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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,716)
- People (8)
- News (673)
- Research (2,357)
- Events (11)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (1,306)
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- 2019
- Chapter
The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting
By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim
A key aspect of the governance process inside organizations and markets is the measurement and disclosure of important metrics and information. In this chapter, we examine the effect of sustainability disclosure regulations on firms’ disclosure practices and... View Details
Keywords: Mandatory Disclosure; Mandatory Reporting; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Social Impact; Valuation; China; South Africa; Europe; Asia; Regulation; Corporate Disclosure; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Corporate Governance; China; Denmark; Malaysia; South Africa
Ioannou, Ioannis, and George Serafeim. "The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting." In The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility: Psychological and Organizational Perspectives, edited by Abagail McWilliams, Deborah E. Rupp, Donald S. Siegel, Günter K. Stahl, and David A. Waldman, 452–489. Oxford University Press, 2019.
- 2017
- Chapter
Gapponshugi in Global Perspective: Debating the Responsibility of Capitalism
By: Geoffrey Jones
This chapter places the concepts of ethical capitalism developed by the 19th century Japanese venture capitalist Shibusawa Eiichi in a global historical perspective. The chapter reviews the similarities and differences over time and between countries of proponents of... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Business Ethics; Ethics; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business History; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Jones, Geoffrey. "Gapponshugi in Global Perspective: Debating the Responsibility of Capitalism." Chap. 7 in Ethical Capitalism: Shibusawa Eiichi and Business Leadership in Global Perspective, edited by Patrick Fridenson and Takeo Kikkawa, 144–169. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017.
- September 3, 2020
- Article
How to Measure a Company’s Real Impact
By: Ronald Cohen and George Serafeim
Impact transparency will reshape capitalism. By shifting the pursuit of profit away from negligently creating problems to purposefully creating valuable solutions for the world, it will redefine success, so that its measure is not just money, but the positive impact we... View Details
Keywords: Impact; Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Impact Investment; Impact Investment Funds; Accountability; Accounting Information; Corporate Performance; Sustainability; Social Impact; Capitalism; Accounting; Corporate Accountability; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Social Enterprise; Society
Cohen, Ronald, and George Serafeim. "How to Measure a Company's Real Impact." Harvard Business Review (website) (September 3, 2020).
- April 2025
- Article
Corporate Ownership and ESG Performance
By: Belen Villalonga, Peter Tufano and Boya Wang
Using a sample of 3083 firms from 62 countries over 18 years, we analyze how the structure and identity of firms' material owners influence their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. We find that firms with founding families or other individual... View Details
Keywords: ESG; CSR; Family Firms; Social Responsibility; Environment; Sustainability; Ownership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Governance; Environmental Sustainability
Villalonga, Belen, Peter Tufano, and Boya Wang. "Corporate Ownership and ESG Performance." Journal of Corporate Finance 91 (April 2025).
- November 2016
- Article
Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality
By: Mozaffar Khan, George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon
Using newly available materiality classifications of sustainability topics, we develop a novel dataset by hand-mapping sustainability investments classified as material for each industry into firm-specific sustainability ratings. This allows us to present new evidence... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Investments; Corporate Social Responsibility; Accounting; Corporate Reporting; Regulation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Investment; Corporate Governance
Khan, Mozaffar, George Serafeim, and Aaron Yoon. "Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality." Accounting Review 91, no. 6 (November 2016): 1697–1724.
- May 2012
- Technical Note
Frameworks for Dialogue and Research about Social Impact Investing
Social Impact Investment is a rapidly expanding field, but terminology in the field is poorly defined and imprecise. This note suggests frameworks that help to clarify important dimensions of SII projects, distinguishing and clarifying key differences in approaches to... View Details
Keywords: Development Stage Enterprises; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Instruments; Performance Measurement; Balanced Scorecard; Investment Funds; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Research; Framework; Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry
Leonard, Herman B. "Dutch". "Frameworks for Dialogue and Research about Social Impact Investing." Harvard Business School Technical Note 312-091, May 2012.
- July 2017 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Donald Trump Calls Carrier Corporation
By: Andy Zelleke and Brian Tilley
This case examines the influence of political pressure on corporate decision-making. It questions whether fidelity to domestic operations ought to be a corporate social responsibility, and thus it challenges the limits of “social responsibility” as a corporate ideal.... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Board Decisions; Political Influence; Layoffs; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Manufacturing; United States; Mexico; Governing and Advisory Boards; Decision Making; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Political Elections; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Governance; Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Connecticut; Indiana; Mexico
Zelleke, Andy, and Brian Tilley. "Donald Trump Calls Carrier Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 318-030, July 2017. (Revised September 2017.)
- 2021
- Working Paper
Disclosure-Driven Social Engagement in Supply Chains
By: Caleb Kwon and Andrew Di Wu
- 2021
- Working Paper
Corporate Environmental Impact: Measurement, Data and Information
By: David Freiberg, DG Park, George Serafeim and T. Robert Zochowski
As an organization’s environmental impact has become a central societal consideration, thereby affecting industry and organizational competitiveness, interest in measuring and analyzing environmental impact has increased. We develop a methodology to derive comparable... View Details
Keywords: Environment; Impact; Measurement; Environmental Ratings; Corporate Valuation; Financial Materiality; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Environmental Strategy; Impact-Weighted Accounts; IWAI; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Measurement and Metrics; Valuation
Freiberg, David, DG Park, George Serafeim, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Corporate Environmental Impact: Measurement, Data and Information." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-098, March 2020. (Revised February 2021.)
- 17 May 2004
- Research & Ideas
Why We Don’t Study Corporate Responsibility
to their ethical conduct. Scholarly attention to ethics and values does indeed have an impact on business leaders' self-conception and resulting behavior. Q: View Details
Keywords: by Manda Salls
- 10 Oct 2005
- Research & Ideas
Corporate Responsibility and the Environment: What is the Right Thing To Do?
Keywords: by Manda Salls
- April 2017
- Article
The Responsibilities and Role of Business in Relation to Society: Back to Basics?
By: Nien-he Hsieh
In this address, I outline a back-to-basics approach to specifying the responsibilities and role of business in relation to society. Three “basics” comprise the approach. The first is arguing that basic principles of ordinary morality, such as a duty not to harm,... View Details
Keywords: Business And Society; Corporate Responsibility; Harm; Human Rights; Institutions; Pareto Efficiency; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Moral Sensibility; Society; Rights
Hsieh, Nien-he. "The Responsibilities and Role of Business in Relation to Society: Back to Basics?" Business Ethics Quarterly 27, no. 2 (April 2017): 293–314.
- March 2001 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
Sustainable Development & Socially Responsible Investing: ABB in 2000
Several investment firms and mutual funds position themselves as providers or facilitators of opportunities for socially responsible investment. This case addresses the impact of these firms on publicly traded companies. Focuses on managers at ABB, a large... View Details
Keywords: Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Business Strategy; Capital Markets; Management Teams; Business and Community Relations; Trade; Electronics Industry; Switzerland
Reinhardt, Forest L. "Sustainable Development & Socially Responsible Investing: ABB in 2000." Harvard Business School Case 701-082, March 2001. (Revised April 2001.)
- July 2007
- Article
Community Isomorphism and Corporate Social Action
By: Christopher Marquis, Mary Ann Glynn and Gerald F. Davis
Marquis, Christopher, Mary Ann Glynn, and Gerald F. Davis. "Community Isomorphism and Corporate Social Action." Academy of Management Review 32, no. 3 (July 2007): 925–945. (Read an interview about this paper in HBS Working Knowledge.)
- September–October 2023
- Article
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: The Effects of Common Ownership on Corporate Social Responsibility
By: Mark R. DesJardine, Jody Grewal and Kala Viswanathan
Common owners face an incredible investment challenge: managing systematic risk. Because common owners hold shares in multiple firms across an industry, an action (or inaction) by one firm that affects industry peers is felt more severely by common owners than by... View Details
Keywords: Common Ownership; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Institutional Investing; Corporate Governance; Risk and Uncertainty; Investment Return
DesJardine, Mark R., Jody Grewal, and Kala Viswanathan. "A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: The Effects of Common Ownership on Corporate Social Responsibility." Organization Science 34, no. 5 (September–October 2023): 1716–1735.
- March 2013
- Article
Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities
By: Andras Tilcsik and Christopher Marquis
Geographic communities have been shown to affect organizations through their enduring features, but less attention has been given to communities as sites of human-made and natural events that occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop a... View Details
Keywords: Geographic Communities; Punctuated Equilibrium; Corporate Social Responsibility; Institutional Theory; Natural Disasters; Situation or Environment; Balance and Stability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States
Tilcsik, Andras, and Christopher Marquis. "Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities." Administrative Science Quarterly 58, no. 1 (March 2013): 111–148.
- September 2011 (Revised February 2013)
- Case
Trucost: Valuing Corporate Environmental Impacts
By: Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice
Trucost provided corporate environmental performance data and analysis to institutional investors and corporate managers, but after operating for a decade had yet to achieve profitability. Trucost was struggling to effectively differentiate its high quality products... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Distribution Channels; Investment; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Information; Value; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry
Toffel, Michael W., and Stephanie van Sice. "Trucost: Valuing Corporate Environmental Impacts." Harvard Business School Case 612-025, September 2011. (Revised February 2013.)
- April 29, 2014
- Column
Corporate Reporting in the Big Data Era
By: George Serafeim
Advancements in information technology can improve corporate communication with shareholders, but not through incessant data dumps. Instead, companies will more likely be poised for continued success if they use digital platforms for long-term oriented engagement and... View Details
Keywords: Integrated Reporting; Big Data; Corporate Reporting; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Accounting; Reporting; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Accountability; Analytics and Data Science; Information Technology; Communication; Financial Reporting; Business and Shareholder Relations
Serafeim, George. "Corporate Reporting in the Big Data Era." IIRC Blog (April 29, 2014).
- 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.)
- 2020
- Working Paper
How ESG Issues Become Financially Material to Corporations and Their Investors
By: George Serafeim
Management and disclosure of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have received substantial interest over the last decade. In this paper, we outline a framework of how ESG issues become financially material, affecting corporate profitability and valuation.... View Details
Keywords: Materiality; ESG; Pharmaceutical Companies; Business Ethics; Sustainability; Environment; Disclosure; Disclosure And Access; Regulation; Social Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Corporate Governance; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Accountability; Resource Allocation; Finance; Accounting; Valuation
Freiberg, David, Jean Rogers, and George Serafeim. "How ESG Issues Become Financially Material to Corporations and Their Investors." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-056, November 2019. (Revised November 2020.)