Publications

2021
Working Paper

The Business of K-12 Education in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper examines the evolution of K-12 education in China, especially between 1985 and the present day, drawing extensive interviews with participants in the educational sector. China has been hugely successful in reaching almost 100 percent literacy,... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; China; Real Estate; Early Childhood Education; Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Nonprofit Organizations; Private Sector; Education Industry; Real Estate Industry; China

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16 Oct 2019
News

Where ESG Fails

October 2004
Case

Continuing Transformation of Asahi Glass, The: Implementing EVA

By: Mihir A. Desai, Masako Egawa and Yanjun Wang

This case explores the use of EVA--economic value added--methodology at Asahi Glass. EVA is among the changes initiated by the CEO aimed at transforming Asahi Glass from a traditional Japanese company to a global firm. Other changes included a corporate reorganization... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Change Management; Global Strategy; Corporate Governance; Recruitment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance Evaluation

07 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Government’s Positive Role in Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship

government in making it a success. "Particularly during the early years, the government played a critical role in shaping Silicon Valley," especially spending and funding from the U.S. Department... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

2019
White Paper

Impact-Weighted Financial Accounts: The Missing Piece for an Impact Economy

By: George Serafeim, T. Robert Zochowski and Jennifer Downing

Reimagining capitalism is an imperative. We need to create a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism that works for every person and the planet. Massive environmental damage, growing income and wealth disparity, stress, and depression within developed... View Details

Keywords: Impact-Weighted Accounts; IWAI; Background; Economic Systems; Economy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Statements

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18 Nov 2015
HBS Seminar

Martin Kanz, Economist, Development Economics Research Group, Finance and Private Sector Research, The World Bank

Article

ESG Integration in Investment Management: Myths and Realities

By: Sakis Kotsantonis, Christopher Pinney and George Serafeim

The authors’ aim in this article is to set the record straight on the financial performance of sustainable investing while also correcting a number of other widespread misconceptions about this rapidly growing set of principles and methods. Myth Number 1:... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Sustainability; Investment Management; Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance

September 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Timing of Option Grants at UnitedHealth Group (A)

Faced with press allegations that executives' stock options might have been backdated, the Board of UnitedHealth Group needs to determine whether its accounting for the options was proper, and if not, what the restatement amount should be and what... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Ethics; Stock Options; Accounting; Crisis Management; Corporate Governance; Insurance Industry; Health Industry; United States

04 Jun 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Coming Clean and Cleaning Up: Is Voluntary Disclosure a Signal of Effective Self-Policing?

Keywords: by Michael W. Toffel & Jodi L. Short

Innovating for Sustainability

Every major company is grappling with the meaning and application of sustainability in relation to its geographic location, industry and business model. Similarly, more and more institutional investors are incorporating sustainability into their... View Details

08 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, August 8, 2017

using money to buy time can protect people from the detrimental effects of time pressure on life satisfaction. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52953 Governance Through Shame and Aspiration: Index Creation... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2006
Book

Science Business: The Promise, the Reality, and the Future of Biotech

By: Gary P. Pisano

Why has the biotechnology industry failed to perform up to expectations—despite all its promise? In Science Business, Gary P. Pisano answers this question by providing an incisive critique of the industry. Pisano not only reveals the underlying causes of... View Details

Keywords: Science; Business Ventures; Biotechnology Industry

2008
Working Paper

Collaborative Architectures for Innovation

By: Gary P. Pisano and Roberto Verganti

Collaborative innovation has become a hot topic in innovation today. Scholars, consultants, and the business press all urge companies seeking to boost innovative performance to become more "collaborative." Too often, however, companies fail to distinguish among the... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Governance Controls; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Social and Collaborative Networks

January 2015
Case

Sergio Marchionne at Chrysler

By: Rob Kaplan and Bernardo Bertoldi

Chrysler recently exited from the bankruptcy process, with U.S. government support and with Sergio Marchionne as CEO. Now was the time to work out how to create synergies with FIAT, how to improve the current manufacturing, product, and distribution-network... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Auto Industry; North America; Italy

27 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 27, 2018

associated with the passage of a directive in the European Union (EU) mandating increased nonfinancial disclosure. These disclosures relate to firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Spring 2012
Article

The Need for Sector-Specific Materiality and Sustainability Reporting Standards

By: Robert G. Eccles, Michael P. Krzus, Jean Rogers and George Serafeim

Even though the supply of sustainability information has increased considerably in the last decade, companies are still failing to disclose material information in a comparable format. We believe this has two downsides. On the one hand, companies are not adequately... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Reporting; Standard Setting; Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Accounting; Standards; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Disclosure; Competitive Advantage; Capital Markets; Accounting Industry; United States

May 2018
Article

Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work

By: Oriana Bandiera, Renata Lemos, Andrea Prat and Raffaella Sadun

We present evidence on the labor supply of CEOs and on whether family and professional CEOs differ on this dimension. We do so through a new survey instrument that allows us to codify CEOs’ diaries in a detailed and comparable fashion and to build a bottom-up measure... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Family Ownership; Management

SSRN

09 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

CEO Bonus Plans: And How to Fix Them

Keywords: by Kevin J. Murphy & Michael C. Jensen

September 2016
Case

Partners Group: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Ricardo Andrade

Partners Group (PG), a Swiss-based PE manager, initiated a series of strategic shifts and evolved from a predominately fund-of-funds manager into a large, multi-asset class PE firm focused on direct investments. PG was the first PE firm to go public in 2006. A number... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Management Practices and Processes; Entrepreneurship