Materialism - Publications - Faculty & Research

10 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink

whether these trends are material to their business. One answer could lie in forecasting the impact of the Internet on sales in various categories in their stores. A more practical solution might lie in determining the trend in gross... View Details

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Jose B. Alvarez; Retail

15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

would always remind his visitors that good source material was the key to good history and would want to know what research collection they were using at Baker Library. His enthusiasm for the subject of business history, and for history... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

03 Jul 2013
What Do You Think?

What Are the Limits of Transparency?

Snowden affair. They assume that much of what they do will become public knowledge regardless of any efforts to keep it secret. The late Harlan Cleveland predicted much of this more than 30 years ago when he noted that information is different than View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

21 May 2012
Research & Ideas

OSHA Inspections: Protecting Employees or Killing Jobs?

sites in order to evaluate whether the program is effective." Or as Levine puts it: "It's costly to learn, but it's more costly to be ignorant." To Read More: If you'd like to read the researchers' article in Science, "Randomized Government Safety Inspections Reduce... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 May 2019
What Do You Think?

What Should the Leadership of YouTube Do?

barred People already consume tabloid newspapers, racist propaganda, biased news broadcasts, and pornography willingly. Let them at least know how the general public categorizes such materials Everyone benefits from such a system. Viewers... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

Research Summary

Sustainability and Integrated Reporting

A sustainable strategy for a company is one that enables it to create value for shareholders over the long term while contributing to a sustainable society. In doing so, it must balance the needs of different types of providers of financial capital (e.g.,... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting

03 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Is the Future of MBA Education?

entitled "The Future of MBA Education," and Srikant and I were responsible for preparing and leading it. Our initial goal was simply to gather enough material to conduct a day-long conversation with our faculty drawing on interviews with... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

Teaching Interest

Managing Human Capital: Keeping Hope Alive in Organizations (Not offered 2013-2014)

Managing Human Capital has been specifically designed to teach practical skills for the general manager who seeks to manage both other people and his or her own career with optimal effectiveness. Any and all students who believe they will need to effectively manage... View Details

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Globalization: The Strategy of Differences

operations—and, ultimately, other activities—wherever in the world they could be carried out most cost effectively. By 2001, GEMS obtained 15 percent of its direct material purchases from, and had located 40 percent of its own... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

16 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Private Meetings of Public Companies Thwart Disclosure Rules

In the fall of, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a new rule meant to combat the problem of selective disclosure among public companies and their favorite investors. Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) mandated that any time a publicly traded company... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

15 Sep 2015
First Look

September 15, 2015

Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49602 Materiality in Corporate Governance: The Statement of Significant Audiences and Materiality By: Eccles, Robert G., and Tim Youmans... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Sep 2024
HBS Case

The Climate Targets Leaders Need to Know as Regulations Loom

electricity from power plant, and steam or hot water from district energy systems. Scope 3: Indirect emissions from a company’s supply and value chains. This includes the emissions associated with producing the materials a company... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

29 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Managing Innovation is Like Theater

"Artful," because it derives from the theory and practice of collaborative art and requires an artist-like attitude from managers and team members. "Making," because it requires that you conceive of your work as altering or combining View Details

Keywords: by Rob Austin & Lee Devin

26 Aug 2024
Research & Ideas

Can AI Match Human Ingenuity in Creative Problem-Solving?

When ChatGPT and other large language models began entering the mainstream two years ago, it quickly became apparent the technology could excel at certain business functions, yet it was less clear how well artificial intelligence could handle more creative tasks. Sure,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information Technology; Information; Technology

05 Jul 2017
What Do You Think?

Can Innovation Save Us From Ourselves?

Summing Up Do We Need to Give More Attention to the Dark Side of Innovation? Innovation may be able to help us deal with problems such as famine, pollution, and even global warming. But unless it can prove to be just as effective in combating destructive human traits... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

10 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Rethink the Value of Joint Ventures

partners have a narrower view. For instance, decisions on where to source materials become more complicated if the multinational is trying to balance and manage a worldwide production process. Second, the multinational wants to leverage... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

10 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Homers: Secrets on the Factory Floor

A factory worker uses company time and materials to fashion a lamp he will take home for personal use—an artifact called a "homer." The practice is probably illegal and clearly against written company policy. If discovered, the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

27 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Creating Leaders for Science-Based Businesses

unto themselves, businesses have become involved in the pursuit of science and universities in the commercialization of science. Unlike traditional high technology, science-based businesses--especially biotech and pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, and View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Biotechnology; Health

12 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 12, 2017

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53593 Material Sustainability Information and Stock Price Informativeness By: Grewal, Jody, Clarissa Hauptmann, and George Serafeim Abstract—As part of the SEC’s revision of Regulation S-K,... View Details