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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(421)
- News (75)
- Research (293)
- Multimedia (4)
- Faculty Publications (166)
- 08 Jul 2021
- Blog Post
Managing Sustainable Advantage with Key ESG Co-Founders, Anne-Marie Schoonbeek and Heleen van Poecke
together. Building on the friendship they formed at HBS, their MBAs, and learnings from their careers to date, Schoonbeek and van Poecke founded Key ESG, a software solution that helps businesses measure,... View Details
- 2018
- Working Paper
Corporate Sustainability: A Strategy?
By: George Serafeim
We explore the conditions under which firms maintain their competitive advantage through sustainability-based differentiation when faced with imitation pressures by industry peers. We document growing intraindustry convergence on sustainability actions over time for... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Corporate Performance; Industry Analysis; CSR; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Environment; Social Responsibility; Strategy And Execution; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Performance; Corporate Strategy
Ioannou, Ioannis, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Sustainability: A Strategy?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-065, January 2019. (Revised April 2021.)
- Article
Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance
By: Beiting Cheng, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim
In this paper, we investigate whether superior performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies leads to better access to finance. We hypothesize that better access to finance can be attributed to a) reduced agency costs due to enhanced stakeholder... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainability; Capital Constraints; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Stakeholder Engagement; Disclosure; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Capital
Cheng, Beiting, Ioannis Ioannou, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance." Strategic Management Journal 35, no. 1 (January 2014): 1–23.
- 21 Jul 2021
- Research & Ideas
What Does an ESG Score Really Say About a Company?
Receiving more information can clarify the complex, but not when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores. A recent study shows that the more information a company discloses about its ESG practices, the more rating agencies disagree on how well... View Details
Keywords: by Kristen Senz
- 16 Feb 2023
- HBS Case
ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?
The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details
- Spring 2021
- Article
Corporate Resilience and Response During COVID-19
By: Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim and Hui (Stacie) Wang
The coronavirus pandemic caused a sharp market decline while raising heterogeneous responses across companies related to their employees, supply chain, and repurposing of operations to provide needed products and services. We study whether during the 2020 COVID-19... View Details
Keywords: ESG; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Crisis Response Plans; Crisis; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Ratings; Leadership & Corporate Accountability; Big Data; Machine Learning; Investor Behavior; Institutional Investors; Corporate Performance; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Human Capital; Supply Chain; Operations; Leadership; Corporate Accountability; Institutional Investing; Performance
Cheema-Fox, Alex, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, and Hui (Stacie) Wang. "Corporate Resilience and Response During COVID-19." Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 33, no. 2 (Spring 2021): 24–40.
- April 2025 (Revised June 2025)
- Case
Governing Sustainability in a Shifting Context (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz
In early 2025, boards of directors had to rethink corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts amid rapidly-shifting social, legal, regulatory, and economic forces. While just a few years earlier, calls to address racial justice and climate change reached into... View Details
Keywords: Climate Change; Corporate Governance; Diversity; Leadership; Business or Company Management; Mission and Purpose; Social Media; Race; Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Shareholder Relations; Social Issues; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
Paine, Lynn S., and Will Hurwitz. "Governing Sustainability in a Shifting Context (A)." Harvard Business School Case 325-121, April 2025. (Revised June 2025.)
- 10 Jan 2017
- News
The Risk And Opportunity For America's Corporate Pension Plans
- 2021
- Working Paper
The Changing Role of Business in Society
Business interaction with the U.S. government, historically based on securing industry or company special interests at the expense of the public good, has enabled and furthered government dysfunction. Gridlock within the American political system has precluded the... View Details
Keywords: Politics; Shared Value; Social Progress Index; Competitiveness; Walmart; BlackRock; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG; Transparency; Campaign Contributions; Campaign Finance; Lobbying; Revolving Door; Political Ideology; Political Parties; Political Partisanship; Government And Business; Government Innovation; Elections; Democracy; Capitalism; Stakeholder Capitalism; Shareholder Engagement; Competition; Strategy; Government and Politics; Society; Social Issues; Human Needs; Wealth and Poverty; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Accountability; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; United States
Porter, Michael E. "The Changing Role of Business in Society." Working Paper, July 2021.
