Purpose - Publications - Faculty & Research

20 Jan 2021
Video

Advance Your Career with Greater Purpose and Focus

January 2021
Case

Rio Tinto Aluminum: Can Purpose Lead to Profit?

By: David Fubini and Agastya Muthanna

This case describes the tradeoffs Rio Tinto faces as it considers investments to ensure environmentally friendly, sustainability produced aluminum with the potential risks of competitive pricing and profit loses. View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Price; Competition; Profit; Cost vs Benefits; Mining Industry

Citation

Educators

2022
Book

Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World

By: George Serafeim

The roadmap and best practices to reap the enormous value that can emerge when your business prioritizes social and environmental goals—such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability—right alongside the pursuit of profit.

We not only... View Details

Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Profitability; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Citation

Purchase

Comment

Public Purpose and Accountability in the Indian State

By: Akshay Mangla

Keywords: Accountability; India; Corporate Accountability; Public Sector; India

Citation

Read Now

28 Nov 2022
Podcast

Dilhan Pillay Leads Temasek Holdings’ Ongoing Purpose Journey

Temasek Holdings is an investment firm owned by the Government of Singapore with a diverse, global portfolio. It owns energy companies and a major airline. It’s also committed to a green future, which generates unique challenges for the firm. CEO Dilhan Pillay says the... View Details

15 May 2024
News

Ranjay Gulati on the Power of Deep Purpose

20 Sep 2022
News

Larry Fink at BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit

2023
Working Paper

Firm Purpose and Problem Wickedness: A Review of the Academic Literature

By: Caroline Adelson, Charlotte Kuller, Cate Tompkins, Ellora Sarkar, Samantha Price and Marco Iansiti

Our understanding of the firm’s role in society has evolved greatly over the past 70 years, with more recent years seeing a sharp rise in interest for how firms can contribute more than profits to society – that is, have a purpose beyond profits. Businesses engaged in... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Problems and Challenges

Citation

Read Now

2015
Chapter

Managerial Responsibility and the Purpose of Business: Doing One's Job Well

By: Nien-he Hsieh

Business managers routinely make decisions that significantly affect the lives of others in both positive and negative ways. In the light of these wide-ranging effects, much scholarship has been devoted to specifying the responsibilities of managers of for-profit... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives

Citation

Find at Harvard

Purchase

February 2002 (Revised April 2002)
Background Note

Purposes and Functions of a Mission Statement and Guidelines

Reviews the many great managerial benefits of having an explicit, communicated, and understood company mission and guidelines. View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose

Citation

Educators

Purchase

06 Nov 2021
News

‘Business Needs a Noble Purpose and a Human-centric Approach—These Core Principles Revived ‘Best Buy’

2024
Working Paper

When Batteries Meet Hydrogen: Dual-Storage Investments for Load-Shifting Purposes

By: Christian Kaps and Simone Marinesi

Power systems account for nearly 40% of global emissions. As the world tries to reduce emissions by increasing renewable penetration, storage technologies are playing an increasingly important role in matching variable renewable supply with demand. Batteries have... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Renewable Energy; Transition; Utilities Industry; Battery Industry

Citation

SSRN