Publications

12 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Can Consumers be Trusted with Their Own Health Care?

way she feels than the consumer,” he said. “While not every consumer is able or willing to take on responsibility for their health, most are.” In many ways, some patients already have a great deal of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

09 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 9

clients. We stated that even honest auditors were incapable of independence within the current regulatory framework. We document the failure to make sufficient changes to our institutions, highlight the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Jan 2016
Blog Post

A Summer Internship in the Music Industry

to experience what life was like in the creative part of the music industry. In my opinion, a great place to do this is in artist management. Not only are these companies taking power and View Details

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

February 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, Marco Iansiti and Akiko Kanno

Ricoh, the Japanese copier manufacturer, is committed to reducing its environmental impact to one-eighth of its 2000 levels by 2050. It has already introduced three stages of environmental awareness to its operations, and its recycled copier business broke even in... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Accounting; Financial Reporting; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Investment; Operations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

28 Aug 2019
Blog Post

Know Your Audience: Recruiting HBS Students for Investment Banking

addition, Kurt notes that students he coaches are consistently drawn to banks with a strong HBS alumni presence. “Banks that show HBS alumni retention over one, two, and three years tend to get high View Details

12 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 12

amplify pressures to improve. Examining organizational responses to a change in a prominent information disclosure program, we provide some of the first empirical evidence... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Article

Why Do Firms Have 'Purpose'? The Firm's Role as a Carrier of Identity and Reputation

By: Rebecca Henderson and Eric Van den Steen

Why do so many firms publicly espouse a "purpose" beyond simple profit maximization? And why do so many managers and employees appear to care deeply about this purpose and to believe that it is critically important? In this paper we argue that the conventional answers... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Identity; Reputation

Find at Harvard

May 1994 (Revised July 1994)
Case

International Sourcing in Athletic Footwear: NIKE and Reebok

Nike and Reebok, the two largest athletic footwear companies, look to contractors in Asia to manufacture their shoes. Sourcing from Asia offers advantages of low cost and flexibility, but raises questions about human rights and corporate responsibility. How Nike and... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Apparel and Accessories Industry

October 1998 (Revised November 1998)
Case

Newman's Own, Inc.

By: James E. Austin

Describes the creation and evolution of this food marketing corporation. All its after-tax profits are donated to charity by Paul Newman, the distinguished actor and social entrepreneur. The company has grown into a $100 million enterprise and donated cumulatively $89... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Food; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Advantage; Food and Beverage Industry

16 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 16, 2015

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/415051-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 315-062 Responsibilities to Customers This note introduces the module on Responsibilities... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 29

requires sources of novelty, but the challenge is that not all sources lead to innovation, so its value needs to be determined. However, since ways of determining value stem from existing knowledge, this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2010 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Equitas Microfinance: The Fastest-Growing MFI on the Planet

By: V.G. Narayanan and V. Kasturi Rangan

Founded as a for-profit microfinance company, Equitas had acquired nearly a million clients in the short two years since it was founded. The founder, Vasu, and his management team wished to accelerate the already impressive spurt to three million clients in the next... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Microfinance; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Financial Services Industry; India

24 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 24

gain access to valuable knowledge because a KR is universally and constantly available and can be used without social interaction. However, for it to serve this equalizing function, those on the periphery of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2025
Supplement

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (B)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Trust; Ethics; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Business Model; Credit; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

06 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 6, 2007

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=107029 How Media Choices are Changing Online Advertising Harvard Business School Note 707-458 What is the response by advertisers as media consumption moves View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 13, 2021
Article

The Big Benefits of Employee Ownership

By: Thomas Dudley and Ethan Rouen

Wealth inequality in the U.S. has been increasing for decades: The richest 1% own a majority of all business wealth, and the top 10% own more than 90%. Companies, which have played a vital role in the growth in inequality can also play one in reducing it. One place to... View Details

Keywords: Wealth; Equality and Inequality; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employee Ownership; United States

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Keywords: Pulp and Paper

December 2019
Supplement

Mãe Terra and Unilever (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Mariana Cal

Unilever is making strides to integrate the operations of Mãe Terra—one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods—into its own structures, after acquiring the company in 2017. Mãe Terra’s CEO, Alexandre Borges, must decide whether to implement his original... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America