by George Serafeim - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Oct 2016
First Look

October 11, 2016

behavior; (3) a top-down or laissez-faire style by the leader, which prevents honest conversation about problems; (4) a lack of coordination across businesses, functions, or regions due to poor organizational design; (5) inadequate... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Stories of 2020

organizational sustainability and characterizes the situations in which a social enterprise should be sustainable. The analysis then delineates when an investment in a social enterprise delivers superior impact to a grant. Corporate Sustainability: A Strategy? View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

26 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Comment on Environmental Issues for Earth Day

Earth Day focuses the world's attention on the both the dangers and opportunities facing the planet. But sustainability and the intersection between business and the environment are issues that need to be addressed all the time, as cities grow, resources diminish, and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Energy; Utilities

23 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

How to Break the Expert’s Curse

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw famously wrote, "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches." But it's often more accurate to say, "He who can do can't teach." It's natural for novices to seek out experts for guidance. That's why many... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

21 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Missing the Wave in Ship Transport

shipping industry, constructing patterns of return for investors. “We were shocked at how predictable the returns are in this industry.” The research results—that heavy investment in a boom depresses future earnings—were unexpected, says Greenwood, the View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Transportation

07 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

Election 2024: Why Demographics Won't Predict the Next President

California, Berkeley. “Any prediction that says there’s going to be a long-term advantage to one party is inevitably going to be wrong.” Pons and Calvo teamed with Jesse Shapiro, the George Gund Professor of Economics and Business... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

01 Oct 2009
What Do You Think?

Can the “Masks of Command” Coexist with Authentic Leadership?

leadership? Those arguing that the two can coexist cite situations, generally involving adversity, in which the "greater good" is served by masking a leader's feelings. Frances Pratt argued that " we must be careful (and... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

March 1992 (Revised June 1992)
Case

Thermo Electron Corp.

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

George Hatsopoulos, CEO at Thermo Electron Corp., is considering whether to issue shares in a subsidiary via an initial public offering (IPO). The company has developed an unusual corporate structure in which subsidiaries fund new ventures by raising debt and equity in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Business Subsidiaries; Resource Allocation; Valuation; Organizational Structure; Business Headquarters; Initial Public Offering; Capital Structure; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Semiconductor Industry; Technology Industry

Citation

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03 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Is It Even Possible to Dam the Flow of Misleading Content Online?

Kominers worked with Jesse Shapiro, the George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration at Harvard Business School, to study how content moderation works best. The debate over moderating content comes as the US presidential... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Information Technology; Technology

04 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Most Leaders (Even Thomas Jefferson) Are Replaceable

like to think of themselves as truly indispensable—impact makers, history movers, culture changers—few reach the bar set by Steve Jobs, Napoleon, or Martin Luther King Jr., Mukunda says. (Even some people you might think would be shoo-ins... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

02 Aug 2017
What Do You Think?

Summing Up: Why Can’t Organizations Engage Their Employees?

“Engagement comes from spirit, and if the organization has little or no spirit—if it see mission as simply ‘maximizing shareholder value’—then engagement will remain an elusive thing.” George Yurieff added that “as long as the order entry... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

28 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 28, 2015

of the business model as decisions enforced by the authority of the firm; this definition enables the analysis of business models through the analysis of individual firm choices. We situate negotiation outcomes within the strategy... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

April 1992 (Revised February 1993)
Supplement

Otis South Africa (B)

By: Michael Beer

Covers a June 1990 Social Responsibility Conference held by George David to evaluate the progress of his new management team in increasing the pace of nonwhite advancement. The U.S. CEO and the managing director of Otis South Africa disagree over the suitability of... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Race; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Management Teams; South Africa

Citation

Find at Harvard

22 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Balancing the Future Against Today’s Needs

products and services, new products and services for existing customers and markets, and finally, "reinventing your firm," George says, by developing innovative new products for new markets. Each... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Michelman

19 Mar 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

8 Ways To Be An Environmentally Conscious Manager

iPhoto In an interview about his recent book Profits and Sustainability, which portrays the iconoclastic entrepreneurs who built green startups in the 19th century, Harvard Business School historian Geoffrey Jones notes that being a business-environmentalist can be... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Energy

06 Apr 2007
What Do You Think?

Will Market Forces Stop Global Warming?

Summing Up Debate on this month's questions occurred on at least three levels. Is global warming occurring? Do humans (primarily through CO2 emissions) have much to do with it? Should we rely on market forces to provide appropriate responses, or will this require... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

06 Aug 2014
What Do You Think?

What Is Warren Bennis’s Legacy?

Summing Up Was Warren Bennis's Optimism Regarding the Future of Leadership Warranted? In a recent obituary for Warren Bennis in the New York Times, former executive and HBS Professor Bill George was quoted as writing that "I look at... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Historical Perspective: Levitt Shaped the Debate

marketing wisdom declared it was the role of the marketer, through careful questioning and study, to understand the wants of the customer. Levitt argued that that approach is limiting—you hit home runs by presenting the customer with... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

02 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles of 2011

that shows how CSR can make it easier for firms to secure financing for new projects. Research was conducted by George Serafeim and Beiting Cheng of Harvard Business School and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

13 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Global Investments Are Still a Good Bet

Photo by iStock Investors in global equity markets have traditionally hedged their bets, casting their investments far and wide across the world. That way, if the market in one country or region stagnated (think Japan in the 1990s or... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

Publications