Publications

May 2021
Case

André Hoffmann: Beyond Philanthropy

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Jiawei Ye and Spencer C.N. Hagist

André Hoffmann is a leader of one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. His exceptional tenure in philanthropy over the past several decades, including being president of the WWF and the vice-president of the MAVA Foundation, has allowed him access to a far... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Restructuring; Social Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Cash Flow; Macroeconomics; Ethics; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Switzerland; United States; Japan

December 2015
Article

Introduction: New Perspectives on Corporate Capital Structure

By: Viral Acharya, Heitor Almeida and Malcolm Baker

The National Bureau of Economic Research held a symposium titled "New Perspectives on Corporate Capital Structures" on April 5–6, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In its call for the submission of theoretical and empirical papers for the symposium, the NBER noted that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Corporate Finance

Find at Harvard

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Profile

Scott Wu

and the venture capital community; and on the flip side of my life, I’ve applied them when working on global poverty and inner-city education situations. HBS really showed me how to apply those skills to some of the biggest problems... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government; Venture Capital / Private Equity; Financial Services; Technology

2019
Chapter

Local States of Play: Land and Urban Politics in Reform-Era China

By: Meg Rithmire

Book Abstract: Although comparative politics is conventionally seen as the study of politics across countries, the field has a longstanding and increasingly prominent tradition in national contexts; focusing on subnational units, institutions, actors and processes.... View Details

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April 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Goldman Sachs: Making an Imprint in Impact Investing

By: Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Lynn Schenk

Goldman Sachs acquired Imprint Capital Advisors, a small firm that specialized in advising clients on environmental/social/governance (ESG) and impact investments. The founders sold Imprint with the belief that joining a global financial firm would help to scale impact... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; ESG; Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Growth and Development Strategy; Acquisition; Integration

March 2014
Teaching Note

The Weather Company

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

New CEO David Kenny transformed The Weather Company in less than two years from a primary identity as a cable television channel to a multi-platform digital company innovating in the uses of weather data. He assesses progress and considers strategic choices and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Strategic Change; Technology; Digital; Weather; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Change Management; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Industry; Service Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

September 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Burn the Gondolas? Venice, the Ghetto, and the Seasons of Capitalism

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Charlotte Robertson and Robert Fredona

This case uses the history of Venice—from the driving of the first pylons in the lagoon to the abdication of the city’s last doge, across the ages of Marco Polo and Vivaldi—to explore the invention and global diffusion of capitalism, as well as the cyclical rise and... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; History; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Economic Systems; Italy

24 Mar 2022
News

Ripe for Revolution

16 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Is MySpace.com Your Space?

revival band that is promoted from a MySpace site, is a case in point. The site is credited for their explosive global growth, yet the commercial exploitation of the social network is welcomed by fans. In... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Advertising; Information; Publishing

Forthcoming
Chapter

Racism, Causal Explanations, and Affirmative Action

By: Theresa K. Vescio, Amy Cuddy, Faye Crosby and Kevin Weaver

BOOK ABSTRACT: In recent decades, research in political psychology has illuminated the psychological processes underlying important political action, both by ordinary citizens and by political leaders. As the world has become increasingly engaged in thinking about... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Race; Complexity

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22 Mar 2018
Blog Post

“Mission + Profit: What’s the Balance?” asks SECON 2018

How do you balance between being a mission-driven organization and a financially profitable company? That was the central question we posed to participants and speakers of this year’s Social Enterprise Conference (SECON). The 19th annual... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Nonprofit / Government; Technology; Entrepreneurship; Health Care

14 Apr 2023
Blog Post

New MBA Course Asks Students: What’s More Important—Purpose or Profits?

Image: Professor Debora Spar in the classroom. Photo courtesy Natalie Keyssar. In a milestone for the School’s mission to educate leaders who make a difference in the world, all first year students last month completed a short new course on the View Details

Web

Publications - Faculty & Research

Moralistic Punishment ; Reputation ; Moral Sensibility Citation Read Now Related Jordan, Jillian J., and Nour S. Kteily. "Punitive but Discerning: Reputation Can Fuel Ambiguously-Deserved Punishment, but Does Not Erode Sensitivity to Nuance." Journal of Personality and... View Details

December 2001 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Monsanto: Technology Cooperation and Small Holder Farmer Projects

By: James E. Austin, Diana Barrett and Stephanie Oestreich

As the leading plant technology company in the global food system, how can Monsanto share this technology with small-sale producers and not-for-profit researchers and institutions? View Details

Keywords: Food; Globalized Markets and Industries; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Nonprofit Organizations; Society; Technology; Biotechnology Industry

10 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting

Not long ago, only 30 companies around the world reported data about their social and sustainability (that is, nonfinancial) endeavors. Today, more than 7,000 organizations do so. While that transparency is undoubtedly a good thing, the... View Details

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim

Career Coach

Marc Herson

Marc (INSEAD '01) has extensive global experience as a venture capitalist, media executive, entrepreneur and lawyer, working in the U.S., Europe, and Africa. His most recent experience is at 2go Interactive, a start-up mobile tech company... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Social Enterprise; Social Enterprise; Social Enterprise; Social Enterprise; Social Enterprise; Social Enterprise

March 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Sarah Mehta

By January 2020, sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management (Generation), founded in London in 2004, had grown from a shared vision among seven founders to a 90-person firm managing $27 billion in public and private equity. Throughout its history,... View Details