Publications

March 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

City Year at 30: Toward Long-Term Impact

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and James Weber

In 2018, City Year was a 30-year-old nonprofit that recruited and organized teams of young-adult “volunteers” (corps teams) to provide a year of citizen service. It had 3,100 corps members serving in 327 schools located in 28 U.S. cities. In its early decades, City... View Details

Keywords: Education; Service Operations; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Performance Efficiency; Resource Allocation; Change Management; Social Entrepreneurship; Middle School Education; Secondary Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Human Capital; Growth Management; Service Delivery; Organizational Design; Social Enterprise; Poverty; United States

August 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Whole Foods: Balancing Social Mission and Growth

By: Christopher Marquis, Marya Besharov and Bobbi Thomason

In 2009, Whole Foods stands at a crossroads. Their incredible growth over the past 25 years has vaulted them into the ranks of the largest US supermarkets and they have arguably led to the widespread acceptance of natural and organic foods in the United States. Yet... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; United States

14 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Process and Performance

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim; Accounting

16 Nov 2017
News

The Business of Social Justice

A born adventurer with a passion for social justice, Heidi Brooks (MBA 2003) uses her business savvy to effect social change. Since 2014 Brooks has served as chief operating officer of the Schott Foundation... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers

Fast Answer

Transforming Education Through Social Entrepreneurship

Where can I find information to help me with my course work? Information on education and social entrepreneurship Research Task Suggested Resources Education Newsletters and Article Databases Chronicle of Higher Education - news about... View Details

June 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

State Grid: Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Christopher Marquis, Nancy Dai, Dongning Yang and Hong Wu

In October 2009, State Grid, the largest utility company in the world, and a pioneer and leader in CSR practices in China, was planning its 2009 CSR Report and long-term CSR implementation. Some of the specific challenges faced at the time include: How could the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Management Systems; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Accountability; Behavior; Change Management; Global Range; Employees; Utilities Industry; China

18 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Embracing Activism for Social Change

America, two years with an impact investment venture capital fund in India, and a year in Denmark as a Fulbright Research Fellow studying social return on investment methodologies. Mendu says being chosen as... View Details

Fast Answer

Social Entrepreneurship & Systems Change

Detailed information on company professionals including relationships among firms/organizations and executives Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation - a global venture philanthropy firm supporting early stage, high impact View Details

06 Jun 2018
News

The Business of Social Justice

further ensuring that schools with high needs receive the resources and funding to meet them. “There is nothing more important than building the foundations for social change,” says Brooks. “Rosa Parks’ civil disobedience didn’t just... View Details

14 Jan 2022
Blog Post

Embracing Activism for Social Change

change. Before HBS, she spent two years at Teach for America, two years with an impact investment venture capital fund in India, and a year in Denmark as a Fulbright Research Fellow studying social return on... View Details

07 Sep 2021
News

Embracing Activism for Social Change

impact investment venture capital fund in India, and a year in Denmark as a Fulbright Research Fellow studying social return on investment methodologies. Mendu says being chosen as an HBS Leadership Fellow... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

29 Sep 2018
News

The curiously varied impact of recessions on political stability: New evidence

01 Mar 2015
News

What Is Harvard’s Impact in the World?

It’s safe to assume that Harvard University alumni collectively have a significant impact in the world, but just how significant is hard to know. That is why Harvard Business School is leading a University-wide effort to quantify the... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

March 2021
Case

Dasra: From Strategic Philanthropy to Field Building

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tanya Bijlani

Dasra, a pioneer in the Indian Strategic Philanthropy space founded by a husband and wife team, had grown and evolved with the fast changing philanthropy scene in India. By 2017 it had managed to raise nearly $100 million of new capital for NGOs and Nonprofits in... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Impact Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility; Social Sector; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Strategy; India

19 Jun 2013
News

Your Guide to Social Enterprise

"The book is full of debates about cross-sector activity," explains Keohane. "It's meant to give an overview with a lot of interesting models. This is for people who are deeply committed to solving entrenched social problems. I want to... View Details

Keywords: Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

2006
Chapter

Leadership Through Social Purpose Partnering

By: James E. Austin

Keywords: Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships

There is growing interest in impact investing, the idea of deploying capital to obtain both financial and social or environmental returns. Examination of every equity investment made by the International Finance Corporation, one of the largest and... View Details

2009
Report

Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement

By: Mark R. Kramer, Marcie Parkhurst and Lalitha Vaidyanathan

The traditional approach to measuring each individual grant and nonprofit initiative separately prevents learning and improvement, because no 2 efforts can be compared on a consistent basis. This research highlights 20 social enterprises that developed innovative... View Details

Keywords: Impact Evaluation; Impact Measurement; Social Enterprise; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness; Measurement and Metrics