Filter Results:
(562)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(858)
- News (151)
- Research (562)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (207)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(858)
- News (151)
- Research (562)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (207)
Sort by
- Article
ESG Integration in Investment Management: Myths and Realities
By: Sakis Kotsantonis, Christopher Pinney and George Serafeim
The authors’ aim in this article is to set the record straight on the financial performance of sustainable investing while also correcting a number of other widespread misconceptions about this rapidly growing set of principles and methods.
Myth Number 1:... View Details
Keywords: ESG; Sustainability; Investment Management; Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance
Kotsantonis, Sakis, Christopher Pinney, and George Serafeim. "ESG Integration in Investment Management: Myths and Realities." Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 28, no. 2 (Spring 2016): 10–16.
- 1998
- Report
National Park Bonds: A Patch or A Panacea?: A Report on Meeting the Financial Needs of Our National Parks
By: Dutch Leonard, Henry Lee, Jay H. Walder, Peter Zimmerman and Wendy Vanasselt
- January 2023
- Case
Natura: Weathering the Pandemic at Brazil's Cosmetic Giant
By: Brian Trelstad, Pedro Levindo and Carla Larangeira
Brazil's Natura, a multi-brand cosmetics group, has taken several measures to safeguard the livelihoods of its thousands of employees and millions of sales representatives during the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. The company has also made strides in its efforts... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; ESG Reporting; Acquisition; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Social Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Global Strategy; Corporate Governance; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Human Capital; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Customer Ownership; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Networks; Partners and Partnerships; Science-Based Business; Reputation; Human Needs; Social Issues; Strategy; Equality and Inequality; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Brazil; Latin America
- Editorial
Why ESG Funds Fail to Scale
By: Gabriel Karageorgiou and George Serafeim
You’ve seen the headlines about the growth in environmental, social, and governance funds. Many investment professionals might read these and believe that launching a new ESG investment firm or ESG offering will be an automatic success. Our analysis of the data shows... View Details
Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Disclosure; ESG Disclosure Metrics; ESG Ratings; ESG Reporting; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Investments; Investment Fund; Sustainability; Sustainable Finance; Sustainable Investing; Investment; Management; Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Finance; Growth and Development; Failure
Karageorgiou, Gabriel, and George Serafeim. "Why ESG Funds Fail to Scale." Institutional Investor (January 11, 2021).
- March 22, 2016
- Article
The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Accountability or Greenwashing?
By: Christopher Marquis, Michael W. Toffel and Yanhua Zhou
This article is a layman summary of "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," published in Organization Science 27, no. 2 (March–April 2016): 483–504. View Details
Keywords: Reporting; Environmental Performance; Civil Society; Corporate Disclosure; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Civil Society or Community; Environmental Sustainability
Marquis, Christopher, Michael W. Toffel, and Yanhua Zhou. "The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Accountability or Greenwashing?" Work In Progress (American Sociological Association blog) (March 22, 2016). (Reprinted as Environmental disclosure: corporate accountability or greenwashing?” LSE Business Review, June 9, 2016.)
- 2020
- Working Paper
A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts
By: George Serafeim and Katie Trinh
While there has been significant progress in the measurement of an organization’s environmental and social impacts from its operations, metrics to evaluate the impact of products once they come to market lag far behind. In this paper, we provide a framework for... View Details
Keywords: Social Impact; Product Life Cycle; Environment; Sustainability; Measurement; Metrics; Impact Investing; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Reporting; Product; Environmental Sustainability; Measurement and Metrics; Framework; Financial Statements
Serafeim, George, and Katie Trinh. "A Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-076, January 2020. (Revised October 2020.)
- 2014
- Chapter
Promoting Corporate Sustainability through Integrated Reporting: The Role of Investment Fiduciaries and the Responsibilities of the Corporate Board
By: Robert G. Eccles, J. Herron and George Serafeim
This book is a comprehensive reference work exploring recent changes and future trends in the principles that govern institutional investors and fiduciaries. A wide range of contributors offer new perspectives on dynamics that drive the current emphasis on short-term... View Details
Keywords: Governance; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Institutional Investing; Financial Services Industry
Eccles, Robert G., J. Herron, and George Serafeim. "Promoting Corporate Sustainability through Integrated Reporting: The Role of Investment Fiduciaries and the Responsibilities of the Corporate Board." Chap. 31 in Cambridge Handbook of Institutional Investment and Fiduciary Duty, edited by James P. Hawley, Andreas G.F. Hoepner, Keith L. Johnson, Joakim Sandberg, and Edward J. Waitzer, 403–415. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
- September 26, 2024
- Article
A Better Way to Measure Social Impact
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Constance Spitzer
All impact investors report the financial returns from their funds and investments, and many provide metrics on intended social outcomes, such as numbers of individuals served, or quality jobs created. But investors do not supply metrics about their impacts on... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Social Impact Investment; Inclusive Growth; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability
Kaplan, Robert S., and Constance Spitzer. "A Better Way to Measure Social Impact." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (September 26, 2024).
