Publications

November 2006 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

Strategies Beyond the Market

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Dennis Yao

Strategists are not alone in finding failing markets irresistible. Governments and social groups ranging from unions to the World Wildlife Fund also respond to market failures. Governments typically seek to fix failing markets, often with prescriptions of what... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Failure; Strategy; Situation or Environment; Social Issues; Government and Politics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

01 Sep 2015
First Look

First Look -- September 1, 2015

strategy beyond markets. Very few studies have shown that a firm’s strategy increases policy performance; almost none have demonstrated a link between policy and firm profitability. Third, the topical areas of analysis appear to be... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2025
News

Making Difficult Decisions: The General Manager’s Job

discussion of “Group Process in the Challenger Launch Decision (A)” “They’re trying to make a life-or-death decision through a forum that’s not equipped to make decisions of this magnitude. There are so many... View Details

Keywords: Jen Mcfarland Flint; Illustration by Peter Arkle; Educational Support Services; Educational Services

September 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Supplement

Genzyme Center (B)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Aldo Sesia

Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning that the building as planned would likely earn a LEED Silver rating, an intermediate score in the LEED green... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Standards; Cost vs Benefits; Biotechnology Industry; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; Green Technology Industry

2020
Case

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Plastic has become essential to global day-to-day activities, yet it is also causing extreme environmental degradation. Many leaders in the plastics industry are starting to question its sustainability. This case presents insights into the future of the plastic... View Details

Keywords: Plastic Waste; Environmental Sustainability; Cooperation; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry

15 Aug 2007
Op-Ed

3 Steps to Reduce Financial System Risk

even a small change in correlation specifications can have a large impact on ratings. There has been less discussion about where the transferred risk has ended up and why. Meanwhile, the responsibility for supervising the transfer in... View Details

Keywords: by Mohamed El-Erian; Financial Services; Banking

14 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2006

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781591841395,00.html The Costs and Benefits of Undoing Egocentric Responsibility Assessments in Groups Authors:E. Caruso, N. Epley, and M. H. Bazerman.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Accountability at the World Bank

Herz, he wrote the HBS working paper "Accountability in Complex Organizations: World Bank Responses to Civil Society" [PDF]. An abridged version of Ebrahim's testimony follows. (The entire... View Details

Keywords: by Alnoor Ebrahim

26 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Two sides, same coin: How I left the Bay Area as an operator and returned as an investor

more about venture capital: The Rock Venture Partners program. The program, run by Jeff Bussgang and the Rock Center (led by Jodi Gernon, Chuck Collins, and Priyanka Gandhi), is structured as a curated apprenticeship where a small group View Details

08 Oct 2019
Blog Post

Balancing Act: Kate Eberle Walker’s Action Plan for C-suite Diversity

successor and two years later, after Tutor.com had merged with The Princeton Review, she became CEO of the combined company. For Eberle Walker, being in charge came with the responsibility View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

April 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

New Belgium Brewing and Climate Change

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kenneth P. Pucker and Michael Norris

In 2023, Colorado-based craft brewery New Belgium Brewing was considering how best to meet its emissions reduction targets. After decades of growth, the beermaker had grown to become one of the largest craft brewers in the U.S., and was purchased in 2019 by Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Beer; Carbon Accounting; Carbon Credits; Operation Management; Renewable Energy; Supply Chain; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Accounting; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Colorado

August 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll: The MTV Approach to Tackling HIV/AIDS

By: Tarun Khanna, Sonali R. Bloom and David E. Bloom

This case explores the role that MTV, with its heavy diet of music and general youth-oriented media content, plays in spreading public-service messaging to contain the scourge of HIV/AIDS worldwide. There is a focus especially on its efforts in several emerging... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Developing Countries and Economies; Multinational Firms and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Emerging Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Health Industry; Africa

18 Jan 2017
Blog Post

The Latino Community at HBS

that people are appreciated for being unique, authentic, and passionate leaders. The Latino community at HBS is supportive and engaged in the development of leaders who make a difference in the world. LASO, in particular, has taken View Details

26 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

What Neuroscience Tells Us About Consumer Desire

result of neural activity. By attaching electrodes to subjects' heads and evaluating the electrical patterns of their brain waves, researchers can track the intensity of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

August 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Global Business School Network

By: Christopher Marquis and Rwitwika Bhattacharya

The mission of the Global Business School Network (GBSN) is to strengthen business education for the developing world. The organization was transitioning out of its startup phase and wants to shift its focus from capacity building activities driven by the organization... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Business Education; Development Economics; Globalization; Global Strategy; Education Industry

November 2013
Case

GlaxoSmithKline in China (A)

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

Four GlaxoSmithKline employees were accused of bribing Chinese health care workers to prescribe the company's drugs. The accusations brought to light the questionable incentive structures of the Chinese health care system and the pressure on companies to adhere to... View Details

08 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part Two]

go off on your own and create something different. With consensus decision making and shared responsibility for everything, nobody feels responsible. In our book, we discuss how Japanese companies need to adopt more business unit... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

07 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Market Investors Pay More for Resilient Companies

analysis applied to news coverage of corporate responses to the pandemic between late February and late March, when public markets were declining 30 percent or more before eventually recovering much View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

January 1998 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Funai Consulting Company, Ltd. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Tomoya Nakamura

In the summer of 1997, a consultant at Japan's Funai Consulting Co. Ltd., must decide how to respond to a client's proposal to offer "open pricing" (based on willingness to pay) to customers unable to pay the standard price for the client's product. The client, Akita... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Price; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decisions; Agribusiness; Management Practices and Processes; Business Ventures; Consulting Industry; Japan