ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

and that this difference is associated with significant performance differentials. We propose three possible reasons for the managerial gap of founder CEO firms: a) informational problems preventing a clear understanding of the weakness... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

2008
Working Paper

Resolving Information Asymmetries in Markets: The Role of Certified Management Programs

By: Michael W. Toffel

Firms and regulators are increasingly relying on voluntary mechanisms to signal and infer quality of difficult-to-observe management practices. Prior evaluations of voluntary management programs have focused on those that lack verification mechanisms and have found... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Information; Standards; Performance Improvement; Programs; Environmental Sustainability; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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Faculty & Researchers - Managing the Future of Work

Entrepreneurs. Since joining the HBS faculty in 1986, she also served as Co-Chair of the HBS MBA Program, Chair of Field Based Learning, and Co-Chair of the Harvard Policy Group on Networked Government Services. Prior to joining the HBS... View Details

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The Railroads: The First Big Business - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

technological systems among state railroads began to emerge. Coordination of functions became not a choice but a necessity in order for the railroads to perform even the most basic services of running on time and avoiding catastrophic... View Details

2006
Working Paper

Too Motivated?

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

I show that an agent's motivation to do well (objectively) may be unambiguously bad in a world with differing priors, i.e., when people openly disagree on the optimal course of action. The reason is that an agent who is strongly motivated is more likely to follow... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Employees; Wages; Measurement and Metrics; Outcome or Result; Performance; Agency Theory; Motivation and Incentives

Citation

SSRN

01 Jun 2024
News

Quantum Leap

“This is the first new kind of computer in 75 years,” says John Levy (MBA 1979), CEO of the quantum computing startup SEEQC. “And we’re building it on a chip!” Strolling through his company’s design and testing facility in Elmsford, New York, Levy looks less like a... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photographed by Chris Sorensen; quantum computing; innovation; leadership; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

Fall 2017
Article

Strengthening and Streamlining Bank Capital Regulation

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel Gregory Hanson, Jeremy C. Stein and Adi Sunderam

We propose three core principles that should inform the design of bank capital regulation. First, wherever possible, multiple constraints on the minimum level of equity capital should be consolidated into a single constraint. This helps to avoid a distortionary... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Capital; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banking Industry

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02 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 2

can learn the truth about gaps between vision and reality. Without a commitment to a vision and an institutionalized learning and governance system, well intentioned boards will continue to be surprised ethical, human, and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2020
Case

Recovering Trust After Corporate Misconduct at Wells Fargo

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Jonah S. Goldberg

The case describes widespread misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank in the period leading up to 2017 and the company’s subsequent attempts to improve internal controls, company culture, and corporate governance. The case examines the potential causes of large scale... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Internal Controls; Banks and Banking; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Governance Compliance; Management Systems; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Governing and Advisory Boards

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2007
Other Unpublished Work

Say on Pay Vote and CEO Compensation: Evidence from the UK

By: Fabrizio Ferri and David Maber

In this study, we examine the effect on CEO pay of new legislation introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) at the end of 2002 that requires publicly-traded firms to submit an executive remuneration report to a non-binding shareholder vote ("say on pay") at the annual... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Corporate Governance; Government Legislation; Executive Compensation; Performance Improvement; Business and Shareholder Relations; United Kingdom

Citation

15 Nov 2016
News

Cultivating the Next Generation of Thought Leaders

corruption and socially responsible behavior influence corporate profitability. He has found that bribery and corruption, while they may boost sales, lead to a loss in profits. Businesses that tackle environmental, View Details

10 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting

40 or so years, SASB hopes to simplify and standardize how businesses report data from their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. George Serafeim is the... View Details

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim

09 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Marketing a Country: Promotion as a Tool for Attracting Foreign Investment.

government organizations, conversion to quasi-government status may be politically unacceptable. Nevertheless, certain management practices may lead to better performance in both View Details

Keywords: by Louis T. Wells & Alvin G. Wint

13 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

The Case Against Racial Colorblindness

government subcontractors—the argument goes—then Whites' right for equal protection may be violated." In a related article, Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game That They Are Now Losing, Norton and Sommers surveyed 100 white and 100 black... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

04 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 4

Environmental, Social, and Governance [ESG]) information, including data produced by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), is growing. Using data from Bloomberg we analyze this... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

businesses outperform both single-unit firms and multi-unit firms composed of unrelated businesses. Explanations for this relationship between focus and firm performance have largely centered on economies of scope achieved by sharing... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Is Performance-Based Pricing the Right Price for You?

is an arrangement in which the seller is paid based on the actual performance of its product or service. It is becoming much more popular. In the advertising industry, agencies had been traditionally paid 15 percent of the cost of the... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro; Manufacturing

06 Oct 2015
First Look

October 6, 2015

technology and improved digital communication have been explored in a variety of contexts, the impact on economic activity—from consumer and entrepreneurial behavior to the ways in which governments determine policy—is less well... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

A Macroeconomic View of the Current Economy

economy as a whole. Micro is about firms and individual actors and how they behave; macro is about aggregate performance of the economy: overall GDP, trade surplus or deficit, inflation. In principle, we should be able to get rid of the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

April 2017
Case

The Future of Patent Examination at the USPTO

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Tarun Khanna and Sarah Mehta

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal government agency responsible for evaluating and granting patents and trademarks. In 2015, the USPTO employed approximately 8,000 patent examiners who granted nearly 300,000 patents to inventors. As of April... View Details