Publications

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August 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Whole Foods: Balancing Social Mission and Growth

By: Christopher Marquis, Marya Besharov and Bobbi Thomason

In 2009, Whole Foods stands at a crossroads. Their incredible growth over the past 25 years has vaulted them into the ranks of the largest US supermarkets and they have arguably led to the widespread acceptance of natural and organic foods in the United States. Yet... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

December 2011
Case

PepsiCo India: Performance with Purpose

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Rakesh Khurana, Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

In 2010, PepsiCo India's management is working to translate PepsiCo's new mission, "Performance with Purpose," into practice in the India market. The mission calls for continued financial performance and market leadership, as well as greater emphasis on healthy... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Food and Beverage Industry; India

19 Mar 2019
News

Mission Critical

all the things that I probably should not have been doing and learned the opportunities that I had to redefine my leadership. “In our industry, just like any other industry, you really have to inspire and... View Details

Keywords: Health, Social Assistance

2022
Book

Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies

By: Ranjay Gulati

This book offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Culture

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January 1994 (Revised May 1996)
Background Note

Leading for Integrity: Corporate Purpose and Responsibility

By: Lynn S. Paine

Outlines several differing conceptions of corporate purpose and responsibility that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. View Details

Keywords: Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Strategy

February 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Creating and Measuring Purpose at Viega

By: Ethan Rouen, Suraj Srinivasan and James Barnett

At its headquarters in Attendorn, Germany, Viega’s chairwoman Anna Viegener gathered the company’s leadership team to discuss their progress on formalizing purpose-driven leadership as a strategic driver within the organization. Viega manufactured and distributed... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Employee Relationship Management; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Expansion; Measurement and Metrics; Germany

Editorial

The Type of Purpose That Makes Companies More Profitable

By: George Serafeim and Claudine Gartenberg

Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Middle Management; Vision; Culture; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Profit

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31 Aug 2022
News

Reshaping the Relationship Between Purpose and Profit

13 Nov 2014
News

Turning Missions into Movements

01 Jun 2007
News

Mission Possible

delivers a message of hope for a better world where no social mission is impossible. Cindy Ko (MBA ’05) Endeavor www.endeavor.org POSITIVE IMPACT: With help from Endeavor, Drillco Tools has become a leading designer View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Margie Kelley; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance

October 2016
Case

Elon Musk: Balancing Purpose and Risk

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Sarah Mehta

The case is used to illustrate the place of ‘Purpose’ versus financial risk and returns in a founder’s objectives. It also addresses personal risk profile of different founders, and when paired with the Risk Tolerance Exercise, it enables evaluating one’s own appetite... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicle; Solar Power; Vision; Trade-offs; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Risk and Uncertainty; Entrepreneurship; Failure; United States; North America

October 2019
Case

David Yin's Vegetarian Mission

By: Boris Groysberg and Evan M.S. Hecht

After the establishment of his critically-acclaimed upscale vegetarian restaurant, King’s Joy, in Beijing, chef and entrepreneur David Yin must decide whether or not to expand to other locations or continue to invest in his existing location in order to fulfill his... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant; Restaurant Industry; Creative Ability; Creative Industries; Values; Entrepreneurship; Creativity; Food; Values and Beliefs; China

07 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Harvard Innovation Labs: Where Passion and Purpose Meet

unmet need and grow it into a purposeful entity. The i-lab, the original component of the now three-lab ecosystem, opened in 2011 in Batten Hall with the vision of offering a “One Harvard” learning View Details

May 2012
Case

Columbia's Final Mission (Abridged) (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Kerry Herman

This case documents decision-making processes, organizational culture, and other contributors to NASA's failed Columbia mission in 2003. Addresses the question of how organizations should deal with "ambiguous threats" - weak signals of potential crisis - and explores... View Details

Keywords: Cognitive Biases; Teams; Organizational Learning; Ambiguous Threat; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Failure; Crisis Management; Aerospace Industry

Awards

Ideas Worth Teaching Award

By: Rebecca M. Henderson

Winner of Aspen Institute’s 2017 Ideas Worth Teaching Award in the Corporate Purpose & Leadership category for the MBA course Reimagining Capitalism: Business and the Big Problems with George Serafeim. View Details

Web

Advance Your Career with Greater Purpose and Focus

Ascending the Peak: Finding the Leader Within—Virtual is a live online program, conducted in the HBS Live Online Classroom, for mid-career professionals ready to lead with courage, conviction, and resilience. Participants will focus on... View Details

September 2007
Teaching Note

Opportunity International: Measurement and Mission (TN)

By: Herman B. Leonard, Srikant M. Datar, Marc J. Epstein and Melissa Tritter

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Mission and Purpose; Opportunities