Publications

October 2018
Case

African Bank Investments Limited (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

17 Oct 2014
Blog Post

Tap into HBS Alumni Talent

Over 100 alumni who graduated between 20 and 45 years ago connected with our office while on campus for Fall reunions a few weeks ago. Proving to be as driven as the day they graduated, this dynamic group of alumni expressed interest in a wide variety of opportunities... View Details

“Managing for Organizational Integrity”: My Take After Three Decades

This chapter revisits core ideas from my 1994 article “Managing for Organizational Integrity” and explores a critical issue not discussed in the article: the role of corporate boards. In the chapter, I first re-examine the article’s ideas about the origins of... View Details

November 2014
Article

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance

By: Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

We investigate the effect of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Using a matched sample of 180 U.S. companies, we find that corporations that voluntarily adopted sustainability policies by 1993—termed as High Sustainability... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Sustainability Research; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Targets; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Accountability; Reporting; Corporate Governance; Investor Clientele; Investor Communication; Stock Market; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Performance; United States

8 AM – 5 PM EST, 02 Mar 2016

Career Reboot Camp in Chicago

Career Reboot Camp is coming to Chicago! Led by Professor Tim Butler and facilitated by HBS career coaches, participants will work through exercises to reflect on their key career interests, what's important to them in work and life, and create a plan to move forward... View Details

October 2017 (Revised October 2022)
Case

JetBlue: Relevant Sustainability Leadership

By: George Serafeim

In 2017, JetBlue, the airline founded on the mission to “bring humanity back to air travel,” was considering becoming one of the first companies to report its sustainability performance according to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards. SASB... View Details

December 1996 (Revised July 1997)
Case

USG Corporation

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Tara L. Nells

In 1988, USG was the world's largest gypsum producer and one of the world's largest building-products companies. On May 2, 1988, USG's board of directors announced a proposed leveraged recapitalization plan to thwart a hostile cash tender offer by Desert Partners. With... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Cash Flow; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; United States

February 2016 (Revised August 2020)
Case

InsightSquared: Developing the Sales and Marketing Plan

By: Mark Roberge, Tom Eisenmann and Frank Cespedes

Fred Shilmover and Sam Clemens prepared for their fourth quarter board meeting. They were excited to have scaled their software startup, InsightSquared, to $2 million in revenue and secured an $8 million round of venture capital. However, they disagreed on the path... View Details

Keywords: Sales Planning; Applications and Software; Marketing; Sales; Planning; Growth and Development Strategy

8:30 AM – 4:30 PM EDT, 16 Mar 2015

Career Reboot Camp in San Francisco

Career Reboot Camp is coming to San Francisco! Led by Professor Tim Butler and facilitated by HBS career coaches, participants will work through exercises to reflect on their key career interests, what's important to them in work and life, and create a plan to move... View Details

2009
Working Paper

Management and the Financial Crisis (We have met the enemy and he is us...)

By: William A. Sahlman

The financial crisis of 2008-9 has revealed that our broad model of corporate governance is broken, independent of the shortcomings in the regulatory system. Managers and boards of directors in scores of systemically important firms failed to protect employees,... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Financial Crisis

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September–October 2023
Article

What Does 'Stakeholder Capitalism' Mean to You?: A Guide to the Four Main Types

By: Lynn S. Paine

Business leaders are being urged to adopt a multistakeholder approach to governance in place of the shareholder-centered approach that has guided their work for several decades. But through hundreds of interviews with directors, executives, investors, governance... View Details

Keywords: Stakeholder Capitalism; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Organizational Structure; Trust

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October 2009 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo

By: Guhan Subramanian and Nithyasri Sharma

In late September 2008, amidst the spiraling financial crisis, many firms on Wall Street were in a precarious position. One such institution was Wachovia, which entered acquisition talks with Citigroup and Wells Fargo. This case describes the development of these... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Banking Industry; United States