Publications

June 2011 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Mandatory Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure in the European Union

By: George Serafeim

In 2011, the European Commission was deciding on how to best modify the existing European Union policy on corporate disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Previous directives had recommended that European companies report ESG... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Disclosure; Environmental Accounting; Competitive Strategy; International Accounting; Financial Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Debates; Europe

March 2025
Case

Intuit: Lobbying to Save TurboTax

By: Joseph L. Badaracco and Tom Quinn

Intuit’s TurboTax software held a dominant market position in the online tax preparation market. Many politicians over the years had proposed changes that would have harmed Intuit’s business—notably, allowing the Internal Revenue Service to develop a government-owned... View Details

Keywords: Lobbying; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Government Legislation; Taxation; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Reputation; Civil Society or Community; Public Opinion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Rank and Position; Power and Influence; Technology Industry; United States; Europe

22 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Restoring a Global Economy, 1950–1980

expropriations without compensation until the late 1960s—when a period of large-scale expropriation began—reflected the power and determination of the United States to protect foreign investments, but Western countries were unable to reestablish an View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

27 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?

Political connections and family control are more common in Asian businesses than in the United States. In addition, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills, American CEOs tend to use one of five leadership styles: directive, participative,... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

09 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Could Clean Hydrogen Become Affordable at Scale by 2030?

Hydrogen is poised to move from the sidelines of global clean energy as the industry learns to produce it more efficiently and at lower cost, according to newly published research led by Gunther Glenk, a climate fellow with Harvard Business School's Institute for the... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Green Technology

25 Jan 2021
Book

In a Nutshell, Why American Capitalism Succeeded

wealth in the United States, in the decades after independence until the Civil War, came from a growing manufacturing sector, especially in textiles; a rising international trade in commodities such as whale oil; and improvements in the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

15 May 2015
Research & Ideas

Kids Benefit From Having a Working Mom

To gauge the global effect of working moms, the researchers dug into data from the International Social Survey Programme, a global consortium of organizations that conduct social science research, and studied 2002 and 2012 responses to a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

06 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 6, 2007

"platform") around the rapidly expanding online video industry. Simultaneously, CEO Jeremy Allaire was completing a major funding round that would enable the company to make strategic investments in some or all of several categories: technology, media... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Research Summary

Corporate Lobbying Strategy and Foreign MNEs

“U.S. Defense Contracts and the Lobbying Strategies of Foreign MNEs: The Liability of Foreignness and Make-or-Buy Decisions about Political Goods”

Many firms engage in lobbying with the expectation that their lobbying efforts will... View Details

Keywords: Non-market Strategy; Political Strategy; Lobbying; Make V. Buy; Multinational Enterprise; Global Strategy; United States

February 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Cultural Change at Nissan Motors

By: John P. Kotter

Depicts the reformation of Nissan Motor Co.'s corporate culture and the company's subsequent turnaround in market share and profits. In 1985, Yutaka Kume became president of Nissan and thereafter, he continually emphasized the need for internal change throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Behavior; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Change Management; Management; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry

10 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

Truth Be Told: Unpacking the Risks of Whistleblowing

report possible fraud? What kinds of internal control levers, employee training programs, or perhaps even internal (nonfinancial) rewards and recognitions lead to a greater... View Details

Keywords: by April White

April 2010
Article

Managed Globalization: Doctrine, Practice, and Promise

By: Rawi Abdelal and Sophie Meunier

Two alternate visions for shaping and explaining the governance of economic globalization have been in competition for the past 20 years: an ad hoc, laissez-faire vision promoted by the United States versus a managed vision relying on multilateral rules and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Trade; Globalized Economies and Regions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; European Union; United States

June 2010 (Revised February 2013)
Background Note

The Precautionary Principle

By: Michael W. Toffel and Nazli Z. Uludere Aragon

This note describes the precautionary principle and its key tenets, highlights challenges associated with its use, and includes many examples of its application, primarily within the realm of regulating activities based on the risk of harm to human health and the... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Health Disorders; Business and Government Relations; Safety; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chemical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry