by George Serafeim - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security

expect an equal contribution from your citizens, all citizens must be treated equally,” says Tabellini. “It reveals the costs for society as a whole if you don’t.” Despite the national reckoning in the United States after the killing of View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

12 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

When Experts Play It Too Safe: Innovation Lessons from a NASA Experiment

the Dorothy and Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at HBS, and LISH research scientist Michael Menietti; as well as George Washington University’s Zoe Szajnfarber and Jason Crusan. “Given that these types of decisions can... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Aerospace

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

a GED, but no college and no job, we would make a big impact on this. We have to have the psychological armor to defend ourselves against the racism that's all around us. Neeley: George Floyd's death has reawakened corporate America to... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

Sam Walton: Great From the Start

fully the power of the idea. Once seizing on it, never wavering from it became the centerpiece of Wal-Mart's greatness. Sam Walton That was still a long time in the future. Butler Brothers was not thrilled by Walton's freelancing ways,... View Details

Keywords: by Richard S. Tedlow; Retail

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

auto market in the 1950s. The industry leader, unbothered by competition and looming threats, began to coast on its former glory, however, and bypass such areas as consumer preferences and industry innovation. View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

20 Sep 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Larry Fink at BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim; Financial Services

19 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2022

7. Dick’s Sporting Goods Followed Its Conscience on Guns—and It Paid Off After the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Dick's Sporting Goods' CEO declared: "I don't want to be part of the story anymore." Two new case studies by... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

2022
Book

Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World

By: George Serafeim

The roadmap and best practices to reap the enormous value that can emerge when your business prioritizes social and environmental goals—such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability—right alongside the pursuit of profit.

We not only... View Details

Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Profitability; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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05 May 2022
HBS Case

College Degrees: The Job Requirement Companies Seek, but Don't Really Need

retention practices, notes that the new HBS note comes at a time of ongoing racial reckoning sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, whose death two years ago shined a light on numerous inequities... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

28 Jun 2022
Book

The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose

How can government and business work together in this fractious political moment, when finding solutions to pressing problems like inequality and climate change are more urgent than ever? Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University’s John and Natty McArthur University... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

10 Jul 2007
What Do You Think?

How Much of Leadership Is About Control, Delegation, or Theater?

excites, and pushes the team or, you could say, choreographs an output that (moves) the company towards the vision." The mix of control, delegation, and theater employed by successful leaders depends on the timing and circumstances... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

20 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Language Wars Divide Global Companies

Studies in December. She cowrote the paper with Pamela Hinds of Stanford University and Catherine Cramton of George Mason University. The authors point to classic research by Dora Lau and Keith Murnighan on... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

27 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Cost of a Product Recall

experience them,” Stern says. “At the same time, we see that competitors are likely to accelerate their own innovation activities to take advantage of these weaknesses.” Stern, along with Indiana University Assistant Professor George P.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Auto; Medical Devices & Supplies

17 Feb 2015
HBS Case

HBS Cases: The Battle for San Francisco

been a draw for innovators of a different sort—technology workers who began populating the suburbs of the South Bay, which came to be known as Silicon Valley, in the 1970s and '80s. In recent years, they have increasingly put down roots in San Francisco itself,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

01 Sep 2003
What Do You Think?

To Whom Should Boards be Accountable?

fill."—Allan Page "There is no definitive answer to the question of how any given board balances the needs of various classes of shareholders, employees, vendors, etc."—Amy Savin "The board should be guided by the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Oct 2004
What Do You Think?

Does Speed Trump Intellectual Property?

that unethical behavior can deny people their intellectual property." These are the latest examples of the effectiveness of speed as a competitive weapon that was described some years ago by George... View Details