Publications

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2020
Working Paper

How ESG Issues Become Financially Material to Corporations and Their Investors

By: George Serafeim

Management and disclosure of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have received substantial interest over the last decade. In this paper, we outline a framework of how ESG issues become financially material, affecting corporate profitability and valuation.... View Details

SSRN

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20 Jun 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover: Lessons in Strategic Change

Keywords: Re: Andy Wu; Technology

June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy

By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron

Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Distribution; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Web Services Industry

May 2008
Exercise

Stakeholder Analysis Tool

By: Lynda M. Applegate

This exercise enables users to: identify stakeholders and analyze their interests and expectations; categorize interests and expectations based on importance; and develop an action plan. View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Planning; Interests; Segmentation

March 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Analog Devices, Inc.: The Half-Life System

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The company has committed to major improvements in quality, cost, and on-time delivery performance. Despite strong senior management support, however, the actual rate of improvement was disappointing until a new measurement philosophy was introduced. The new approach... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Performance Improvement; Earnings Management; Financial Reporting; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Productivity; Business or Company Management; Cost Management; Measurement and Metrics; Management Teams; Semiconductor Industry

Video

Pato Bichara - Making A Difference

September 1999 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Microsoft's Financial Reporting Strategy

Explores Microsoft's overall financial reporting strategy by examining the company's treatment of two accounting issues--software capitalization and revenue recognition. For both issues, the company selects accounting methods that are relatively conservative. Also... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Information Technology Industry

Leslie talks about the pervasive responsiveness trap in the workforce.

“The problem is that now everyone's on all the time and we come to expect that of each other. And then, we email each other late at night and we actually may or may not expect a... View Details

19 Oct 2013
News

Wired Executives Find that Disconnecting Can Help Spur Creativity

04 Mar 2020

Daniel Schrag on the Science of Forecasting Climate Change: What We Know and What We Don’t

16 Dec 2020
News

A Harvard Business School Professor Is Predicting the 9-to-5 Workweek Will become the '3-2-2' After the Pandemic

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Operations and the Competitive Edge

But we've also seen even more fail. In fact, a number of studies have shown that about two-thirds of these programs "fail" in the sense that they don't produce the results expected of them (the same success ratio, by the way,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Video

Gabriela Cabrera

Gabriela Cabrera, President of Manos del Uruguay, describes how five women established the non-profit in 1968, challenging social expectations and employing rural communities throughout the country. View Details

10 Mar 2021
Blog Post

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace

setting expectations that folks who are on site are not just there for in-person meetings. Ensure there are times for people to just sit together and work or to have more casual connections at hackathons or demo hours, so teams can show... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

10 Oct 2018
News

The Legacy of Boaty McBoatface: Beware of Customers Who Vote

October 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Background Note

Evaluating M&A Deals: Accretion vs. Dilution of Earnings-per-share

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

When discussing the pros and cons of an acquisition, practitioners often talk about the impact of the deal on the buyer's earnings-per-share (eps). An acquisition is said to be "accretive" if the buyer's eps goes up post-deal; it is "dilutive" if the buyer's eps goes... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Negotiation Deal

15 Nov 2012
News

Companies want Congress to ‘just fix it’

Article

Reimagining the Balanced Scorecard for the ESG Era

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David McMillan

Companies are increasingly aware that their customers and society in general expect businesses to adopt and work towards social and environmental objectives as well as the traditional financial ones. This involves not only re-evaluating firms’ models but re-imagining... View Details

Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Business Ecosystems; Balanced Scorecard; Adaptation; Business Model; Business and Stakeholder Relations