Publications

20 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Activist CEOs Are Rising Up—and Their Customers Are Listening

When former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced earlier this year he was thinking about running for president of the United States, it wasn’t a new idea. Past CEOs seeking the White House have included Carly Fiorina, Ross Perot, Herman Cain, Steve Forbes, Mitt... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 2010 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Better World Books

By: Michael I. Norton, Fiona Wilson, Jill Avery and Thomas J. Steenburgh

Better World Books, a young start-up, provides a socially conscious alternative to Amazon, collecting and selling used books to keep them out of the waste stream, while donating a portion of their profits to support global literacy efforts. The case presents an... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Online Technology; Retail Industry

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Take a Trim Tab Approach to Climate Change

attention, and thereby educate people to influence the tide of events. Prominent business leaders have a bully pulpit, if they want to take it, on the issue of climate change and environmental sustainability. Today's business leaders have... View Details

Keywords: by Amy C. Edmondson; Energy; Utilities

February 1989
Background Note

Corporate Positioning: How to Assess--and Build--A Company's Reputation

Provides a framework for assessing and enhancing an organization's reputation. Points out two dimensions of a corporate image--visibility and credibility. Discusses several critical issues that must be addressed in building an image. Finally, provides an assessment of... View Details

Keywords: Status and Position; Corporate Strategy; Reputation; Organizations; Brands and Branding

Person Page

Creating Emerging Markets (Business History)

By: Tarun Khanna

Professor Tarun Khanna is faculty co-chair of the Creating Emerging Markets (CEM) Project. The project provides a unique research and teaching resource on business leadership in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East over recent decades.... View Details

June 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Oddo Securities―ESG Integration

By: Paul M. Healy

The case describes the process of integrating environmental, social, and governance issues into valuation models and research analyst recommendations. View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Mathematical Methods; Integration; Valuation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Governance Controls; Investment

23 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Corporate Sustainability Reporting: It’s Effective

environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. The trend of mandatory sustainability reporting picked up steam as consumers, investors, and civil society in general increasingly demonstrated that they value the social... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

June 2022 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Strategic Innovation at the United Nations: A Network of Ecosystems

By: Frank Nagle, Elizabeth J. Altman and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, Gina Lucarelli, leader of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs, prepared for a meeting with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. The two planned to discuss the future of the Accelerator Labs, a network of social innovation labs located... View Details

Keywords: Change; Disruption; Transformation; Change Management; Education; Learning; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Local Range; Geopolitical Units; Country; Human Resources; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Information Technology; Information Management; Innovation and Invention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Dissemination; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Psychology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Society; Social Issues; Welfare; Strategy; Cooperation; Adaptation; Public Administration Industry; North and Central America

March 2005 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Procurement at Betapharm Corp. (A)

Presents a move by Betapharm to centralize procurement and e-sourcing and the many control and incentive issues that arose subsequently. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Governance Controls; Supply Chain Management; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

April 1974 (Revised June 1983)
Case

Robert F. Kennedy High School

By: John J. Gabarro

Presents the problem facing a newly appointed high school principal. Raises issues about interpersonal and group behavior including lack of open conflict resolution and the need to intervene in an interpersonal conflict. Also raises the issue of intergroup conflict... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Secondary Education; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Conflict Management; System

2015
Chapter

Making the Business Case for Environmental Sustainability

By: Rebecca Henderson

Can a business case be made for acting sustainably? This is a difficult question to answer precisely, largely because there is no generally accepted definition of the term "sustainability." Is it acting sustainably to protect the human rights of the firm's workforce?... View Details

Article

(Mis)perceptions of Inequality

By: Oliver P. Hauser and Michael I. Norton

Inequality is arguably the defining societal issue of the 21st century. The debate over “who gets what’ underlies policy debates ranging from taxation to health care to wages and permeates society at all levels, attracting increasing interest from policymakers,... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Wealth and Poverty; Perception; Society; Policy

Read Now

2023
Working Paper

Words Can Hurt: How Political Communication Can Change the Pace of an Epidemic

By: Jessica Gagete-Miranda, Lucas Argentieri Mariani and Paula Rettl

While elite-cue effects on public opinion are well-documented, questions remain as to when and why voters use elite cues to inform their opinions and behaviors. Using experimental and observational data from Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic, we study how leader... View Details

Read Now

20 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

When CEOs Become Activists

Business, Aaron Chatterji, call “CEO activism,” in which corporate executives speak out about social or environmental issues not obviously related to their core businesses. “What prompted this research is... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology; Publishing

18 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Beyond Heroic Entrepreneurs

experts in the field gathered last year at HBS to discuss such funding issues at a seminar hosted by the School's Social Enterprise Initiative. "If there's such a rise in the hybrid models, as more and more... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

19 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Rupert Murdoch and the Seeds of Moral Hazard

the developmental issues, cultural challenges, and other qualitative issues that are critical to assessing senior leadership. This approach is not without controversy. Some boards and senior leaders are reluctant to take this step. They... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Journalism & News; Publishing

November 2009
Article

Fast or Fair? A Study of Response Times

This paper uses a modified dictator game to investigate the relationship between response times and social preferences. We find that faster subjects more often chose the option with the highest payoff for themselves. Moreover, our within-analysis reveals that, for a... View Details

Keywords: Relationships; Time Management; Social Issues; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Profit