Publications

August 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Background Note

Oil: History, Present and Future

By: Jurgen Weiss

This background note is intended to provide context for a discussion of the strategies for big integrated oil companies in light of both oil’s current role in the global energy system and the uncertainty about changes going forward. View Details

Keywords: Oil; Energy Markets; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Decarbonization; Non-Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries

August 2015
Supplement

Sustainability at IKEA Group: Video Supplement

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Michael W. Toffel

This video contains Q&A with IKEA Group's Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Howard and IKEA Group's Industrial Strategy Manager Per Berggren, the two primary case protagonists. They respond to student questions after the case was taught at an executive education class... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Operations; Environmental Sustainability; Retail Industry

April 2005 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Banco Real: Banking on Sustainability

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

ABN AMRO REAL made corporate social responsibility central to its brand, adding to customer focus and reflecting its values. Leaders developed the Bank of Value theme and implemented it through activities such as microfinance in poor communities, environmentally... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage

December 1990 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Australian Paper Manufacturers (A)

By: David M. Upton and Joshua D. Margolis

Describes a company which has broken an unwritten cordial agreement amongst the three Australian paper manufacturers to split the domestic market three ways by market segment. The company invades another's "territory" with advanced technology, quality, and,... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Production; Information Technology; Ethics; Situation or Environment; Product Development; Segmentation; Expansion; Financial Strategy; Pulp and Paper Industry; Australia

06 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 6

demonstrates the mutual interconnectivity among the three key facets of management: strategic positioning, organizational design, and individual leadership. The authors highlight both the manner in which strategy informs leadership and... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

August 2011
Article

Coming Clean and Cleaning Up: Does Voluntary Self-Reporting Indicate Effective Self-Policing

By: Michael W. Toffel and Jodi L. Short

Regulatory agencies are increasingly establishing voluntary self-reporting programs both as an investigative tool and to encourage regulated firms to commit to policing themselves. We investigate whether voluntary self-reporting can reliably indicate effective... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Programs; Governance Compliance; Corporate Disclosure; Law Enforcement

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November 2019
Case

Hapag-Lloyd AG:Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governance Compliance; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

November 2019
Supplement

Hapag-Lloyd AG: Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

June 2024
Supplement

Climate Governance at Linde plc (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details

October 2020 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Divesting Harvard's Endowment

By: Daniel Green, Luis M. Viceira and Holly Fetter

By early 2020 Harvard University was facing growing pressure from students, faculty, and alumni to divest its $40 billion endowment of financial stakes in fossil fuel producers. Its previous policy of avoiding the issue was quickly becoming outdated—$21 trillion of... View Details

Keywords: Divestment; Harvard University; ESG; Higher Education; Investment Portfolio; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

Article

Decarbonization Factors

By: Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, David Turkington and Hui (Stacie) Wang

In the face of accelerating climate change, investors are making capital allocations seeking to decarbonize portfolios by reducing the carbon emissions of their holdings. To understand the performance of portfolio decarbonization strategies and investor behavior... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Investment Management; Factor Investing; Investor Behavior; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Management

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Maria Roche offer insights for leaders managing through the turmoil. 30 Oct 2024 Climate Rising How Public Policy Can Drive Climate Innovation and Business Opportunities: A Conversation with USEPA’s David Cash David Cash, the Regional Director of the U.S. View Details

April 8, 2025
Article

Creating Workplaces Free of Forever Chemicals

By: Joseph G. Allen, Heather A. Henrikson and Michael W. Toffel

Forever chemicals are toxic and widely used in buildings and yet they remain on the rise globally with little regulation to control them. In the United States, for example, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations currently cover only forever chemicals in... View Details

Keywords: Occupational Health; Safety Regulations; Regulation; Working Conditions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Safety; Health

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05 Apr 2018
Cold Call Podcast

How a Coal Polluter Became a Renewable Energy Leader

Keywords: Energy

2021
Working Paper

Studying the U.S.-Based Portfolio Companies of U.S. Impact Investors

By: M. Diane Burton, Gurveen Chadha, Shawn A. Cole, Abhishek Dev, Christina Jarymowycz, Leslie Jeng, Laura Kelley, Josh Lerner, Jaime R. Diaz Palacios, Yue (Cynthia) Xu and T. Robert Zochowski

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the reliance on market-based solutions to social and environmental problems around the world (Barman 2016; Horvath and Powell 2020). The growth of impact investing is a vivid example of this trend and, although there have... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Portfolio Companies; Investment; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Investment Portfolio; Business Ventures; Analytics and Data Science; Performance; United States

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03 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 3

Dennis A. Yao Abstract—This article examines how antitrust law and policy can benefit from ideas developed in the academic strategy field. Because accurate assessment and prediction of the effects of firm conduct depend in part on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 9, 2008

influence the companies being rated. We focus on corporate environmental ratings, the primary purpose of which is to help investors select "socially responsible" and avoid "socially irresponsible" companies. We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Feb 2020
Cold Call Podcast

Global Ocean Trust: Protecting the Blue Planet in New Ways

Keywords: Re: Rosabeth M. Kanter; Green Technology

December 1998 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Lebenthal and Co., Inc.

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Susan Harmeling

Lebenthal and Co. has prospered in the bond business since 1924. Alexandra Lebenthal, granddaughter of the founders, has stepped up to lead the firm. She faces many challenges as the nature of the financial services business changes in dramatic ways. Can this firm... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Bonds; Leadership Development; Service Operations; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Financial Services Industry