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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,716)
- People (8)
- News (673)
- Research (2,357)
- Events (11)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (1,306)
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- February 2018 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Wellington Global Impact
By: Shawn Cole and Lynn Schenk
Wellington Global Impact is one of the first public equities impact investing strategies in the market. The case explores how the strategy was developed at Wellington, including an analysis of the culture that supported its development. It also explores the difficulty... View Details
Keywords: Finance; Impact Investing; Investment; Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Analysis
Cole, Shawn, and Lynn Schenk. "Wellington Global Impact." Harvard Business School Case 218-067, February 2018. (Revised October 2018.)
- 14 Nov 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Process and Performance
- Article
How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?
By: Aaron K. Chatterji, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel
Ratings of corporations' environmental activities and capabilities influence billions of dollars of "socially responsible" investments as well as some consumers, activists, and potential employees. In one of the first studies to assess these ratings, we examine how... View Details
Keywords: Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Effectiveness; Natural Environment; Pollutants
Chatterji, Aaron K., David I. Levine, and Michael W. Toffel. "How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?" Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 18, no. 1 (Spring 2009): 125–169.
- 2015
- Chapter
Leading Socially Responsible, Value-Creating Corporations
By: Daniel A Brown, Rakesh Khurana and James O'Toole
We explore the role of the corporate leader in creating value for stakeholders throughout three eras: one of naïve idealism, one of naïve cynicism, and an emerging era of rugged idealism. We explain how the role of the corporate leader and society's perceptions of this... View Details
Keywords: Stakeholder Management; Value; Shared Value; Institution; Business School; Stakeholder Engagement; Value Creation; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Alignment; Business Education; Business and Stakeholder Relations
Brown, Daniel A., Rakesh Khurana, and James O'Toole. "Leading Socially Responsible, Value-Creating Corporations." In Corporate Stewardship: Achieving Sustainable Effectiveness, edited by Susan Albers Mohrman, James O'Toole, and Edward E. Lawler. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing, 2015.
- 2018
- Working Paper
Corporate Sustainability: A Strategy?
By: George Serafeim
We explore the conditions under which firms maintain their competitive advantage through sustainability-based differentiation when faced with imitation pressures by industry peers. We document growing intraindustry convergence on sustainability actions over time for... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Corporate Performance; Industry Analysis; CSR; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Environment; Social Responsibility; Strategy And Execution; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Performance; Corporate Strategy
Ioannou, Ioannis, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Sustainability: A Strategy?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-065, January 2019. (Revised April 2021.)
- January 4, 2019
- Article
How Companies Can Balance Social Impact and Financial Goals
By: Marya L. Besharov, Wendy K. Smith and Michael Tushman
It’s notoriously difficult for a business to manage two separate-but-equal goals—making money and creating social value at the same time, for example, or managing an existing business at the same time that you invent a new one. Most attempts at managing these... View Details
Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Profit; Decision Making
Besharov, Marya L., Wendy K. Smith, and Michael Tushman. "How Companies Can Balance Social Impact and Financial Goals." Harvard Business Review (website) (January 4, 2019).
- Article
Sustainability, Business, and Health
By: George Serafeim, Amanda M. Rischbieth and Howard K. Koh
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demonstrated that response demands involvement from every sector of society. As a major example, some businesses have stepped up in ways previously unimaginable. Garment companies have repurposed production to face... View Details
Keywords: COVID; COVID-19; Sustainability; Health And Wellness; Corporate Social Responsibility; Health Pandemics; Health; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Accountability; Health Care and Treatment
Serafeim, George, Amanda M. Rischbieth, and Howard K. Koh. "Sustainability, Business, and Health." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association 324, no. 2 (July 14, 2020): 147–148.
- January–February 2019
- Article
Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance
By: Claudine Gartenberg, Andrea Prat and George Serafeim
We construct a measure of corporate purpose within a sample of U.S. companies based on approximately 500,000 survey responses of worker perceptions about their employers. We find that this measure of purpose is not related to financial performance. However, high... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Employee Motivation; Belief Systems; Corporate Performance; Human Capital; Middle Management; Culture; Corporate Culture; Meaning; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Employees; Perception; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness
Gartenberg, Claudine, Andrea Prat, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance." Organization Science 30, no. 1 (January–February 2019): 1–18.
- 05 May 2003
- Research & Ideas
Sharing the Responsibility of Corporate Governance
each company in the portfolio is acting in a socially responsible manner. So-called green funds attempt to invest in socially responsible... View Details
Keywords: by Carla Tishler
- May 2025 (Revised June 2025)
- Background Note
Social Enterprise in Latin America
By: Brian L. Trelstad and Karina Souza
This research note provides an overview of the social enterprise ecosystem in Latin America, exploring current dynamics across key markets, including country-specific insights on Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Central America. In a region characterized... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Developing Countries and Economies; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Ownership; Social Enterprise; Business Strategy; Equality and Inequality; Microfinance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Brazil; Mexico; Argentina; Colombia; Chile; Guatemala; Central America; Peru; Uruguay
Trelstad, Brian L., and Karina Souza. "Social Enterprise in Latin America." Harvard Business School Background Note 325-117, May 2025. (Revised June 2025.)
