that environmentally conscious corporations should respond to climate change by striving to yield net-zero carbon emissions. But just a few... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler; Information; Publishing

Research Summary

Overview

My research is at the intersection of organizational strategy, global sustainability governance, and social change. It explores the diffusion of sustainability standards to non-traditional sectors (e.g. jewelry, cannabis, plastics, pets) and the relationship between... View Details

19 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

LEED-ing by Example

In the debate over whether to increase or decrease the stringency of environmental regulations, the possibility that government agencies might use purchasing to stimulate market demand for "green" View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

January 2012 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Dirigo International

By: Christopher M. Gordon and Chad M. Carr

Dirigo International is proposing a major expansion of their life sciences research and manufacturing facilities in the heart of a major city and middle to lower income residential neighborhood. The company and city government are seeking a development solution in the... View Details

Keywords: Production; Property; Expansion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Research and Development; Outcome or Result; Biotechnology Industry

03 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit

It's been said that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." HBS Assistant Professor Deishin Lee, however, has taken that old adage a step further in her recent working paper Turning Waste into By-Product by showing how it's possible for companies to turn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

June 2016
Article

Technology Choice and Capacity Portfolios under Emissions Regulation

By: David Drake, Paul R. Kleindorfer and Luk N. Van Wassenhove

We study the impact of emissions tax and emissions cap-and-trade regulation on a firm's technology choice and capacity decisions. We show that emissions price uncertainty under cap-and-trade results in greater expected profit than a constant emissions price under an... View Details

Keywords: Technology Management; Management; Technology; Service Operations; Environmental Sustainability

09 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Could Clean Hydrogen Become Affordable at Scale by 2030?

Hydrogen is poised to move from the sidelines of global clean energy as the industry learns to produce it more efficiently and at lower cost, according to newly published research led by Gunther Glenk, a climate fellow with Harvard Business School's Institute for the... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Green Technology

10 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting

inclusive capitalism. Below, he describes how such standardized reporting could empower both companies and investors, and how it could revolutionize business practices in the future. Christian Camerota: What prompted you to study the View Details

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim

December 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Arcos Dorados: A QSR Recovery Plan

By: Forest Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

Arcos Dorados—McDonald’s largest independent franchisee, covering Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)—faced a pandemic that was disrupting the entire consumer foodservice business in 2020. With the exclusive right to own, operate, and sub-franchise McDonald’s... View Details

April 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

The Dannon Company: Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (A)

By: Christopher Marquis, Pooja Mehta Shah, Amanda Elizabeth Tolleson and Bobbi Thomason

At the end of 2009, The Dannon Company was considering pro actively communicating its CSR efforts to consumers. With the strong connection between Dannon's production of health foods and its commitment to health and nutrition-based CSR activities, communicating these... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Nutrition; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Food and Beverage Industry

11 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 11, 2018

Information or Wing It? A Model of Dynamic Pricing with Seller Learning By: Huang, Guofang, Hong Luo, and Jing Xia Abstract—Pricing idiosyncratic products is often challenging because the seller, ex ante,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2024
Simulation

Vehicle Lifecycle Emissions Calculator

By: Mike Toffel, Shirley Lu and George Serafeim

This Vehicle Lifecycle Emissions Calculator calculates the greenhouse gas emissions over the lifespan of internal combustion engine (ICEs) vehicles, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), including those associated with their... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Environment; Carbon Accounting; Carbon; Carbon Abatement; Electric Vehicles; Automobiles; Environmental Accounting; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Supply Chain; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Climate Change; Transportation; Transportation Industry; Auto Industry; Battery Industry

November 2015 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

In January 2009, when Paul Polman was appointed CEO of Unilever, he inherited a company in long-term decline at the beginning of a major global financial crisis. As the first outsider ever recruited to lead the company, Polman lost little time in challenging the... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competitive Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Consumer Products Industry

December 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Boortmalt: The Master Maltster

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin, Lena Duchene and Emer Moloney

By May 2023, Boortmalt was the world’s leading producer of malt, with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes, 15% of global market share, and 27 malting plants across five continents. It had recently acquired a major competitor and had sustained an EBITDA growth of... View Details

24 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

The Yelp Factor: Are Consumer Reviews Good for Business?

reviews over professional critics, but also because of its historical database that tracks every review. Luca compared the ratings over time with revenue data from the state of Washington to gauge how... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

November 2017
Case

The 'Wonder Drug' That Killed Babies

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Tom Nicholas and Matthew Preble

In the early 1960s, a popular drug taken by patients worldwide for a range of maladies was found to cause severe birth defects and other health problems in babies born to mothers who had taken it during a certain stage of fetal development. As many as 10,000 children... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Business and Government Relations; Business and Community Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Product Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business History; Health; Government Legislation; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States; United Kingdom; Australia; Germany; Europe