Publications

28 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

It's that paradox—that struggle can be both something to overcome on the way to success and something to embrace for the meaning it gives our lives—that motivated Harvard Business School Professor Joseph Badaracco to take a closer look at... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Technical Note

Flight: Now without Humans Aboard

By: Mitchell Weiss, Karim Lakhani, HT Kung and Kerry Herman

This note provides an overview of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) industry in September 2015. UAVs offered many potential applications in industries as diverse as aerial imaging and photography, agriculture, construction, infrastructure inspection and... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Drones; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Product Design; Research and Development; Technological Innovation; Rights; Ethics; Strategy; Transportation Networks; Market Entry and Exit; Innovation and Management; European Union; Asia; United States

13 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

Sharing News That Might Be Bad

This scenario, inspired by a Harvard Business School case, may ring familiar. It raises an increasingly prevalent, and difficult, management issue: how much information to share and when to share it. You look up to find the concerned face... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Michelman

May 13, 2021
Article

Why Today's Startups Pursue Both Ideas and Ideals

By: Ranjay Gulati

Startups typically operate with the mentality that growth and profit come first, higher calling comes second. This strategy, however, is misguided. Increasingly, entrepreneurs are imbuing their ventures with a grand ideal in addition to a great idea. This ideal not... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Moral Sensibility; Business Startups

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December 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Balancing Returns and Responsibilities at Raya Partners

By: Arthur Segel, Ephraim Mernick, Derek C. M. van Bever and Olivia Barba

Raya Partners, a private equity firm, faces a crucial decision regarding Asa Specialty Coatings Company (ASCC). The dilemma involves shifting ASCC's manufacturing operations to Mexico, a move that would boost profitability and reduce emissions but result in significant... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Communication Strategy; Private Equity; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Values and Beliefs; Financial Services Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Mexico; Vermont

September 2002 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Genzyme's Gaucher Initiative: Global Risk and Responsibility

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Andrew N. McLean

In Egypt, Genzyme's humanitarian commitment to treat all sufferers of the rare Gaucher disease worldwide first confronts its commercial imperative to recoup the huge investment required to bring the drug Cerezyme to market. Here Tomye Tierney must decide how to balance... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Investment; Emerging Markets; Negotiation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Sales; Commercialization; Expansion; Value Creation

June 2008 (Revised January 2012)
Background Note

Solving a Problem or Sounding the Alarm? Guidelines on Blowing the Whistle

By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons

Many of us will at some point in our professional lives encounter situations involving what we believe to be wrongful or injurious activities that may cause harm to innocent parties, our company, or the public. It may be necessary to bring the matter to the attention... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Business Processes; Behavior

15 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 15, 2008

the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-044.pdf See No Evil: When We Overlook Other People's Unethical Behavior Authors:Francesca Gino, Don A. Moore, and Max H. Bazerman Abstract It is common for people to be more critical of others' View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2018
Case

Robert K. Steel at Wachovia (A)

By: Gautam Mukunda, Nien-hê Hsieh and David Lane

In September 2008, Robert Steel presided over the sale of Wachovia, a top U.S. bank, less than three months after becoming its CEO. Wachovia’s exposure to risky home loans led depositors and creditors to flee the bank on Friday, September 26, after the FDIC seized and... View Details

17 Dec 2001
Research & Ideas

Becoming the Next Real Estate Mogul

Potential real estate moguls at the 2001 Harvard Business School Entrepreneurship Conference received an earful about profiting in a down market, creating value where there is none, and the addiction of playing in a deal-driven industry.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Construction; Real Estate

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Motivation and the Cross-Sector Alliance

With cross-sector collaborations on the rise, a new book exploring partnerships between business and social organizations in the Americas comes at just the right time. Social Partnering in Latin America: Lessons Drawn from Collaborations... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin, Ezequiel Reficco & SEKN research team

28 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Eyes Shut: The Consequences of Not Noticing

Editor's note: Behavioral economist Max H. Bazerman decided to pursue the subject of noticing after realizing that he wasn't very good at it himself. "The truth is that I was truly terrible at noticing," says Bazerman, the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman; Retail

01 May 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose

Keywords: by Malcolm S. Salter

August 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (A)

By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Amram Migdal and Susan Pinckney

Arla implemented a data-based price incentive system to measure, track, and influence climate friendly changes to reduce CO2 emissions across the world’s fourth largest dairy cooperative. View Details

Keywords: Dairy Industry; Business Earnings; Earnings Management; Environmental Accounting; Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Decisions; Voting; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Pollution; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Financial Strategy; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Geopolitical Units; Global Strategy; Ownership Type; Cooperative Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Problems and Challenges; Natural Environment; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe; United Kingdom; European Union; Germany; Denmark; Sweden; Luxembourg; Belgium

09 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

Does Misery Love Companies? How Social Performance Pays Off

guiding the conduct of the business enterprise. . . . The world cries out for repair. While some people in the world are well off, many more live in misery. Ironically, the magnitude of the problem defies easy recognition. With the global... View Details

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

16 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 16

social categories. We discuss the ethical implications of these decision-making biases in the context of organizations. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/06-033.pdf What Should GAAP Look Like? Authors:S.P. Kothari,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

NovaCare, Inc.: Living the Vision

By: Lynn S. Paine

NovaCare's CEO is considering how further to institutionalize the company's espoused values and beliefs. One challenge is integrating two newly acquired businesses; another is better aligning the values of the company's managers with those of its front-line... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Care and Treatment; Labor and Management Relations; Management Teams; Values and Beliefs; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Health Industry