Publications

Article

181 Top CEOs Have Realized Companies Need a Purpose Beyond Profit

By: Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

On August 19, 2019, the Business Roundtable (BR) issued a memo entitled “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.” The Business Roundtable, one of the most preeminent business lobbies in the United States, includes 192 CEOs of leading U.S. companies from Apple to... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Stakeholder Management; CEO; Mission and Purpose; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Strategy

Register to Read

October 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Airbnb in Amsterdam (A)

By: Mitchell Weiss, Emer Moloney and Vincent Dessain

In February 2014, Amsterdam became the first city to issue new regulations specifically to allow home sharing. Airbnb's Molly Turner, global head of civic partnerships; her colleagues at the San Francisco–based home sharing platform; and her counterparts in Amsterdam's... View Details

23 Apr 2024
In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

With each month clocking record-breaking temperatures across the planet, this Earth Day reflected the renewed urgency of regulators and businesses to find climate-change solutions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted new rules that will mandate... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

24 Apr 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders

decisions to build great global companies. If businesses are managed without courageous leadership, then R&D programs, product pipelines, investments in emerging markets, and employees’ commitment to the company’s mission all wither.... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Auto; Food & Beverage

20 Dec 2022
Op-Ed

Employee Feedback: The Key to Retention During the Great Resignation

practices, which, in turn, ensures sustained commitment and performance. Southwest Airlines, for example, has had, ever since its founding, a high-level culture committee that periodically assesses company culture and reports its... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer

2021
Working Paper

False Signaling and Personal Moral Failings: Two Distinct Pathways to Hypocrisy with Unequal Moral Weight

By: Jillian J. Jordan and Roseanna Sommers

Moral engagement is a key feature of human nature: we hold moral values, condemn those who violate those values, and attempt to adhere to them ourselves. Yet moral engagement can make us appear hypocritical if we fail to behave morally. When does moral engagement risk... View Details

Keywords: Moral Engagement; Hypocrite; Dishonesty; Moral Values; Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Values and Beliefs

Read Now

March 2015 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Putting the Guiding Principles into Action: Human Rights at Barrick Gold (A)

By: Rebecca Henderson and Nien-he Hsieh

In 2010, Human Rights Watch, a well-regarded international NGO, approached Barrick Gold asserting that members of the company’s security force at the Porgera Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea had on multiple occasions raped women who were trespassing onto the mine’s waste... View Details

Keywords: Human Rights; Business And Society; Rights; Policy; Leading Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations

March 2013
Case

An Entrepreneur's New Product Development Journey

By: Elie Ofek

This case tracks the new product development process undertaken by Gauri Nanda, the founder and CEO of Nanda Home, as she ventures to innovate beyond her initial product launches. Having achieved commercial success with her first product Clocky, a roll away alarm clock... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

December 2006
Case

Southern Company's Investment in CEMIG

In the spring of 1997, Southern Company had the opportunity to acquire a significant portion of the electric utility in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The shares in the utility, CEMIG, were being sold by the state government as part of a comprehensive... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Privatization; Investment; Acquisition; Globalized Markets and Industries; Utilities Industry; Brazil

Find at Harvard

"A spectacular achievement" - Library Journal

From the financial fraudsters of Enron, to the embezzlers at Tyco, to the Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, the failings of corporate titans are regular fixtures in the news. But what drives wealthy and... View Details

Web

Clubs - Business & Environment

Venture Capital and Private Equity Club The Venture Capital and Private Equity Club is committed to providing its members with career and educational opportunities in the venture capital and private equity sectors. Student Association VP... View Details

28 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

Keep or Cut Workers? How Companies Reacted to the COVID-19 Crisis

we were collecting data as events were happening." As it turns out, the actions companies took during those first 90 days of the pandemic depended not only on their cash on hand, but how committed they were to their workers, according to... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

Web

Hiring International Students

(OPT). In addition, many international students opt into the Management Science track through course selection and demonstrate a commitment to STEM-focused careers. An added benefit for these F-1 international students is eligibility for... View Details

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

However, we also heard that restaurateurs remained steadfastly committed to their goal of nurturing and nourishing people, providing a place of succor and community in a strange new world. Our conversations with the panel and our field... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

19 Oct 2022
Op-Ed

Cofounder Courtship: How to Find the Right Mate—for Your Startup

collaboration with others. It can be great to have someone to brainstorm with, share the workload, and to commiserate with during your journey, but having cofounders—like a committed personal partnership—is also a big test of your ability... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

10 Aug 2023
News

Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism Appoints Alumna as President

the sidelines to join the conversation and speak on behalf of our shared humanity and commonalities.” In the announcement of Levine’s appointment, Kraft noted her commitment to the organization’s mission and said: “With her skills,... View Details

September 2023
Teaching Note

Roche: ESG and Access to Healthcare

By: George Serafeim

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-075. In May 2022, Roche Group, one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, hosted its first ESG investor event focused exclusively on its efforts to impact access to healthcare. While Roche had recently set an ambitious goal... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Access To Care; Healthcare; Healthcare Access; Innovation; Social Impact; Affordable; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Resource Allocation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Industry