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March 2017 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Walmart: Navigating a Changing Retail Landscape

By: Michael E. Porter and Jorge Ramirez-Vallejo

As the largest company, by revenue, in the world, Walmart has been a lightning rod for criticism. However, in an attempt to stay ahead of traditional and digital retailers, and keep customers satisfied with evolving demands, the company is strengthening its competitive... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Strategy; Department Stores; Sustainability; Social Responsibility Of Business; Value Creation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Retail Industry

2006
Chapter

Corporate Philanthropy: Taking the High Ground

By: Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Ethics

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September 1997 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Siam Cement Group,The: Corporate Philosophy (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Prompilai Khunaphante

In the face of Thailand's 1990 cement shortage, managers at Siam Cement Co., Thailand's largest cement provider, must decide how to allocate available supply and whether to attempt to uphold government-controlled prices among the company's agents. At issue is the... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Resource Allocation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Construction Industry; Thailand

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2021
Case

Starbucks: Opposing a Local Tax to Address Homelessness while Promoting Social Justice

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

In 2018, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted 9-0 for a tax that would require companies whose annual revenue surpassed $20 million to pay the city $275 per employee per year. The tax money would then be used to combat homelessness in Seattle. In response,... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; City; Welfare; Wealth and Poverty; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Seattle

December 1993 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Sarah Gant

Manville Corp.'s senior managers must decide how to respond to a new scientific study suggesting that fiberglass, the source of 75% of the company's profits, may be another asbestos and must act under conditions of great uncertainty. In particular, when should a... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Health Disorders; Risk Management; Marketing Communications; Product; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Safety; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry

September 20, 2004
Comment

How Consumers Value Global Brands

By: Douglas Holt, John A. Quelch and Earl L. Taylor

In 2002, we carried out a two-stage research project in partnership with the market research company Research International/USA to find out how consumers in different countries value global brands. First, we conducted a qualitative study in forty-one countries to... View Details

Keywords: Global Brands; Brand Value; Multi-national Brands; Social Responsibility; Global Range; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

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14 Dec 1999
Research & Ideas

From Spare Change to Real Change: The Social Sector as a Beta Site for Business Innovation

Despite its long economic boom, America's social problems abound. To ensure future economic success, the country needs dramatic improvement in public schools, more highly skilled workers, jobs with a future for people coming off the... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

April 2010
Teaching Note

IBM: The Corporate Service Corps (TN)

By: Christopher Marquis, Alison Comings and Bobbi Thomason

Teaching Note for [409106]. View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Employees; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations; Developing Countries and Economies; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Programs; Global Strategy; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry; Ghana; Tanzania; Romania; Philippines; Viet Nam

19 Aug 2019
News

A New Purpose for the Corporation

but fraying," Business Roundtable chair Jamie Dimon (MBA 1982), said in a statement. "Major employers are investing in their workers and communities because they know it is the only way to be successful over the long term. These... View Details

Web

Careers | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

MBA students can engage in a wide variety of career development programs that support their social impact career pathways. These programs cross multiple sectors and provide the... View Details

June 2020
Teaching Note

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Sarah Mehta

This teaching note provides guidance for teaching the case “Generation Investment Management” (820-033), which looks at the challenges facing a sustainable investment firm. View Details

April 2006
Case

Medical Innovation Beyond MedStar: Mobilizing for National Impact

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Ryan Raffaelli and Michelle Heskett

Dr. Craig Feied, director of MedStar Health's Medical Informatics programs, wanted his innovations to influence national health care. Since joining Washington Hospital Center's Emergency Department in 1995 with Dr. Mark Smith, their information system had become the... View Details

Keywords: Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Policy; Government and Politics; Innovation and Management; Projects; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Washington (state, US)

August 2022 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Sweet Teez Bakery: Projecting the Dough's Rise

By: Emily R. McComb, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team met with entrepreneur Teresa Maynard, who had applied for a $25,000 impact investment loan. The students thought the former Harvard Data Scientist’s bakery business, Sweet Teez Bakery, showed promise. Maynard had... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Financial Reporting; Small Business; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Massachusetts

September 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Boston Teacher Residency: Developing a Strategy for Long-term Impact

By: Stacey M. Childress, Geoff Eckman Marietta and Sara Suchman

In June 2008, Jesse Solomon, the founding director of the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR), faced an important decision about the organization's strategic direction. Since its founding in 2003, 125 of its graduates had joined the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and BTR had... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Teaching; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Business Strategy; Education Industry; Boston

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Web

Eligibility | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Organizations with a central focus on social impact will be considered. These include certified B Corporations (B-Corps) and limited liability... View Details

29 Apr 2022
News

How Business Coalitions Can Have a Strong Local Impact

20 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

Fixing Corporate Governance: A Roundtable Discussion at Harvard Business School

opportunities to test out their own values against what's expected of them as responsible professionals. We don't teach them about the dysfunctional aspects that we've been discussing here, and we should. As... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

February 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Supplement

Mission Related Investments at the Ford Foundation (B)

By: Shawn Cole, Michael Norris and T. Robert Zochowski

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Mission-Related Investing; Philanthropy; Foundation; Endowments; Socially Responsible Investing; Investment; Institutional Investing; Investment Activism; Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

July 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Foxconn Technology Group (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles, George Serafeim and Beiting Cheng

In 2010, Foxconn Technology Group, the largest and fastest growing multinational company in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) industry, came under public scrutiny after a string of employee suicides reached the international press. Although the company was... View Details