- Web
The New Role for Government & NGOs - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness
The New Role for Government & NGOs Shared value fosters new relationships between companies, philanthropists, NGOs, and government in addressing social View Details
- 04 Apr 2023
- Book
Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues
While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details
- January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
- Case
BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit
By: Aiyesha Dey
The case revolves around the actions that Barbara Novick, co-founder and Vice-Chair of Blackrock, and Michelle Edkins, Global Head of Investment Stewardship, would need to take in response to the controversial CEO letters from Laurence (Larry) Fink, Chairman and CEO of... View Details
Keywords: Boards Of Directors; Institutional Investors; Disclosure; Transparency; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Profits; ESG; ESG Disclosure Metrics; Corporate Sustainability; Engagement Strategy Of Institutions; Stewardship Role Of Institutions; BlackRock; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Institutional Investing; Accounting; Corporate Disclosure; Mission and Purpose; Profit; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Diversity; Corporate Accountability; Financial Services Industry; United States
Deshpandé, Rohit, Aiyesha Dey, and George Serafeim. "BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit." Harvard Business School Case 120-042, January 2020. (Revised July 2020.)
- 2015
- Working Paper
Implied Materiality and Material Disclosures of Credit Ratings
By: Robert G. Eccles and Tim Youmans
This first of three papers in our series on materiality in credit ratings will examine the materiality of credit ratings from an "implied materiality" and governance disclosure perspective. In the second paper, we will explore the materiality of environmental, social,... View Details
Eccles, Robert G., and Tim Youmans. "Implied Materiality and Material Disclosures of Credit Ratings." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-079, April 2015.
- June 2011 (Revised January 2013)
- Case
Oddo Securities―ESG Integration
By: Paul M. Healy
The case describes the process of integrating environmental, social, and governance issues into valuation models and research analyst recommendations. View Details
Keywords: Financial Strategy; Mathematical Methods; Integration; Valuation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Governance Controls; Investment
Serafeim, George, Paul M. Healy, and Aldo Sesia. "Oddo Securities―ESG Integration." Harvard Business School Case 111-085, June 2011. (Revised January 2013.)
- Web
Business, Government & the International Economy - Faculty & Research
Business, Government & the International Economy Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students May 2025 Case The Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve By: Sophus A. Reinert , Mattias Fibiger View Details
- 07 Feb 2018
- Video
Material Sustainability Information and Stock Price Informativeness
- August 2010 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
Driving Sustainability at Bloomberg L.P.
By: Christopher Marquis, Daniel Beunza, Fabrizio Ferraro and Bobbi Thomason
Describes the addition of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance indicators to the Bloomberg terminal. The initiative grew out of Bloomberg's broader sustainability initiatives and is an example of how committed employees can create positive social... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Knowledge Dissemination; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Publishing Industry; New York (city, NY)
Marquis, Christopher, Daniel Beunza, Fabrizio Ferraro, and Bobbi Thomason. "Driving Sustainability at Bloomberg L.P." Harvard Business School Case 411-025, August 2010. (Revised September 2011.)
- Forthcoming
- Article
Disclosure Standards and Communication Norms: Evidence of Voluntary Sustainability Standards as a Coordinating Device for Capital Markets
By: Khrystyna Bochkay, Jeffrey Hales and George Serafeim
In this paper, we examine how the development of voluntary sustainability standards has affected the nature of information covered in conference calls. Using industry-specific dictionaries of sustainability terms contained in the disclosure standards developed by the... View Details
Keywords: Voluntary Disclosure; Accounting Standards; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Standards; ESG; ESG Disclosure; Accounting; Corporate Disclosure; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Standards; United States
Bochkay, Khrystyna, Jeffrey Hales, and George Serafeim. "Disclosure Standards and Communication Norms: Evidence of Voluntary Sustainability Standards as a Coordinating Device for Capital Markets." Review of Accounting Studies (forthcoming). (Pre-published online March 17, 2025.)
- 29 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability
Keywords: by George Serafeim