Publications

May 2011
Article

Consequences and Institutional Determinants of Unregulated Corporate Financial Statements: Evidence from Embedded Value Reporting

By: George Serafeim

I analyze Embedded Value (EV) reporting by firms with life insurance operations to assess the impact of unregulated financial reporting on transparency and to examine the institutional characteristics that promote unregulated reporting. Under EV accounting the present... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Reporting; Cash Flow; Contracts; Equity; Profit; Value; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Earnings

Article

Investors as Stewards of the Commons?

By: George Serafeim

Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of initiatives seeking to mobilize investor voice towards positive social impact. In this paper, I provide a framework outlining the role of investors as stewards of the commons. While... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Industry Self-regulation; Sustainability; ESG; Capital Markets; Investor Behavior; Investment Activism; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Cooperation

Spring 2013
Article

Does Mandatory IFRS Adoption Improve the Information Environment?

By: Joanne Horton, George Serafeim and Ioanna Serafeim

We examine the effect of mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on firms' information environment. We find that after mandatory IFRS adoption, consensus forecast errors decrease for firms that mandatorily adopt IFRS relative to forecast... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Financial Reporting; Standards; Information; Quality; Earnings Management

05 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 5, 2006

Working PapersThe Industry R&D Survey — Patent Database Link Project Authors:William R. Kerr and Shihe Fu Abstract This paper details the construction of a firm-year panel dataset combining the NBER Patent Dataset with the Industry R&D Survey conducted View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 7

well on their task. Authentic Leadership Development Author:Bill George Publication:In The Handbook for Teaching Leadership: Knowing, Doing, and Being, edited by Scott Snook, Nitin Nohria, and Rakesh... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Was the Wealth of Nations Determined in 1000 B.C.?

By: Diego A. Comin, Bill Easterly and Erick Gong

We assemble a dataset on technology adoption in 1000 B.C., 0 A.D., and 1500 A.D. for the predecessors to today's nation states. We find that this very old history of technology adoption is surprisingly significant for today's national development outcomes. Our strong... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Growth and Development; Adoption; Business Strategy; Cost; Cost Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Culture; Technology Industry

13 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 13

the reduction in store size was associated with TFP of retail chains falling by 0.4% per annum, or 40% of the post-1995 slowdown in UK retail TFP growth. China's Growing IT Services and Software Industry: Challenges and Implications... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 28

Publications April 2015 HarperBusiness Strategy Rules: Five Timeless Lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs By: Yoffie, David B., and Michael A. Cusumano Abstract—The authors of the bestselling Competing on Internet Time (a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 6

PublicationsFlying Without a Net: Turn Fear of Change into Fuel for Success Author:Thomas J. DeLong Publication:Harvard Business Review Press, 2011 Abstract Confronted by omnipresent threats of job loss and change, even the brightest... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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

15 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 15, 2019

budgets. Concurrently, changes to other government policies were causing expatriates—who made up about a third of Saudi Arabia’s population and were a key consumer of Almarai’s dairy products—to leave the country in droves. This case finds Almarai’s management team,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2014
Article

Improving the Quality of Cancer Care in America Through Health Information Technology

By: Thomas W. Feeley, George W. Sledge, Laura Levit and Patricia A. Ganz

A recent report from the Institute of Medicine titled Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for a System in Crisis, identifies improvement in information technology (IT) as essential to improving the quality of cancer care in America. The... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; Cancer Care In The U.S.; Health; Technology; Health Industry; North and Central America

April–May 2017
Article

Career Concerns of Banking Analysts

By: Joanne Horton, George Serafeim and Shan Wu

We study how career concerns influence banking analysts' forecasts and how their forecasting behavior benefits both them and bank managers. We show that banking analysts issue early in the year relatively more optimistic and later in the year more pessimistic forecasts... View Details

Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Analyst Forecasts; Analysts; Investment Recommendations; Career Advancement; Career Management; Labor Mobility; Labor Market; Prejudice and Bias; Personal Development and Career; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment Banking

14 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 14, 2010

Evidence from Social, Environmental and Governance Scores Authors:Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim Abstract We investigate the institutional drivers of Corporate Social Performance (CSP) by focusing on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2021
Working Paper

Science-Based Carbon Emissions Targets

By: David Freiberg, Jody Grewal and George Serafeim

We examine the effect of voluntarily adopting a standard for setting science-based carbon emissions targets on target difficulty and investments to achieve those targets. We find that firms with a track record of setting and achieving ambitious carbon targets are more... View Details

Keywords: Target; Targeting; Target-setting; Target Efficiency; Management Control Systems; Management Accounting; Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Climate Change; Environmental Management; Environmental Accounting; Environmental Sustainability; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

April 2019
Case

Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma

By: Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and George Gonzalez

In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online purchases through four interest-free... View Details

Educators

Purchase

January 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Tough Decisions at Marks and Spencer

By: George Serafeim

In 2007, under the leadership of CEO Stuart Rose, the iconic British retailer Marks and Spencer, with great fanfare, announced its "Plan A" initiative. Based on the five essential pillars of climate change, waste, sustainable materials, fair partnership, and health,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry