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Impact Stories | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Filter Results: (52) Submit People Alumni Executive Education Faculty MBA Students Topics Business for Social Impact Impact Investing K-12 Education Nonprofit Strategy &... View Details

2001
Working Paper

When Does the Market Matter? Stock Prices and the Investment of Equity Dependent Firms

By: Malcolm Baker, Jeremy Stein and Jeffrey Wurgler

We use a simple model of corporate investment to determine when investment will be sensitive to non-fundamental movements in stock prices. The key cross-sectional prediction of the model is that stock prices will have a stronger impact on the investment of firms that... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Equity; Stocks; Price; Mathematical Methods; Forecasting and Prediction

March 2015
Case

Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

By: Michael Chu, Vincent Dessain and Kristina Maslauskaite

An in-house venture capital fund for affordable private schools at the base of the pyramid established by Pearson, the world's largest education company, PALF sought to invest in business models providing superior educational outcomes in emerging markets on a... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Low Cost Private Schools; Investment Fund; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Transition; Investment; Development Economics; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Private Sector; Education; Education Industry; Asia; Africa

Educators

20 Jun 2016
News

Having an Impact on Development and Poverty Issues

development challenges facing India and other emerging economies, through impact investing in areas such as affordable housing, financial inclusion, and access to energy. The other is VSG Capital Advisors,... View Details

Keywords: Constantine von Hoffman

24 Apr 2014
News

Investing in green businesses and women entrepreneurs

Elaine Aglipay Delio (MBA 2004) talks about the impact of providing investment capital to women-run businesses and green entrepreneurs. (Published April 2014) View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Investing in new technologies to accelerate change

Girish Nadkami (MBA 1988), a venture capitalist in Switzerland, talks about the impact of investing in new technologies for communications, robotics, and environmental start-ups. (Published April 2014) View Details

25 Apr 2014
News

Applying business practices to nonprofits to strengthen impact

1999. The Bridgespan Group serves more than 350 organizations and foundations, including Girls Incorporated, Feeding America, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "Finding ways to scale an organization's impact without scaling its... View Details

21 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Searching for Better Practices in Social Investing

Investing: Emerging Trends in a Changing Landscape," a recent panel discussion hosted by Harvard Business School's Social Enterprise Initiative. They also touched on growing trends including venture philanthropy and social impact... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

01 Jun 2009
Lessons from the Classroom

The Challenges of Investing in Science-Based Innovation

decision? Yes. Research by its nature is almost futuristic. So how do you have confidence that an investment is going to have an impact in the time frame that you need it, if ever?" "The rules... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Banking; Auto; Pharmaceutical

2020
Working Paper

A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts

By: George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

While there has been significant progress in the measurement of an organization’s environmental and social impacts from its operations, metrics to evaluate the impact of products once they come to market lag far behind. In this paper, we provide a framework for... View Details

Keywords: Social Impact; Product Life Cycle; Environment; Sustainability; Measurement; Metrics; Impact Investing; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Reporting; Product; Environmental Sustainability; Measurement and Metrics; Framework; Financial Statements

SSRN

2019
Working Paper

Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?

By: Valeria Giacomin, G. Jones and Erica Salvaj

This working paper examines why a significant number of businesses have made non-profit investments in education in emerging markets between the 1960s and the present day. Using a sample of 110 interviews with business leaders from an oral history database at the... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; CSR; Oral History; Emerging Markets; Education; Reputation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business History

December 2019
Supplement

The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact

By: Vikram S Gandhi and Shawn A. Cole

January 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

The Galaxy Dividend Income Growth Fund's Option Investment Strategies

By: W. Carl Kester

This case is designed to provide an elementary introduction to options and option pricing for beginning finance students. Analysis of the case requires students to compare the prices of put and call options with various exercise prices and maturity dates on two... View Details

Keywords: Options; Option Contract; Option Pricing; Derivatives; Mutual Funds; Call Options; Put Options; Stock Options; Risk and Uncertainty; Volatility; Financial Services Industry; United States

Educators

11 Jan 2016
News

The Future of Cities Depends on Innovative Financing

Keywords: social impact bonds; urban development; developing economies; infrastructure; social impact investing

06 Sep 2019
Blog Post

The Business of Medicine: MD/MBA Students Having an Impact

students, many of whom would be the first in their family to attend college, to HMS for a three-day immersion program. Ameen says he has a natural inclination for business. At Columbia, he ran a campus laundry service and managed a stock portfolio in a student-run... View Details

2014
Working Paper

Cleaning House: The Impact of Information Technology on Employee Corruption and Performance

By: Lamar Pierce, Daniel Snow and Andrew McAfee

This paper examines how firm investments in technology-based employee monitoring impact both misconduct and productivity. We use unique and detailed theft and sales data from 392 restaurant locations from five firms that adopt a theft monitoring information technology... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Information Technology; Ethics; Performance Productivity; Employees

SSRN

February 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Investing in Early Learning as Economic Development at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank

By: Stacey M. Childress and Geoff Eckman Marietta

In his role as Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (Minneapolis Fed), Art Rolnick and his colleague, Rob Grunewald, had written "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return." The... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Early Childhood Education; Investment Return; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Performance Effectiveness; Nonprofit Organizations; Minneapolis; Saint Paul

Educators

2010
Chapter

The Impact of Employer Matching on Savings Plan Participation under Automatic Enrollment

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

Existing research has documented the large impact that automatic enrollment has on savings plan participation. All the companies examined in these studies, however, have combined automatic enrollment with an employer match. This raises a question about how effective... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Consumer Behavior; Personal Finance; Investment Funds; Microeconomics; Compensation and Benefits

October 2019
Supplement

Harlem Capital: Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship (B)

By: George Serafeim and David Freiberg

The (B) case describes Tingle and Pierre-Jacques’ decision to commit fully to Harlem Capital as their post-graduation job. The case explores the results of their fundraising efforts, new strategic partnerships, and how they plan to “build the market” in order to... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Gender Bias; Gender Inequality; Minority Representation; Entrepreneurial Finance; Investment Management; Investing; Inequality; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Diversity; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Equity; Mission and Purpose; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry