Publications

Web

Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise Course Number 1504 Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice Willy Shih Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever Fall; Q1Q2; 3.0 credits 28 Sessions Paper Overview: BSSE at... View Details

2019
Chapter

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Return on invested capital (ROIC) is a financial measure of the profitability of a firm or business unit. If it is greater than the business's cost of capital, then reinvestment of earnings increases shareholder VALUE. The ROIC also determines a maximum self-sustaining... View Details

Keywords: Capital Efficiency; Dupont Analysis; Financial Metrics; Schumpeterian Competition; Sustainable Growth; Competitive Advantage; Financial Strategy; Resource Allocation; Valuation; Value Creation

July 23, 2012
Article

Companies and Investors Should See More of Each Other

By: Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim

Company executives and institutional asset managers are increasingly working sustainability into their strategy and operations. Similarly, institutional asset managers are doing the same in constructing their portfolios. Yet both groups are doing this relatively... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Environmental Sustainability; Growth and Development Strategy

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22 Feb 2022
Blog Post

Lessons Learned from My HBS Career Journey in Environmental Sustainability

I began my HBS admissions application essay with the following sentence: “I aspire to help build organizations that are advancing sustainability and addressing the issue of climate change.” For the past year and a half, I’ve been trying... View Details

Keywords: Energy / Cleantech

June 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Cirque du Soleil -- The High-Wire Act of Building Sustainable Partnerships

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Maxime Aucoin

The case describes the history and business model of Cirque du Soleil (CdS). The case allows for a rich discussion and analysis of Cirque du Soleil's business model with an emphasis on how it interacts with that of MGM Mirage. Le Cirque and MGM's business models... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Investment; Profit; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Partners and Partnerships; Trust; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

03 Jan 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Wordle: Can a Pandemic Phenomenon Sustain in the Long Term?

Keywords: Re: Christina M. Wallace; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

26 Nov 2009
Other Presentation

Thailand’s Competitiveness: Meeting the Challenges of Globalization and Environmental Sustainability

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

Keywords: Economics; Growth and Development; Thailand

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December 2010
Article

Building Sustainable Hybrid Organizations: The Case of Commercial Microfinance Organizations

By: Julie Battilana and Silvia Dorado

We explore how new types of hybrid organizations (organizations that combine institutional logics in unprecedented ways) can develop and maintain their hybrid nature in the absence of a "ready-to-wear" model for handling the tensions between the logics they combine.... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Microfinance; Growth and Development Strategy; Identity; Commercialization; Balance and Stability; Policy; Recruitment; Business Model

October 2005 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Kevin Sharer at Amgen: Sustaining the High-Growth Company (A)

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

Keywords: Leadership Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Style; Management Succession; Personal Development and Career

Web

Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise - Intensive - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise - Intensive Course Number 1507 Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice Willy Shih Spring; Q3; 1.5 credits 14 sessions Paper This short version of BSSE will focus... View Details

13 Feb 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: The Coal Dichotomy: Balancing Economic Growth and Decarbonization in India

Professor Vikram Gandhi’s Immersive Field Course (IFC) “Development while Decarbonizing: India’s Path to Net-Zero" delved into the critical aspect of decarbonization and sustainability goals amid India's rapid development. The course... View Details

20 Feb 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: Building Resilience - Mumbai’s Journey to Sustainable Water Management

Professor Vikram Gandhi’s Immersive Field Course (IFC) “Development while Decarbonizing: India’s Path to Net-Zero" delved into the critical aspect of decarbonization and sustainability goals amid India's rapid development. The course... View Details

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of millions of single-use take-out food... View Details

Article

Four Things No One Will Tell You About ESG Data

By: Sakis Kotsantonis and George Serafeim

As the ESG finance field and the use of ESG data in investment decision-making continue to grow, the authors seek to shed light on several important aspects of ESG measurement and data. This article is intended to provide a useful guide for the rapidly rising number of... View Details

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14 May 2024
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series – How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship Today, the concept of “sustainable innovation” seems commonplace and is generally accepted as a viable path balancing business View Details

12 Jun 2023
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - Leapfrogging Traditional Agricultural Development in Africa

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series – Leapfrogging Traditional Agricultural Development in Africa Cover image features Mostafa Terrab. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people, with more than... View Details

March 2015
Case

Unilever: Combatting Global Food Waste

By: David F. Drake, Janice H. Hammond and Matthew G. Preble

The global consumer goods company Unilever was on pace to hit a number of aggressive targets by 2020 as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Project, including a goal to halve the waste associated with the disposal of its products. Unilever's chief supply chain... View Details

December 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Bananas (A)

By: Eric Van den Steen

As owner and CEO, Wim Van der Borght had grown Bananas in 8 years from a 4.5 million euro company into a 40 million euro group of companies with a range of field marketing activities in Belgium and the Netherlands. The core of the group consisted of two companies —... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Growth Strategy; Strategic Analysis; PVA; Culture As Commitment; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Belgium

2017
Book

Profits and Sustainability: A History of Green Entrepreneurship

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book explores whether profits and environmental sustainability are compatible through the lens of a global history of green entrepreneurship between the nineteenth century and today. It tells the story of the extraordinary and often eccentric men and women who... View Details