- September–October 2020
- Article
Social-Impact Efforts That Create Real Value
By: George Serafeim
Until the mid-2010s few investors paid attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data—information about companies’ carbon footprints, labor policies, board makeup, and so forth. Today the data is widely used by investors. How can organizations create... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Disclosure; ESG Disclosure Metrics; ESG Ratings; ESG Reporting; Social Impact; Impact Measurement; Social Innovation; Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility; Strategy; Social Enterprise; Society; Accounting; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; Chemical Industry; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; North America; Europe; Japan; Australia
Serafeim, George. "Social-Impact Efforts That Create Real Value." Harvard Business Review 98, no. 5 (September–October 2020): 38–48.
- September 2023
- Article
Stock Price Reactions to ESG News: The Role of ESG Ratings and Disagreement
By: George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon
We investigate whether ESG ratings predict future ESG news and the associated market reactions. We find that the consensus rating predicts future news, but its predictive ability diminishes for firms with large disagreement between raters. Relation between news and... View Details
Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Disclosure; ESG Ratings; ESG Reporting; ESG Disclosure Metrics; Sustainability; Investments; Disagreement; Rating Disagreement; Ratings; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; News; Investment; Financial Markets; Stocks; Price
Serafeim, George, and Aaron Yoon. "Stock Price Reactions to ESG News: The Role of ESG Ratings and Disagreement." Special Issue on RAST 2022 Conference. Review of Accounting Studies 28, no. 3 (September 2023): 1500–1530.
- 2024
- Working Paper
Second- versus Third-party Audit Quality: Evidence from Global Supply Chain Monitoring
By: Maria R. Ibanez, Ashley Palmarozzo, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel
Capitalizing on the superior credibility and flexibility and potential lower cost of external assessments, many global buyers are relying less on their own employee (“second-party”) auditors and more on third-party auditors to monitor and prevent environmental and... View Details
Keywords: Auditing; Audit Quality; Working Conditions; Sustainability; Empirical Operations; Empirical Service Operations; Sustainability Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Supply Chain Management
Ibanez, Maria R., Ashley Palmarozzo, Jodi L. Short, and Michael W. Toffel. "Second- versus Third-party Audit Quality: Evidence from Global Supply Chain Monitoring." Working Paper, August 2024.
- 2025
- Working Paper
The Hidden Costs of Flexible Labor Models: How Working Multiple Jobs Affects Employees
By: Paige Tsai and Ryan W. Buell
As operations increasingly rely upon flexible labor models—such as gig, part-time, and remote work—it has become commonplace for individuals to work multiple jobs. Across three studies, relying on a combination of transaction-level data from 90,548 customers of a... View Details
Keywords: Behavioral Operations; Employee Behavior; Job Design; Sustainable Operations; Job Design and Levels; Personal Finance; Well-being; Happiness; Satisfaction; Wages
Tsai, Paige, and Ryan W. Buell. "The Hidden Costs of Flexible Labor Models: How Working Multiple Jobs Affects Employees." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-036, January 2025. (Revised June 2025.)
- June 2023 (Revised June 2023)
- Supplement
Roche: ESG and Access to Healthcare
By: George Serafeim
In May 2022, Roche Group, one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, hosted its first investor event focused exclusively on its efforts to impact access to healthcare. While Roche had recently set an ambitious goal to double the number of patients that had... View Details
Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Sustainable Finance; Growth Strategy And Execution; Sustainability Targets; Impact Evaluation; Healthcare Access; Healthcare Innovation; Healthcare Systems; Healthcare Operations; Finance; Strategy; Health Testing and Trials; Health Care and Treatment; Growth Management; Measurement and Metrics; Innovation Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Switzerland; North America; Europe; Asia; Latin America; Africa
Serafeim, George. "Roche: Innovation and Access to Healthcare." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 123-713, June 2023. (Revised June 2023.)
