Shareholder Value Maximization - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Dec 2012
News

Shareholders' Value?

What are shareholders good for? Maybe not as much as most people think. Basically, shareholders are supposed to provide three functions: money, information, and discipline. Let's examine each. Money. In... View Details

16 Sep 2015
Op-Ed

The Real Duty of the Board of Directors

value over the short, medium, and long term. These audiences will be privileged for resource allocation purposes, and they will determine what the company deems to be material for reporting purposes. If the board decides, for example,... View Details

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles & Tim Youmans

14 May 2024
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship

importance of a culture that encourages progress, outlining how “sustainability-oriented innovation involves making intentional changes to an organization's philosophy and values.” But what kind of philosophy and values lead to a... View Details

22 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

When Protestors Knock at Your Door

overlap between NGO issues and firm behavior. Where can a firm maximize shareholder value and appease (or even advance the cause of) an NGO? Finally, firms might consider how... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Future of Boards

maximizing shareholder value as the primary focus and motivation for a corporation's existence” Topics tackled include how boards can most effectively oversee company strategy,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

28 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 28

case explores maximizing shareholder value as a goal in executive decision making. Over a period of nine years, three different Pfizer CEOs make critical decisions intended to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 Oct 2013
News

Moving the Needle

more focused on maximizing shareholder value." Specifically, a class taught by Professor Josh Lerner on venture capital prompted her to write a paper on the nature of value. "I wrote a paper calling for a... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance

17 Jul 2000
What Do You Think?

Where Is the Microsoft Board?

In his words, "As long as shareholder value maximization is the sole focus of Boards in a capitalistic context, objectivity in judgment is at risk: putting View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Oct 2020
What Do You Think?

Are CEOs the Wrong Leaders for Stakeholder Capitalism?

has enough leverage to practice it. Boards of directors play an important role in championing the cause of stakeholders of all kinds. DF in AZ put it this way: “If a company promises a fundamental shift towards shareholder capitalism but... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Mar 2008
News

Lessons from Private Equity

GADIESH: To reap private equity returns, act more like a private equity manager COURTESY OF BAIN & CO A recent Harvard Business Review article headlined “If Private Equity Sized Up Your Business” gave many leaders of public companies a thoughtful pause: Why can’t we... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Management

September 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Helmy Abouleish: Making a Desert Bloom

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Maxim Pike Harrell

This case examines the history of prominent Egyptian-based social enterprise SEKEM from its foundation in 1977 until the COP27 conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022. Led by father and son team Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish, SEKEM turned desert into farmland using... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Climate Change; Values and Beliefs; Social Enterprise; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Egypt

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01 Jun 2001
News

HBS Press Books in Brief

Relationships as Valuable Assets, by Robert C. Blattberg, Gary Getz, and Jacquelyn S. Thomas, is the first book to provide a unifying framework and practical tools for measuring customer value — the potential profitability of each... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

07 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

What Leaders Need to Do To Restore Investor Confidence

committee to relationship managers. Q: Did the rules change? Or has the policing not been strong enough? A: Maximizing shareholder wealth has become the overarching corporate goal, and whatever it takes to... View Details

Keywords: by Harvard Management Update

06 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The Popular Stock Metric That Can Lead Investors Astray

firm’s book equity value and compares that to its market capitalization, or market equity value. Book value is the value of a firm’s assets, including land, equipment, and... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

01 Dec 2018
News

Sustaining Business And Society For The Long Term

Transatomic Power in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a company that aims to revolutionize the nuclear energy industry. In addition, participants discuss alternative governance styles and shareholder value View Details

08 May 2015
News

An alternative view of the role of the corporation in society

Do corporations do well by doing good? Or do firms that engage in environmental and social initiatives destroy shareholder wealth? George Serafeim, the Jakurski Family Associate Professor of Business Administration, has studied how... View Details

25 Aug 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: After Charlottesville, Where Does a CEO's Responsibility Lie?

little guidance. Executives may be tempted to take refuge in the idea that they have fiduciary obligations to maximize shareholder returns, but this is simply a myth—corporate leaders have many... View Details

Keywords: by Gautam Mukunda

09 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

Does Misery Love Companies? How Social Performance Pays Off

shareholder wealth maximization when fulfilling their fiduciary duty (Orts, 1992), the Delaware Court endorsed this same idea in 1989 when it allowed Time's management to reject a lucrative tender offer from... View Details

Keywords: by Joshua D. Margolis & James P. Walsh

19 Jul 2011
News

Brightening the Future

business that can help the poor while remaining economically viable is in keeping with Ayala’s career shift away from the for-profit focus on maximizing shareholder value. In his new venture, he told... View Details

Keywords: Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

01 Oct 1996
News

The Drive for Excellence: An Interview with Jim Henderson

short-term results with adherence to a long-term strategy and direction. At Cummins, we are driven by the concept of maximizing shareholder value -- but the question is, View Details

Publications