Publications

01 Mar 2019
News

3-Minute Briefing: Richard Edelman (MBA 1978)

what’s going on in the world through our purchasing decisions. Our research shows that two-thirds of people, across all age groups and incomes, now buy or boycott a brand based on where it stands on the political or social View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services; Professional Services

14 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Widening Rift Between Corporations and Society

answers to issues of capitalism? A: Think of a Russian doll. Business is inside capitalism, but capitalism is inside society, and society is inside history. The forms that capitalism takes in different eras reflect the View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

19 Jul 2013
News

All in Good Time

focused on creating social equity and economic self-sufficiency, Silbert has a simple take on what ties her career together: "I'm a problem solver. I love digging into an issue and the analytical rigor of... View Details

Keywords: Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

27 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Corporate Values and Employee Cynicism

Business School, have studied the risks and rewards of organizational values in depth using a young, ambitious advertising agency for a field study. What they learned about positive values surprised them, and their findings were published in the February View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

26 May 2015
News

Exploring tax policy and our quality of life

He’s exploring how people feel about making taxation decisions based on personal attributes, which current US tax policy does. Some of his other research, in part for his elective curriculum course at HBS, has examined social security,... View Details

February 1998 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Burma Pipeline, The

By: Debora L. Spar and Lane LaMure

In 1996, Unocal Corp. joined forces with the French Total company to construct an ambitious natural gas pipeline from the Andaman Sea across the southern tip of Burma and into Thailand. At an estimated cost of $1.2 billion, the pipeline was designed to bring sorely... View Details

Keywords: Political Risk; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Foreign Direct Investment; Energy Industry; Asia

March 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Business of Life, The

By: Debora L. Spar

Every day, around the world, babies and children are being sold. Frequently, these transactions appear to be above or beyond the market. Orphaned children are never "sold"--they are only "matched" with their "forever families." Eggs are "donated," and surrogate mothers... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Markets; Social Issues; Family and Family Relationships

Find at Harvard

01 Dec 2017
News

Examining the Magnitude of Syria’s Refugee Crisis

professors’ firsthand observations of the crisis helped inform the classroom conversations. “We discussed what it actually means to be a refugee,” says Fabbe. Trumbull adds, “Really understanding the political and social turmoil... View Details

05 Apr 2021
Blog Post

The MBA Response: A Calling to Leadership & Service

helped Anar Foods manage a social media strategy, and laid the foundation for launching a new frozen-food product line. Anar Foods expressed their gratitude, “This program has been life-altering for me. It's given me much needed help... View Details

July 2022
Case

General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Alicia Dadlani

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused... View Details

Keywords: Race; Decisions; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Minneapolis; Minnesota; United States

June 1990 (Revised February 1991)
Case

In the Shadow of the City

Traces the history of a collaborative effort to create an organization to manage a major international development project in the slums of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Focuses on a serious set of disagreements which develops several months into the project between the two... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Ethiopia

January 2022
Background Note

Native American Incarceration

By: Reshmaan Hussam, Sophus A. Reinert and Jordan Naylor

In the early twenty-first century the Native American populations of the United States continued to live with the legacy of colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and cultural destruction. Although other minority groups had increasingly been able to make their voices heard,... View Details

Keywords: Colonialism; Incarceration; Social Issues; Race; Equality and Inequality; History

Article

Guanxi versus Networking: Distinctive Configurations of Affect- and Cognition-based Trust in the Networks of Chinese and American Managers

By: Roy Y.J. Chua, M.W. Morris and P. Ingram

This research investigates hypotheses about differences between Chinese and American managers in the configuration of trusting relationships within their professional networks. Consistent with hypotheses about Chinese familial collectivism, an egocentric network survey... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Managerial Roles; Relationships; Cognition and Thinking; Emotions; Social and Collaborative Networks; Trust; China; United States