Publications

November 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Hewlett-Packard Company: The War Within

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Jay W. Lorsch, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Eliot Sherman

In September 2006 it was revealed that the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) had been carrying out an extended investigation of its own employees, board members, and journalists outside the company. The investigation was launched in response to a series of leaks to the... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Employee Relationship Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Communication Technology; Conflict and Resolution; Newspapers; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

2007
Chapter

Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey

By: Malcolm Baker, Richard Ruback and Jeffrey Wurgler

Research in behavioral corporate finance takes two distinct approaches. The first emphasizes that investors are less than fully rational. It views managerial financing and investment decisions as rational responses to securities market mispricing. The second approach... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Prejudice and Bias; Debt Securities; Financial Management; Price; Theory; Investment; Problems and Challenges; Behavioral Finance; Corporate Finance

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Research Summary

Overview

By: Rebecca M. Henderson

My work focuses on two tightly related topics. I explore why purpose or mission driven firms might be significantly more productive and creative than their more conventional rivals, focusing particularly on the role of trust in building path dependent relational... View Details

May 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

This case describes the decarbonization strategy of Arcos Dorados—McDonald’s largest independent franchisee, operating in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean—and how the company measured its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including those... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Accounting; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Change Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Environmental Sustainability; Food; Growth Management; Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Green Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Latin America; North and Central America; South America

Web

Managing the Future of Work

have long ignored the caregiving responsibilities of employees, compromising both performance and access to talent. With the rising burden of childcare and eldercare, it's in the best interest of employers to invest in fostering a care... View Details

Web

Technology & Operations Management - Faculty & Research

differences across cities to drive sustainable community impact, while grappling with how to measure success and inspire replication beyond its own communities. Keywords: Strategy ; Leadership ; Corporate Social View Details

Research Summary

Overview

My research is at the intersection of organizational strategy, global sustainability governance, and social change. It explores the diffusion of sustainability standards to non-traditional sectors (e.g. jewelry, cannabis, plastics, pets) and the relationship between... View Details

31 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Climate Change Puts Heat on GMs

What is the responsibility of business regarding social issues? And how does that jibe with maximizing profits? In "UBS and Climate Change—Warming Up to Global Action?" Associate Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Professor Forest Reinhardt present the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

25 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 25

Specifically, we test how individuals who have a responsibility to punish transgressions behave when confronted with the social norm of preferential treatment on people's birthdays. We first establish the... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

September 2021
Article

Innovation in the 21st Century: Architectural Change, Purpose, and the Challenges of Our Time

By: Rebecca Henderson

Understanding the process of innovation has been a central concern of management researchers, but despite this progress, there remains much that we do not understand. Deepening our knowledge is critically important given the enormous environmental and social challenges... View Details

Keywords: Architectural Innovation; Systemic Innovation; Innovation and Invention; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability

Web

Research Areas - Doctoral

faculty-designed research project based on their indicated interests. 1. Corporate Social Responsibility research explores business impact of delivering economic, social, and environmental benefits to... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Grant uses a combination of laboratory and field experiments to harness consumers' cognitive and affective resources to increase their well-being. Consumers make countless daily decisions in the pursuit of happiness -- whether and how to spend or save their money, what... View Details

Keywords: Well-being; Judgment And Decision Making; Health; Prosocial Behavior

Program

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

business Understand the unique dynamics of platform businesses and markets Identify the critical factors for success and failure of a platform business Recognize the social and ethical responsibilities of... View Details

February 2008 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Weber Shandwick: The Client Relationship Leader Program

By: Robert G. Eccles and Kerry Herman

In 2002 Weber Shandwick, a leading global public relations agency, instituted a Client Relationship Leader (CRL) Program for its top 32 global accounts. The purpose of the program is to ensure that all of the firm's resources across geographies, practice areas, and... View Details

Keywords: Blogs; Competency and Skills; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competitive Advantage; Public Relations Industry

April 2023
Article

Perceptions Related to Engaging in Non-driving Activities in an Automated Vehicle While Commuting: A Text Mining Approach

By: Yilun Xing, Linda Ng Boyle, Raffaella Sadun, John D. Lee, Orit Shaer and Andrew Kun

Automated vehicles (AVs) offer human operators the opportunity to participate in non-driving activities while on the move. In this study, we examined and compared drivers' perception of non-driving activities in two driving modes: highly AVs in the future and current... View Details

Keywords: Perception; Behavior; Surveys; Auto Industry

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

response to more temporary economic shifts, such as recession, often proves less successful, Sucher says. “These are some of those commonsense things that may not occur to people because they are thinking with their labor hats on and not... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

October 2010
Article

The Emerging Capital Market for Nonprofits

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Allen S. Grossman

Many of our largest and most successful companies today did not exist 50 years ago. During this same time interval, companies that ranked among top in the 1960s have disappeared, been merged out of existence, or become much smaller presences in the U.S. industrial... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Investment Funds; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Accountability; Management Practices and Processes; Infrastructure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Effectiveness; Nonprofit Organizations

January 2023
Case

Thomas Buberl: Refounding AXA

By: Hubert Joly, Mihir Desai and Amram Migdal

In 2022, AXA and its CEO Thomas Buberl faced new types of challenges, including systemic risks such as climate change, geopolitical instability, public health crises, and social tensions caused by economic risks. AXA was one of the world’s largest insurers. Since... View Details

October 2008
Article

Navigating the Bind of Necessary Evils: Psychological Engagement and the Production of Interpersonally Sensitive Behavior

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Andrew Molinsky

We develop grounded theory about how individuals respond to the subjective experience of performing "necessary evils" and how that influences the way they treat targets of their actions. Despite the importance and difficulty of delivering just, compassionate treatment... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Power and Influence; Welfare