Publications

SSRN

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

Sharing the Responsibility of Corporate Governance

Q: You've done research on the role of shareholders in holding corporations responsible for their actions. Should any of the burden of ethical corporate behavior rest on... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

24 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility

future and the present. They save less, become more obese, and even practice less-safe sex than in weak FTR languages, which use less separation between what is and what is to come. Like saving money or dieting, corporate social View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

23 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

How Corporate Responsibility is Changing in Asia

Asia," held at the Asia Business Conference on February 14 at Harvard Business School. Ever since the public outcry in the 1990s over the wages paid by Nike to its Asian factory workers, the issue of multinational corporate social... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

August 2009
Case

SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Christopher Marquis, Kwang Y. Ryu, Philip H. Mirvis and Bobbi Thomason

Since 2006, SK Telecom has worked to develop strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that are aligned with its business operations and corporate mission. The case tracks the original assessment process the company went through and successive... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; South Korea

Educators

July 2011
Teaching Note

State Grid: Corporate Social Responsibility (TN)

By: Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings

Teaching Note for 410141. View Details

Keywords: Utilities Industry; China

summer 2008
Article

Corporate Social Responsibility Through an Economic Lens

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Robert N. Stavins and Richard H.K. Vietor

Business leaders, government officials, and academics are focusing considerable attention on the concept of "corporate social responsibility" (CSR), particularly in the realm of environmental protection. Beyond complete compliance with environmental regulations, do... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Shareholder Relations; Environmental Sustainability

Article

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Investment Recommendations

By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

Using a large sample of publicly traded U.S. firms over 16 years, we investigate the impact of corporate socially responsible (CSR) strategies on security analysts' recommendations. Socially responsible firms received more favorable recommendations in recent years... View Details

Keywords: Public Ownership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Value Creation; Public Equity; Markets; Investment; Perception; United States

24 Mar 2014
News

The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility

November 2016
Article

Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality

By: Mozaffar Khan, George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon

Using newly available materiality classifications of sustainability topics, we develop a novel dataset by hand-mapping sustainability investments classified as material for each industry into firm-specific sustainability ratings. This allows us to present new evidence... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Investments; Corporate Social Responsibility; Accounting; Corporate Reporting; Regulation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Investment; Corporate Governance

April 2014
Article

Corporate Social Responsibility:: A Way of Life at the Tata Group

By: Shashank Shah

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; India

January 2023 (Revised July 2025)
Technical Note

LCA Action Planning: Responsibility and Accountability

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Nien-he Hsieh and Marilyn Morgan Westner

LCA action plans integrate responsibility and accountability into decision-making and planning. This module note was designed for the LCA course and reviews six steps leaders can follow to develop a practical LCA action plan for their business. It shows how integrating... View Details

Keywords: Responsibility; Accountability; Management Challenges; Corporate Accountability; Leadership; Planning; Decisions; Strategy

Educators

This study focuses on how and why firms strategically respond to government signals regarding appropriate corporate activity. We integrate institutional theory with research on corporate political strategy to develop a political dependence model that explains (a) how... View Details

April 14, 2015
Article

The Type of Socially Responsible Investments That Make Firms More Profitable

By: George Serafeim

Keywords: Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Sustainability; Investing; Investment Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Profit; Investment; Environmental Sustainability

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April 1, 2020
Article

Coronavirus Is Putting Corporate Social Responsibility to the Test

By: Mark R. Kramer

A great many large companies talk about their values, or about how much they care for their employees and other stakeholders. The coronavirus crisis is the time for them to make good on that commitment. The author offers some things that corporations can do to help... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

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April 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

The Dannon Company: Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (A)

By: Christopher Marquis, Pooja Mehta Shah, Amanda Elizabeth Tolleson and Bobbi Thomason

At the end of 2009, The Dannon Company was considering pro actively communicating its CSR efforts to consumers. With the strong connection between Dannon's production of health foods and its commitment to health and nutrition-based CSR activities, communicating these... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Nutrition; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Food and Beverage Industry

Educators

January 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

AngloGold - Corporate Responsibility for HIV/AIDS (A)

AngloGold, a South African gold-mining corporation, faces a decision to provide its workforce, 30% of which is infected with HIV, with antiretroviral treatment. View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Mining Industry; South Africa

June 26, 2019
Article

The Biggest Mistakes Companies Make With Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

There’s almost nothing worse for the corporate ego than thinking that you’re doing good and should be appreciated for it, only to find that you’re pilloried instead. The public doesn’t believe you, the community doesn’t want you, and your own employees won’t defend... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Leadership; Change; Business and Community Relations