Publications

Spring 2014
Article

What Impact? A Framework for Measuring the Scale & Scope of Social Performance

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan

Organizations with social missions, such as nonprofits and social enterprises, are under growing pressure to demonstrate their impacts on pressing societal problems such as global poverty. This article draws on several cases to build a performance assessment framework... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Performance Evaluation

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Social Enterprise Track | New Venture Competition

deadlines. Eligibility The Social Enterprise Track is open to students in good standing who are enrolled in a full-time graduate degree program at Harvard University. Judging Social Enterprise ideas are... View Details

August 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative at the Ten-Year Mark, The

By: James E. Austin, Stacey M. Childress and Cate Reavis

In mid-2003, as the 10-year anniversary of Harvard Business School's Social Enterprise Initiative approached, the group's faculty and staff decided to analyze its past performance and to formulate its future strategy. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance Evaluation; Strategic Planning; Social Enterprise

09 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

How Social Entrepreneurs Can Increase Their Investment Impact

Foundation has made frequent use of investments in the form of “program-related investments” to support its social and environmental goals. How can an entrepreneur trying to do good evaluate the best form of... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Transforming Education through Social Entrepreneurship - Course Catalog

systems, structures, and resources to lead an inherently complex organization that serves a vast range of needs? Evaluating opportunities: How should social entrepreneurs define success for families and... View Details

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HBS OnBoard | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

synchronous sessions with a combination of HBS faculty, social impact practitioners, and alumni to discuss cross-sector topics. Each session will be interactive with opportunities to collaborate with other HBS alumni on problem solving,... View Details

November 2022
Article

My Boss' Passion Matters as Much as My Own: The Interpersonal Dynamics of Passion Are a Critical Driver of Performance Evaluations

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Andreas Wihler and Adam D. Galinsky

Companies often celebrate employees who successfully pursue their passion. Academic research suggests that these positive evaluations occur because of the passion percolating inside the employee. We propose that supervisors are also a key piece of this puzzle:... View Details

Keywords: Passion; Job Performance; Motivation; Emotions; Performance Evaluation; Interpersonal Communication

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Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change (SESC) - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change (SESC) Course Number 1581 Senior Lecturer Gerald Chertavian Senior Lecturer Brian Trelstad Fall; Q1Q2; 3.0 credits 28 Sessions Paper/Project Career Focus SESC is tailored for... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Social Influence in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Community Establishments’ Closure Decisions Follow Those of Nearby Chain Establishments

By: Abhishek Nagaraj, Mathijs de Vaan, Saqib Mumtaz and Sameer Srivastava

As conveners that bring various stakeholders into the same physical space, firms can powerfully influence the course of pandemics such as COVID-19. Even when operating under government orders and health guidelines, firms have considerable discretion to keep their... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Peer Influence; Closure Decisions; Health Pandemics; Business Ventures; Decisions; Business and Community Relations

09 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Addressing Inequities in Education: Social Enterprise Summer Fellow Amal Tariq (MBA 2025)

The HBS Summer Fellows Program enables students to apply their classroom training as they explore career opportunities in roles or regions where compensation is generally lower than the traditional MBA level. This summer, we are connecting with some of our 70 View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Brian L. Trelstad

The focus of my research is on the systems of social innovation. How small groups of individuals come up with new products and services targeting important problems; how they finance these initial efforts, and convert prototypes into viable organizational strategies;... View Details

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Past Projects | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

leadership among the business community by founding the Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group (EPSMG). Our project evaluated the role that AM and EPSMG played during the Ebola crisis in Liberia. Measuring the "Impact" in Impact... View Details

1 Apr 1995
Conference Presentation

Problem Solving Among Computer Science Students: : The Effects of Skill, Evaluation Expectation, and Personality on Solution Quality

By: R. Conti and Teresa M. Amabile

Keywords: Education; Problems and Challenges; Outcome or Result; Social Psychology; Quality

February 26, 2024
Article

Making Workplaces Safer Through Machine Learning

By: Matthew S. Johnson, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel

Machine learning algorithms can dramatically improve regulatory effectiveness. This short article describes the authors' scholarly work that shows how the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) could have reduced nearly twice as many occupational... View Details

Keywords: Government Experimentation; Auditing; Inspection; Evaluation; Process Improvement; Government Administration; AI and Machine Learning; Safety; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

August 2023
Article

Impact of Social Needs Case Management on Use of Medical and Behavioral Health Services: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

By: Mark D. Fleming, Crystal Guo, Margae Knox, Daniel M. Brown, Elizabeth A. Hernandez and Amanda L. Brewster

Social needs case management is an increasingly common strategy used by health care organizations to address integrated health and social needs. These programs connect patients to resources such as food assistance, housing, transportation, or income benefits, in... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Programs; Human Needs; Welfare; Health Industry; California

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March 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Knowledge Sharing at REMA 1000 (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino and Olivia Hull

A year after Norwegian grocery chain REMA 1000 adopted Workplace, Facebook’s enterprise social network, Chief Human Resource Officer Tore Høylie is asked to evaluate its impact on company culture and communication. Almost 90% of the workforce is engaged with the... View Details

Keywords: Social Network; Enterprise Social Media; Facebook; Workplace; Social and Collaborative Networks; Communication Technology; Performance Improvement; Organizational Culture; Knowledge Sharing; Social Media; Retail Industry; Norway

September 2016 (Revised October 2017)
Case

KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (Abridged)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

A case on scaling social impact for nonprofits. Founded in 1995, KaBOOM! quickly became a nationally recognized nonprofit in building playgrounds with strong corporate partnerships and volunteer-organizing capabilities. Over the years, KaBOOM! developed new programs,... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Enterprise; Scaling Social Impact; Nonprofit Scaling; Nonprofit; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

01 Apr 2001
News

Rewriting the Script: Social Enterprise Start-ups Expand Business Plan Contest's Parameters

gradually became clear that the contest needed a different set of criteria for evaluating plans with socially oriented agendas. Entries in the new track will submit to the same timetable and demands as... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment; Information

January 23, 2023
Article

Digital Public Health Interventions at Scale: The Impact of Social Media Advertising on Beliefs and Outcomes Related to COVID Vaccines

By: Susan Athey, Kristen Grabarz, Michael Luca and Nils Wernerfelt

Public health organizations increasingly use social media advertising campaigns in pursuit of public health goals. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of about $40 million of social media advertisements that were run and experimentally tested on Facebook and... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Public Health; Vaccines; Social Media; Advertising; Power and Influence; Health Care and Treatment