- December 24, 2019
- Article
Why It's So Hard to Change People's Commuting Behavior
By: Ariella S. Kristal and A. V. Whillans
Car commuters report higher levels of stress and lower job satisfaction compared to train commuters—in large part because car commuting can involve driving in traffic and navigating tense road situations. Some employers are trying to get involved and reduce car... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Motivating People; Time And Wellbeing; Time Stress; Commuting; Behavior; Change; Motivation and Incentives
Kristal, Ariella S., and A. V. Whillans. "Why It's So Hard to Change People's Commuting Behavior." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 24, 2019).
- March 2016 (Revised April 2019)
- Technical Note
ESG Metrics: Reshaping Capitalism?
By: George Serafeim
In the past twenty-five years, the world had seen an exponential growth in the number of companies reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) data. Investor interest in ESG data also grew rapidly. A growing belief that increasing levels of social inequality... View Details
Keywords: Capitalism; Sustainability; Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Responsibilities To Society; Environment; Social Impact Investment; ESG; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Measurement and Metrics; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Accountability; Accounting; Economic Systems
Serafeim, George, and Jody Grewal. "ESG Metrics: Reshaping Capitalism?" Harvard Business School Technical Note 116-037, March 2016. (Revised April 2019.)
- June 2015 (Revised January 2017)
- Case
Greece's Debt: Sustainable?
By: George Serafeim
The case "Greece's Debt: Sustainable?" describes the Greek economic crisis, bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the debt restructuring that followed. Because of a lack of trust in Greece's ability to repay its debt, two... View Details
Keywords: Debt Crisis; Accounting; Debt Sustainability; Austerity; Solvency Opinions; Borrowing and Debt; Restructuring; Valuation; Accrual Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Economy; Greece
Serafeim, George. "Greece's Debt: Sustainable?" Harvard Business School Case 115-063, June 2015. (Revised January 2017.)
- March 2016
- Article
An Analysis of Firms' Self-reported Anticorruption Efforts
By: Paul M. Healy and George Serafeim
We use Transparency International's ratings of self-reported anticorruption efforts for 480 corporations to analyze factors underlying the ratings. Our tests examine whether these forms of disclosure reflect firms' real efforts to combat corruption or are cheap talk.... View Details
Keywords: Corruption; Corporate Performance; Growth; Disclosure; Disclosure Strategy; Sustainability; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Disclosure; Performance; Sales
Healy, Paul M., and George Serafeim. "An Analysis of Firms' Self-reported Anticorruption Efforts." Accounting Review 91, no. 2 (March 2016): 489–511.
- Teaching Interest
Africa: Building Cities: Immersive Field Course
By: John D. Macomber
This second year elective takes students into the field to assess and report on the opprtunities in the next decade for the private finance and delivery of public infrastructure in the Global South. In January of 2016 and 2017 the cities studied were Addis Ababa,... View Details
Keywords: Cities; Urbanization; Economic Development; Infrastructure; Sustainability; Africa; Latin America; Peru; Argentina; Ethiopia; Tanzania
- Third Quarter 2018
- Article
Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey
By: Amir Amel-Zadeh and George Serafeim
Using survey data from a sample of senior investment professionals from mainstream (i.e., not SRI funds) investment organizations, we provide insights into why and how investors use reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Relevance to... View Details
Keywords: ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Sustainability; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Metrics; Standard Setting; Accounting Standards; Finance; Investment; Information; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Performance Effectiveness; Strategy
Amel-Zadeh, Amir, and George Serafeim. "Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey." Financial Analysts Journal 74, no. 3 (Third Quarter 2018): 87–103.
- March 2015
- Case
Statoil: Transparency on Payments to Governments
By: George Serafeim
The Statoil case describes the challenge of increasing transparency, in extractive industries, around host county government payments. The case describes Statoil's reasoning behind voluntarily disclosing host country government payments, and the events that led to this... View Details
Keywords: Corruption; Disclosure; Disclosure Strategy; Regulation; Industry Self-regulation; Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Bribery; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Government Legislation; Cost vs Benefits; Corporate Disclosure; Mining; Mining Industry; United States
Serafeim, George, Paul M. Healy, and Jérôme Lenhardt. "Statoil: Transparency on Payments to Governments." Harvard Business School Case 115-049, March 2015.