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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(7,712)
- People (32)
- News (1,695)
- Research (4,099)
- Events (28)
- Multimedia (53)
- Faculty Publications (2,579)
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- September 2016 (Revised August 2018)
- Case
Pi Investments
By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Tony L. He
Pi was a large family office pioneering the concept of 100% portfolio impact investing. Tasked with preserving capital, generating moderate returns and advancing the family’s social justice goals – Pi’s Managing Directors had to identify appropriate products across... View Details
Gandhi, Vikram S., and Tony L. He. "Pi Investments." Harvard Business School Case 317-039, September 2016. (Revised August 2018.)
- July 2015
- Article
The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations: Analysts' Perceptions and Shifting Institutional Logics
By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim
We explore the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings on sell-side analysts' assessments of firms' future financial performance. We suggest that when analysts perceive CSR as an agency cost, due to the prevalence of an agency logic, they produce... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Analysts; Investment Recommendations; Sustainability; Institutional Logics; Environment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Corporate Governance; United States
Ioannou, Ioannis, and George Serafeim. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations: Analysts' Perceptions and Shifting Institutional Logics." Strategic Management Journal 36, no. 7 (July 2015): 1053–1081.
- October 2018 (Revised January 2019)
- Case
Social Finance, Inc.
By: Shawn Cole and Fanele Mashwama
This case begins in February 2019 as Tracy Palandjian, co-founder and CEO of Social Finance Inc., prepares for a board meeting that will determine the future strategy of the social enterprise. Social Finance is a non-profit in the impact investment space founded in... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investment; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions
Cole, Shawn, and Fanele Mashwama. "Social Finance, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 219-044, October 2018. (Revised January 2019.)
- February 2018 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Wellington Global Impact
By: Shawn Cole and Lynn Schenk
Wellington Global Impact is one of the first public equities impact investing strategies in the market. The case explores how the strategy was developed at Wellington, including an analysis of the culture that supported its development. It also explores the difficulty... View Details
Keywords: Finance; Impact Investing; Investment; Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Analysis
Cole, Shawn, and Lynn Schenk. "Wellington Global Impact." Harvard Business School Case 218-067, February 2018. (Revised October 2018.)
- October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
- Case
Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil
By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski
ExxonMobil, the world's fifth largest source of carbon emissions, remained committed to aggressively expanding its oil & gas business despite global warming. During the COVID pandemic this strategy resulted in massive losses as the price and demand for oil declined. ... View Details
Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Global Warming; Impact Investment Funds; Hedge Fund Activism; Leadership Development; Business Model; Renewable Energy; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards
Kramer, Mark, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Engine No. 1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil." Harvard Business School Case 222-028, October 2021. (Revised May 2023.)
- August 2022
- Case
Southwick Social Ventures
By: Henry McGee, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein
In 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team had found a promising potential investment in Southwick Social Ventures (SSV), a worker and management-owned trouser manufacturer. With a 100% immigrant workforce, the co-operative was focused on reviving... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Massachusetts
McGee, Henry, Mel Martin, and Amy Klopfenstein. "Southwick Social Ventures." Harvard Business School Case 323-011, August 2022.
- 10 Sep 2010
- Working Paper Summaries
The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations
- Article
The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations
By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim
Using a large sample of publicly traded U.S. firms over 16 years, we investigate the impact of corporate socially responsible (CSR) strategies on security analysts' recommendations. Socially responsible firms received more favorable recommendations in recent years... View Details
Keywords: Public Ownership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Value Creation; Public Equity; Markets; Investment; Perception; United States
Ioannou, Ioannis, and George Serafeim. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations." Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings (2010).
- 09 Apr 2020
- Research & Ideas
How Social Entrepreneurs Can Increase Their Investment Impact
Both impact investing and traditional philanthropy are on the rise after the decade-long economic boom following the Great Recession. But when does an impact investment make a bigger difference than a grant? The question is far more complicated than simply evaluating... View Details
Keywords: by Rachel Layne
- 2020
- Working Paper
Anchors Aweigh: Analysis of Anchor Limited Partner Investors in Impact Investment Funds
By: Shawn A. Cole, T. Robert Zochowski, Fanele Mashwama and Heather McPherson
This note describes results from a survey of “anchor investors” in impact funds. Anchor investors
are described as “generally the first investor to make a substantial capital commitment to a fund,”
(according to the Global Impact Investing Network, “GIIN”) and their... View Details
- Article
A Critical Examination of Corporate Environmental and Social Impact Measurement and Valuation
By: Judith Stroehle, Ali Aslan Gümüşay, Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, Amyn Vogel, Alnoor Ebrahim, Andreas Rasche, Andrew King, Ken Pucker, Richard Barker, Juliane Reinecke, Giovanna Michelon, Stuart Cooper, Dror Etzion, Karim Harji, Marya Besharov, Colin Mayer, Nien-hê Hsieh and Emma van den Terrell
The assignment of monetary values to a company's impact on society and the natural environment promises much. At the same time, this endeavor would benefit from addressing three prior ethical considerations: 1) determining responsibility to clarify attribution of... View Details
Keywords: ESG; Social Impact; Impact Accounting; Corporate Responsibility; Impact Measurement; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics; Valuation; Corporate Accountability
Stroehle, Judith, Ali Aslan Gümüşay, Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, Amyn Vogel, Alnoor Ebrahim, Andreas Rasche, Andrew King, Ken Pucker, Richard Barker, Juliane Reinecke, Giovanna Michelon, Stuart Cooper, Dror Etzion, Karim Harji, Marya Besharov, Colin Mayer, Nien-hê Hsieh, and Emma van den Terrell. "A Critical Examination of Corporate Environmental and Social Impact Measurement and Valuation." Journal of Management Inquiry (in press). (Curated dialog contribution by Nien-hê Hsieh and Emma van den Terrell titled “Ethical Issues for Impact Measurement and Valuation: Responsibility, Relevance, and Reform,” pp. 12–13.)
- Teaching Interest
Investing for Impact
By: Archie L. Jones
The Field Course: Investing for Impact was born out of the efforts of HBS students and faculty in the spring of 2020 and offered for the first time in fall semester of 2021.
This course seeks to help students understand why certain... View Details
- February 2018 (Revised August 2019)
- Case
The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact
By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Sarah Mehta
It is March 2017, and TPG, a global alternative investment firm with $74 billion assets under management, has recently launched its inaugural impact-investing fund—the $2 billion Rise Fund. In an effort to “take the religion out of impact investing,” Maya Chorengel,... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Equity; Investment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; California; San Francisco
Gandhi, Vikram S., Caitlin Reimers Brumme, and Sarah Mehta. "The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact." Harvard Business School Case 318-041, February 2018. (Revised August 2019.)
- January 2013
- Case
Omidyar Network: Pioneering Impact Investment
By: Michael Chu and Lauren Barley
Omidyar Network, having deployed to date over $500 million in ways ranging from donations to commercial equity capital, must decide whether to back Anudip, an Indian organization dedicated to providing the rural unemployed and marginalized with livelihoods linked to... View Details
Keywords: Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Investment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; India
Chu, Michael, and Lauren Barley. "Omidyar Network: Pioneering Impact Investment." Harvard Business School Case 313-090, January 2013.
- September 3, 2020
- Article
How to Measure a Company’s Real Impact
By: Ronald Cohen and George Serafeim
Impact transparency will reshape capitalism. By shifting the pursuit of profit away from negligently creating problems to purposefully creating valuable solutions for the world, it will redefine success, so that its measure is not just money, but the positive impact we... View Details
Keywords: Impact; Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Impact Investment; Impact Investment Funds; Accountability; Accounting Information; Corporate Performance; Sustainability; Social Impact; Capitalism; Accounting; Corporate Accountability; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Social Enterprise; Society
Cohen, Ronald, and George Serafeim. "How to Measure a Company's Real Impact." Harvard Business Review (website) (September 3, 2020).
- May 2025 (Revised June 2025)
- Background Note
Social Enterprise in Latin America
By: Brian L. Trelstad and Karina Souza
This research note provides an overview of the social enterprise ecosystem in Latin America, exploring current dynamics across key markets, including country-specific insights on Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Central America. In a region characterized... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Developing Countries and Economies; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Ownership; Social Enterprise; Business Strategy; Equality and Inequality; Microfinance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; Latin America; Brazil; Mexico; Argentina; Colombia; Chile; Guatemala; Central America; Peru; Uruguay
Trelstad, Brian L., and Karina Souza. "Social Enterprise in Latin America." Harvard Business School Background Note 325-117, May 2025. (Revised June 2025.)
- January 28, 2016
- Article
Making Sense of the Many Kinds of Impact Investing
By: Brian Trelstad
The article discusses the factors to consider when seeking to practice impact investing, which include the kind of impact preferred by the investor, the intensity and immediacy of impact, and the impact risk profile. View Details
Trelstad, Brian. "Making Sense of the Many Kinds of Impact Investing." Harvard Business Review (website) (January 28, 2016).
- September 2014 (Revised May 2017)
- Case
Fresno's Social Impact Bond for Asthma
By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez
In 2014, Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) were quickly gaining popularity as an investment vehicle which joined together private investors and nonprofits to tackle social issues. Although numerous SIB projects and proposals had cropped up across the U.S. following the launch... View Details
Keywords: Social Enterprise; Health Care; Marketing; Bonds; Financing; Asthma; Air Pollution; Air Quality; Chronic Disease; Public Health; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Finance; Health Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
Quelch, John A., and Margaret L. Rodriguez. "Fresno's Social Impact Bond for Asthma." Harvard Business School Case 515-028, September 2014. (Revised May 2017.)
- September 2018 (Revised June 2019)
- Case
THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS: Selecting Impact Funds
By: Vikram Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Nathaniel Schwalb
After much internal debate, THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS of Denmark have decided to allocate a small percentage of their investment portfolio to impact investments. Cambridge Associates, one of the leading investment advisory firms in the world, has been engaged to assist... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Mission-Related Investing; Foundations; Investment; Venture Capital; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Investment Funds; Decision Making; Consulting Industry; Financial Services Industry; Denmark; Europe
Gandhi, Vikram, Caitlin Reimers Brumme, and Nathaniel Schwalb. "THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS: Selecting Impact Funds." Harvard Business School Case 819-021, September 2018. (Revised June 2019.)
- August 2022 (Revised September 2023)
- Case
Evaluating the Impact of Hillside Harvest
By: Archie L. Jones, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein
In fall 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team had just finished their last round of due diligence on the BIPOC-founded premium hot sauce company Hillside Harvest. They thought the business had a fine performance, showing potential to grow into a successful... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Massachusetts
Jones, Archie L., Mel Martin, and Amy Klopfenstein. "Evaluating the Impact of Hillside Harvest." Harvard Business School Case 823-017, August 2022. (Revised September 2023.)