Publications

Find at Harvard

24 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Social Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by James E. Austin & Ezequiel Reficco

Program

Driving Corporate Performance

Summary Corporate performance is about much more than financial results. How can your organization align its structures, systems, talent, and processes to execute a winning strategy? In Driving Corporate... View Details

April 1995
Case

Phelps Dodge Corporation

By: W. Carl Kester and Kendall Backstrand

A prolonged decline in copper prices prompts Phelps Dodge, one of the world's largest independent copper companies, to consider corporate diversification as a means of protecting itself from copper price volatility. View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Price; Volatility; Risk Management; Mining Industry; Arizona; United States

November 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Governing Sumida Corporation

By: Lynn S. Paine, Masako Egawa, Chisato Toyama and Kim Bettcher

Describes the corporate governance changes adopted by Japan's Sumida Corp. between 1999 and 2005, setting them in the context of changes in Japan's commercial code during this period. Sumida was the first Japanese company to adopt a new U.S.-inspired "committee system"... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Change Management; Business or Company Management; Management Teams; Law; Japan

Find at Harvard

2014
Article

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?

By: Christopher Marquis and Cuili Qian

This study focuses on how and why firms strategically respond to government signals regarding appropriate corporate activity. We integrate institutional theory and research on corporate political strategy to develop a political dependence model that explains (a) how... View Details

Keywords: Institutional Theory; Political Strategy; Non-market Strategy; China; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Emerging Markets; Government and Politics; China

1998
Case

Nucor Corporation (A)

By: Vijay Govindarajan

Under the leadership of CEO Ken Iverson, Nucor thrived. Nucor's structure was decentralized, with only four management layers. Only 22 employees worked at the corporate headquarters; plants were located in rural areas across the U.S. and the general manager of each... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy

January 2006 (Revised February 2006)
Case

E.ON Corporate Strategy

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Sebastian Frankenberger

Examines the corporate strategy of German energy giant E.ON. The firm is vertically integrated, horizontally diversified across electricity and natural gas, and active in numerous countries in Europe as well as in the United States. Explores the costs and benefits of... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Vertical Integration; Corporate Strategy; Globalization; Energy Sources; Economics; Energy Industry; Germany; United States; Europe

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Delphi Corporation (B)

By: Rakesh Khurana and Melissa Barton

Delphi Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2005. Delphi finally emerged in July 2009 as a private company. View Details

Keywords: History; Private Ownership; Insolvency and Bankruptcy

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

SSRN

01 May 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose

Keywords: by Malcolm S. Salter

Article

The Deception Spiral: Corporate Obfuscation Leads to Perceptions of Immorality and Cheating Behavior

By: D.M. Markowitz, M. Kouchaki, J.T. Hancock and F. Gino

In four studies, we evaluated how corporate misconduct relates to language patterns, perceptions of immorality, and unethical behavior. First, we analyzed nearly 190 codes of conduct from S&P 500 manufacturing companies and observed that corporations with ethics... View Details

Keywords: Obfuscation; Corporate Unethicality; Deception; Deception Spiral; Organizations; Values and Beliefs; Ethics; Perception; Behavior

Find at Harvard

July 2024
Module Note

Organization: Managing the Corporation

By: David J. Collis

Ongoing management of the corporate portfolio is critical to realizing value in diversified companies. This requires designing and administering structures, systems, and processes appropriate for the set of businesses and the resources that underpin value creation... View Details

Keywords: Organization; Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Business or Company Management; Diversification; Value Creation; Corporate Governance; Business Units

January 2002 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Corporate Renewal in America

By: Bruce R. Scott and Thomas S. Mondschean

Discusses various macroeconomic, regulatory, technological, and financial forces that led to increased corporate restructuring in the United States beginning in the mid-1980s. The U.S. financial system is often viewed as the most developed in the world and a model for... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Economic Systems; Restructuring; Markets; Private Sector; Corporate Finance; Germany; Japan; United States

In today's economic climate, corporate leaders in multidivisional and multinational companies face a uniquely broad set of challenges. While putting in place the systems, relationships, and strategies that foster business unit success, you also must lead the business... View Details

31 Oct 2006
HBS Case

Governing Sumida Corporation

Issues surrounding corporate governance are a source of ongoing debate in the boardrooms of companies around the world—not just the United States. A new Harvard Business School case, "Governing Sumida Corporation," takes readers... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Electronics

Research Summary

Corporate Governance

By: Charles C.Y. Wang

The characteristics and structure of boards of directors have important implications for firm performance. Professor Wang has found that firms with well-connected boards whose members have strong network connections provide economic benefits that are not immediately... View Details

2014
Working Paper

The Role of the Corporation in Society: An Alternative View and Opportunities for Future Research

By: George Serafeim

A long-standing ideology in business education has been that a corporation is run for the sole interest of its shareholders. I present an alternative view where increasing concentration of economic activity and power in the world's largest corporations, the Global... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Research; Sustainability Targets; Corporate Performance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

SSRN

Read Now

January 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Background Note

Note on Corporate Strategy

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Introduces students to the study of corporate strategy. Focuses on questions of scope and ownership. Examines both horizontal and vertical integration. Underscores the point that economies of scope, or the existence of relationship-specific investments, are... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Contracts; Ownership; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration