Publications

September 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Leasing Decision at Magnet Beauty Products, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and George Serafeim

A fast-growing retailer is facing two different leasing options for its stores. In choosing between the two options, management is considering the potential impact of the two options on the company's financial statements, in light of the proposed new accounting... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Standards; Leasing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry

Educators

01 Mar 2008
News

Where Are They Now?

upon educating leaders who would have a positive impact on the world. The article remains a classic and has since been republished several times. Zaleznik’s take on the subject of leadership was informed by his training and certification... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; retirement; leisure; writing; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

2011
Chapter

Accelerating the Adoption of Integrated Reporting

By: Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim

This chapter describes the concept of integrated reporting, provides a brief history of its development, reviews the current state of practice, presents a strategy for institutional change that will accelerate the adoption of integrated reporting in order to meet the... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Business History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Practice; Adoption

01 Mar 2013
News

Getting Smart About Philanthropy

Seven HBS alumni are among more than 50 philanthropic leaders who share their strategic thinking, insights, and wisdom in a unique set of video interviews being showcased on the new GiveSmart.org website. The "Conversations with Remarkable Givers" series was created... View Details

December 2022
Supplement

Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Video Supplement

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel

Videos of Thomas Becker, Vice President of Sustainability and Mobility at BMW Group, in support of the case "Driving Decarbonization at BMW" (HBS No. 123-008) View Details

2020
Working Paper

Measuring the Cost of Corporate Water Usage

By: DG Park, George Serafeim and T. Robert Zochowski

We develop a methodology that calculates the impact that organizations have on the environment through their water consumption relating to water stress risk. Using the methodology, we derive estimates for four companies that show how assumptions on the geographic... View Details

Keywords: Water; Water Management; Environment; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Impact-Weighted Accounts; IWAI; Organizations; Environmental Sustainability; Valuation

2022
Article

Climate Change Vulnerability and Currency Returns

By: Alex Cheema-Fox, George Serafeim and Hui (Stacie) Wang

Using measures of physical risk from climate change, we develop a methodology to allocate currency pairs according to a country’s vulnerability and construct portfolios with decreasing vulnerability to physical risk. We show that non-G10 currencies are more vulnerable... View Details

Keywords: Climate Finance; Vulnerabilities; Currencies; Foreign Exchange; Climate Change; Currency; Natural Disasters

Find at Harvard

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

Find at Harvard

November 30, 2012
Article

Vast Pools of Money Still Ignore Sustainable Investing

By: Michael Baldinger, Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainable Strategy; Investing; Investment Management; Investments; Capital Markets; Investment

Web

The Gift - A Concrete Symbol: The Building of Harvard Business School 1908-1927 – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

the idea of giving a million dollars. . . . And I don’t care to give half a million, either.” Lawrence recalled his “heart dropped with a thud” until Baker continued, “But if by giving five million dollars I could have the privilege of... View Details

Article

Does Financial Misconduct Affect the Future Compensation of Alumni Managers?

By: Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin and George Serafeim

We explore how an organization’s financial misconduct may affect pay for former employees not implicated in wrongdoing. Drawing on stigma theory we hypothesize that although such alumni did not participate in the financial misconduct, and they had left the organization... View Details

Keywords: Financial Misconduct; Stigma; Finance; Crime and Corruption; Executive Compensation; Employees; Compensation and Benefits

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Interactive Media and Services Industry

By: DG Park, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the interactive media and services industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact... View Details

September 2015
Article

Speaking of the Short-Term: Disclosure Horizon and Managerial Myopia

By: Francois Brochet, Maria Loumioti and George Serafeim

We study conference calls as a voluntary disclosure channel and create a proxy for the time horizon that senior executives emphasize in their communications. We find that our measure of disclosure time horizon is associated with capital market pressures and executives'... View Details

Keywords: Short-termism; Management Styles; Disclosure; Conference Calls; Investing; Earnings Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Style; Forms of Communication

Find at Harvard

Web

Research Links - A Concrete Symbol: The Building of Harvard Business School 1908-1927 – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

Buildings,” Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin vol. 21, no. 3 (1945). “Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration,” The Architectural Forum vol. XLVII, no. 4 (October, 1927). Lawrence, William. Memorandum About the Gift by... View Details

June 2024
Simulation

Vehicle Lifecycle Emissions Calculator

By: Mike Toffel, Shirley Lu and George Serafeim

This Vehicle Lifecycle Emissions Calculator calculates the greenhouse gas emissions over the lifespan of internal combustion engine (ICEs) vehicles, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), including those associated with their... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Environment; Carbon Accounting; Carbon; Carbon Abatement; Electric Vehicles; Automobiles; Environmental Accounting; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Supply Chain; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Climate Change; Transportation; Transportation Industry; Auto Industry; Battery Industry

July 2020
Article

Does Corporate Misconduct Affect the Future Compensation of Alumni Managers?

By: Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin and George Serafeim

Using data from a top-five global executive placement firm, the authors explore how an organization's financial misconduct may affect pay for former employees not implicated in wrongdoing. Drawing on stigma theory, they hypothesize that although such alumni did not... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Financial Misconduct; Stigma; Crime and Corruption; Employees; Compensation and Benefits

Register to Read

July 2, 2015
Editorial

The Future of the Greek Economy

By: Laura Alfaro, Dante Roscini and George Serafeim

2022
Working Paper

A Conceptualization of Sub-Living Wages: Liabilities, Leverage, and Risk

By: Drew Keller, Katie Panella and George Serafeim

Currently the accounting system records employee wages as an expense in the income statement. However, paying below living wages can expose an organization to reputational and operational risks. In this paper, we offer an alternative conceptualization of the issue of... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Impact Accounting; Leverage; Wages; Compensation and Benefits; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Government Relations; Social Issues; Human Capital