- 14 Jun 2010
- Research & Ideas
The Hard Work of Measuring Social Impact
major social problem, the harder it becomes to measure your impact because it is tougher to isolate cause and effect. It's no longer a simple linear relationship, but a complex... View Details
Keywords: by Julia Hanna
- February 2018 (Revised August 2019)
- Case
The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact
By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Sarah Mehta
It is March 2017, and TPG, a global alternative investment firm with $74 billion assets under management, has recently launched its inaugural impact-investing fund—the $2 billion Rise Fund. In an effort to “take the religion out of impact investing,” Maya Chorengel,... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Equity; Investment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; California; San Francisco
Gandhi, Vikram S., Caitlin Reimers Brumme, and Sarah Mehta. "The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact." Harvard Business School Case 318-041, February 2018. (Revised August 2019.)
- 05 Jun 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
How Transparency into Internal and External Responsibility Initiatives Influences Consumer Choice
Keywords: by Ryan W. Buell and Basak Kalkanci
- 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.)
- January 2019
- Case
Capitalism, Entrepreneurship and Responsibility
By: Geoffrey Jones
This case contains excerpts from prominent business leaders and others expressing their views on the responsibilities, if any, of business leaders to other stakeholders in society. It begins with an excerpt from Andrew Carnegie, the nineteenth century steel magnate, in... View Details
Keywords: Capitalism; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Leadership; Attitudes; Perspective
Jones, Geoffrey. "Capitalism, Entrepreneurship and Responsibility." Harvard Business School Case 319-081, January 2019.
- March 2021 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
Making Impact Investing Markets: IFC (A)
By: Shawn A. Cole, John Masko and T. Robert Zochowski
In 2017, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) faced the first big investment decision in its new Scaling Solar project. Founded in 1956, IFC was an international investment body with national governments as shareholders, whose mission was to promote economic... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Renewable Energy; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Equity; Bonds; Financing and Loans; Growth and Development; Emerging Markets; Non-Governmental Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry; Zambia
Cole, Shawn A., John Masko, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Making Impact Investing Markets: IFC (A)." Harvard Business School Case 221-061, March 2021. (Revised April 2021.)
- January–March 2025
- Article
Transitioning from Responsible and Reactive to Deeply Responsible and Proactive International Business
By: Geoffrey G. Jones, Teresa da Silva Lopes, Pavida Pananond, Rob van Tulder, Noemi Sinkovics and Rudolf R. Sinkovics
This article aims to explore the role of multinational enterprises in addressing grand societal challenges, emphasizing the need for integrating environmental and social aspects into business models. It offers an analysis of how principles and values can guide engaged... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Model; Multinational Firms and Management
Jones, Geoffrey G., Teresa da Silva Lopes, Pavida Pananond, Rob van Tulder, Noemi Sinkovics, and Rudolf R. Sinkovics. "Transitioning from Responsible and Reactive to Deeply Responsible and Proactive International Business." Critical Perspectives on International Business 21, no. 2 (January–March 2025): 196–225.
- January 2003 (Revised May 2003)
- Case
AngloGold - Corporate Responsibility for HIV/AIDS (A)
AngloGold, a South African gold-mining corporation, faces a decision to provide its workforce, 30% of which is infected with HIV, with antiretroviral treatment. View Details
Keywords: Health Disorders; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Mining Industry; South Africa
Barrett, Diana, and Amanda Key. "AngloGold - Corporate Responsibility for HIV/AIDS (A)." Harvard Business School Case 303-101, January 2003. (Revised May 2003.)
- April 2021 (Revised July 2021)
- Case
Public Equities Impact Investing at BlackRock
By: Shawn A. Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris and John Masko
In early 2021, BlackRock—the world’s largest asset manager with $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM)—sought to become a leader in promoting environmental and social sustainability. Over the previous ten years, CEO Larry Fink had written an annual open letter to... View Details
Keywords: Impact Investing; Renewable Energy; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Equity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Management; Investment Funds; Investment Return; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry; United States
Cole, Shawn A., Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris, and John Masko. "Public Equities Impact Investing at BlackRock." Harvard Business School Case 221-066, April 2021. (Revised July 2021.)
- June 2013 (Revised November 2016)
- Case
Goldfinger: Charles W. Engelhard Jr. and Apartheid-era South Africa
By: Geoffrey Jones and Elliot R. Benton
This case considers the strategies of Charles W. Engelhard, an American mining magnate who made large investments in apartheid-era South Africa. Engelhard was widely believed to have been the model for the James Bond villan Auric Goldfinger. During the 1950s and 1960s... View Details
Keywords: Political Economy; Business History; FDI; Corporate Social Responsibility And Impact; South Africa; Mining; Ethics; Globalization; Government and Politics; History; Mining Industry; Africa; South Africa
Jones, Geoffrey, and Elliot R. Benton. "Goldfinger: Charles W. Engelhard Jr. and Apartheid-era South Africa." Harvard Business School Case 313-148, June 2013. (Revised November 2016.)