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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,114)
- People (3)
- News (225)
- Research (753)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (453)
- 19 Jan 2017
- News
Finding Purpose in Profit
redefine the meaning of success in business. B Lab’s mission is to assemble a global community of Certified B Corporations, which are companies that meet certain prescribed standards of social and environmental performance, public... View Details
- 22 Feb 2022
- News
Ink: Bringing Purpose to Life
In his new book, Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High Performance Companies, Professor Ranjay Gulati makes the case that it is indeed possible to serve two masters—profit and social purpose—at the same time. But in order to do so... View Details
- April 2024
- Case
Michelin in Motion: Putting Purpose to Work
By: Hubert Joly, Nitin Nohria and Emilie Billaud
When he became CEO, facing limited growth prospects, a low valuation, and therefore a stagnating share price, Menegaux and his team launched a set of initiatives to reposition Michelin. These included (1) articulating a clear purpose (“We care about giving people a... View Details
Keywords: Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Innovation Strategy; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Identity; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Value Creation; Mission and Purpose; Valuation; Manufacturing Industry; Rubber Industry; Transportation Industry; Europe; France
Joly, Hubert, Nitin Nohria, and Emilie Billaud. "Michelin in Motion: Putting Purpose to Work." Harvard Business School Case 324-127, April 2024.
- 24 Apr 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Corporate Social Entrepreneurship
Keywords: by James E. Austin & Ezequiel Reficco
- January 2024
- Technical Note
The ICARUS Principles: What It Takes to Tackle the World
By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
Over the course of the 20th century, most of the world’s major multinational corporations framed their mission around Milton Friedman’s famous mantra: that the sole purpose of the firm is to maximize its shareholders’ profits. Recently, however, growing numbers of... View Details
Keywords: Purpose; Mission; Social Business; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; For-Profit Firms
Spar, Debora L., and Julia M. Comeau. "The ICARUS Principles: What It Takes to Tackle the World." Harvard Business School Technical Note 324-055, January 2024.
- 01 Jun 2004
- News
Social Enterprise Celebrates Tenth Year, Looks Ahead
Did you know? 10% of current MBAs come from social-enterprise backgrounds 81% of HBS alumni are involved in the social sector in some form 57% of HBS alumni serve on nonprofit boards 40 HBS faculty members are engaged in social-enterprise... View Details
- 22 Mar 2022
- News
André Pratte: Walt Disney and the importance of corporate purpose
- September 2021 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Bühler: Mobilizing Industry around a Common Purpose
By: Ranjay Gulati, Franz Wohlgezogen and Malini Sen
Bühler Group, a Swiss multinational processing technology provider, started by selling machines for processing grains and later transitioned into selling food processing solutions. A family-owned business in the fifth generation, Bühler’s high-end milling, grinding,... View Details
Keywords: Family Business; Customer Focus and Relationships; Machinery and Machining; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Innovation Leadership; Switzerland
Gulati, Ranjay, Franz Wohlgezogen, and Malini Sen. "Bühler: Mobilizing Industry around a Common Purpose." Harvard Business School Case 822-001, September 2021. (Revised March 2024.)
- November 2021
- Article
The Effects of Retirement on Sense of Purpose in Life: Crisis or Opportunity?
By: Ayse Yemiscigil, Nattavudh Powdthavee and Ashley V. Whillans
Does retirement lead to an existential crisis or present an opportunity to experience a renewed sense of purpose in life? Prior research has documented a negative association between retirement and sense of purpose in life, suggesting that retirement could lead people... View Details
Yemiscigil, Ayse, Nattavudh Powdthavee, and Ashley V. Whillans. "The Effects of Retirement on Sense of Purpose in Life: Crisis or Opportunity?" Psychological Science 32, no. 11 (November 2021): 1856–1864.
- 2017
- Chapter
Corporate Moral Agency, Positive Duties, and Purpose
By: Nien-hê Hsieh
A long-standing question in business ethics is whether business enterprises are themselves moral agents with distinct moral responsibilities. To date, the debate about corporate moral agency has focused on responsibility for past wrongdoing that involves violating... View Details
Hsieh, Nien-hê. "Corporate Moral Agency, Positive Duties, and Purpose." In The Moral Responsibility of Firms, edited by Eric Orts and N. Craig Smith. Oxford University Press, 2017.
- 2022
- Book
Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World
By: George Serafeim
The roadmap and best practices to reap the enormous value that can emerge when your business prioritizes social and environmental goals—such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability—right alongside the pursuit of profit.
We not only... View Details
We not only... View Details
Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Profitability; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Organizational Change and Adaptation
Serafeim, George. Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World. New York: HarperCollins Leadership, 2022.
- 22 Mar 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
How Etsy Found Its Purpose and Crafted a Turnaround
- 28 Jun 2022
- Book
The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose
How can government and business work together in this fractious political moment, when finding solutions to pressing problems like inequality and climate change are more urgent than ever? Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University’s John and Natty McArthur University... View Details
Keywords: by Avery Forman
- Editorial
How Laws and Culture Hold Back Socially Minded Companies
By: George Serafeim, Daniela Saltzman and Bronagh Ward
Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Benefit Corporation; Short-termism; Culture; Corporate Law; Shareholder Activism
Serafeim, George, Daniela Saltzman, and Bronagh Ward. "How Laws and Culture Hold Back Socially Minded Companies." Harvard Business Review (website) (May 18, 2017).
- 17 Mar 2022
- Research & Ideas
Navigating Tradeoffs: How Purpose Becomes a Company's ‘Lighthouse in the Storm’
CEO Corie Barry, who says that making money is the company’s business imperative, not its purpose. Barry explains how the company manages to balance pursuing its mission of enriching people’s lives through technology while also focusing on its View Details
Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati
- September 2019 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Dove and Real Beauty: Building a Brand with Purpose
By: Mark R. Kramer, Myriam Sidibe and Gunjan Veda
Unilever subsidiary Dove soap became a "brand with a purpose" and created shared value when the company decided to launch a Campaign for Real Beauty to combat the artificial media-driven stereotype of female beauty that causes appearance anxiety in women and girls... View Details
Keywords: Stereotype; Body Image; Female; Self-Esteem; Brands and Branding; Mission and Purpose; Advertising Campaigns; Gender; Resource Allocation
Kramer, Mark R., Myriam Sidibe, and Gunjan Veda. "Dove and Real Beauty: Building a Brand with Purpose." Harvard Business School Case 720-361, September 2019. (Revised June 2021.)
- 19 Aug 2019
- News
A New Purpose for the Corporation
Offering an update of their statement on “the purpose of a corporation”, the Business Roundtable, an influential group of some of America’s top chief executives, noted that “we share a fundamental commitment to all of our... View Details
- November 2024
- Case
Meghna Modi at Revlon India: Leading with a Bold Purpose
By: Aiyesha Dey, Sarah Mehta and Sarah Sasso
This case is about Meghna Modi, the head of struggling cosmetics company Revlon India, as she tries to both turn the company around and implement her personal purpose at work. Influenced by her own life struggles, Modi feels compelled to empower her frontline... View Details
- November 2023
- Case
Tata Group in 2021: Pursuing Profits through Purpose
By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Vidhya Muthuram
October 8, 2021: Tata Sons won a bid to acquire India’s national carrier Air India, marking the airline's return to its original owners after 68 long years. The winning bid of $2.4 billion gave Tata Sons full ownership of the airline and its coveted network of 6,200... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Emerging Markets; Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; India
Khanna, Tarun, Krishna G. Palepu, and Vidhya Muthuram. "Tata Group in 2021: Pursuing Profits through Purpose." Harvard Business School Case 124-047, November 2023.