Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,239)
- Faculty Publications (755)
- Article
Making 'Green Giants': Environment Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s–1980s
By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski
This article examines the evolution of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. It focuses on two companies, Bayer and Henkel, that have been identified as "green giants," and traces the evolution of their... View Details
- April 29, 2014
- Column
Corporate Reporting in the Big Data Era
By: George Serafeim
Advancements in information technology can improve corporate communication with shareholders, but not through incessant data dumps. Instead, companies will more likely be poised for continued success if they use digital platforms for long-term oriented engagement and... View Details
Keywords: Integrated Reporting; Big Data; Corporate Reporting; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Accounting; Reporting; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Accountability; Analytics and Data Science; Information Technology; Communication; Financial Reporting; Business and Shareholder Relations
- Article
Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance
By: Beiting Cheng, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim
In this paper, we investigate whether superior performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies leads to better access to finance. We hypothesize that better access to finance can be attributed to a) reduced agency costs due to enhanced stakeholder... View Details
- Article
Turnkey or Tailored? Relational Pluralism, Institutional Complexity, and the Organizational Adoption of More or Less Customized Practices
By: Ryan Raffaelli and Mary Ann Glynn
We examine how the organizational adoption of new practices is influenced by relational pluralism, i.e., an organization's multiple ties to actors inside and outside its industry. We theorize that institutional mechanisms of practice diffusion underlying relational... View Details
- 11 Mar 2014
- Other Presentation
The Role of Business in Society: Creating Shared Value
This presentation given by Professor Michael Porter covers the role of business in society, the concept of shared value, the difference between CSR and CSV, the three levels of shared value, implications for government and civil society, and examples of companies that... View Details
- March 2014
- Module Note
Implementing Environmentally Sustainable Operations
Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainable Supply Chains; Sustainable Operations; Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Environmental Management; Environmental Operations; Environmental Performance; Environmental Policy; Environmental Protection; Environmental Strategy; Environmental Regulation; Operations Management; Operations Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Operations; Supply Chain; Business Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Safety; Social Enterprise; Quality; Production; Working Conditions; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Buildings and Facilities; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry
- January 2014
- Supplement
Patagonia (B)
By: Forest Reinhardt, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Lauren Barley
Patagonia produces high-quality environmentally friendly garments that command significant price premiums. In Spring 2010, Patagonia rolled out a new, radical environmental initiative called "Product Lifecycle Initiative" (PLI), which was committed to lengthening the... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised February 2014)
- Teaching Note
Rana Plaza: Workplace Safety In Bangladesh (A) and (B)
By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez
On April 24, 2013 the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Over 1,100 people were killed in the worst industrial accident since the Union Carbide plant gas leak in Bhopal, India. Most of the victims worked for garment factories,... View Details
- January 2014
- Case
CleanSpritz
By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh
Sales of CleanSpritz all-purpose cleaning spray have been steadily declining for the past five years, and management believes the decline correlates to a growing environmental concern among U.S. consumers. CleanSpritz's management is considering several options to... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
- Case
Henry Schein: Doing Well by Doing Good?
By: Rebecca Henderson, Raffaella Sadun, Aldo Sesia and Russell Eisenstat
Henry Schein Inc., a distributor of supplies to dentist, physician, and veterinary practices, had sales approaching $9 billion and employed nearly 16,000 people. The company had experienced impressive growth under the leadership of Stanley Bergman and his executive... View Details
Keywords: Leadership Development; Strategy Execution; Performance Management; Corporate Culture; Social Responsibility; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Joint Ventures; Partnerships; Health Care Industry; Healthcare Logistics Industry; Competitive Advantage; Strategy; Leadership; Global Strategy; Selection and Staffing; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; China; Europe; United States
- 2014
- Chapter
Corporate Social Responsibility and Multinational Corporations
By: Nien-he Hsieh and Florian Wettstein
A central question that arises from the perspective of global ethics is what standards ought to apply to the activities of multinational corporations (MNCs). This chapter surveys the contemporary theoretical literature on this question. The first section provides... View Details
- 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
Keywords: Public Health; Pharmaceuticals; China; Bribery; CSR; Hong Bao; Health Care; Drug; GlaxoSmithKline; GSK; Witty; Government; Marketing; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Governance; Business and Government Relations; Ethics; Pharmaceutical Industry; China; United Kingdom; United States
- November 2013 (Revised September 2015)
- Supplement
GlaxoSmithKline in China (B)
By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez
In 2013, Chinese investigators detained four GSK employees for allegedly bribing health care staff to sell GSK pharmaceuticals. A month later, GSK's Asia Pacific regional president, Abbas Hussain, said the company would help identify corrupt practices. Two days later,... View Details
Keywords: Public Health; Pharmaceuticals; China; Bribery; CSR; Hong Bao; Health Care; Drug; GlaxoSmithKline; GSK; Witty; Government; Marketing; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Governance; Business and Government Relations; Ethics; Pharmaceutical Industry; China; United Kingdom; United States
- October 2013
- Article
How Firms Respond to Mandatory Information Disclosure
By: Anil R. Doshi, Glen W.S. Dowell and Michael W. Toffel
Mandatory information disclosure regulations seek to create institutional pressure to spur performance improvement. By examining how organizational characteristics moderate establishments' responses to a prominent environmental information disclosure program, we... View Details
- September 2013
- Case
United Rentals (A)
By: Jay W. Lorsch, Kathleen Durante and Emily McTague
In December 1997 United Rentals (URI) went public on the NYSE. Ten years later, during the peak of the economic meltdown, the company's performance was in decline. United Rentals had experienced its share of problems in the prior years and was still struggling to... View Details
- September 2013 (Revised June 2014)
- Supplement
Rana Plaza: Workplace Safety in Bangladesh (B)
By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez
In the aftermath of the Rana Plaza building collapse, a group of international retailers and labor unions partnered to create a proposal for more stringent inspections and enforcement of safety standards in Bangladesh garment factories. The proposal was met by... View Details
- Fall 2013
- Article
Engaging Supply Chains in Climate Change
By: Chonnikarn Fern Jira and Michael W. Toffel
Suppliers are increasingly being asked to share information about their vulnerability to climate change and their strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their responses vary widely. We theorize and empirically identify several factors associated with suppliers... View Details
- 2013
- Article
Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose
By: Nien-he Hsieh
Do multinational corporations (MNCs) have a responsibility to address unjust conditions—not simply by refraining from contributing to injustice, but also by actively working to bring about a just state of affairs? This paper examines whether this question can be... View Details
- August 2013 (Revised January 2016)
- Case
Sustainability at Siemens
By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Emer Moloney
Describes sustainability efforts at Siemens since arrival of Chief Sustainability Officer, Barbara Kux, in 2008. Asks students to evaluate success of those efforts and outline what the company should do going forward. View Details
- 2013
- Article
Logic Pluralism, Organizational Design, and Practice Adoption: The Structural Embeddedness of CSR Programs
By: Mary Ann Glynn and Ryan Raffaelli
The institutional logics perspective highlights how organizations are embedded within broader systems of meaning and how this embeddedness activates salient institutional logics in organizations that can enable or constrain organizational decisions, practices, and... View Details