Publications

Can a business case be made for acting sustainably? This is a difficult question to answer precisely, largely because there is no generally accepted definition of the term “sustainability”. Is it acting sustainably to protect the human rights of the firm’s workforce?... View Details

December 1997 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Wolfgang Keller at Konigsbrau-TAK (A)

By: John J. Gabarro

Wolfgang Keller, manager of the Ukrainian subsidiary of a German beer company, faces a managerial dilemma. His subordinate, Dmitri Brodsky, is a talented and experienced commercial director who is not meeting his goals expediently and often requires considerable... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Performance Evaluation; Management Style; Managerial Roles; Behavior; Conflict Management; Situation or Environment; Failure; Employee Relationship Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Ukraine; Germany

2007
Book

Global Accountabilities: Participation, Pluralism, and Public Ethics

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Edward Weisband

This edited volume contributes analytical depth to the diverse debates on accountability in modern organizations. It explores the nature, forms and impacts of accountability efforts in civil society organizations, public and inter-governmental agencies, and private... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Business and Government Relations

Find at Harvard

04 Jun 2020
Blog Post

What MBAs can do in Defense of Black Lives

Here are a few ways MBAs can support the movement for Black lives: Donate to and fundraise for racial justice nonprofits. Support local Black-led organizing groups and/or invest in national organizations like Movement for Black Lives, a... View Details

May 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Harlem Children's Zone, The: Driving Performance with Measurement and Evaluation

By: Allen S. Grossman and Daniel F. Curran

Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone, wanted his organization to grow dramatically to reach thousands of poor and underserved children in Harlem. The agency ran a variety of successful social service programs throughout New York City that were separately... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Measurement and Metrics; Organizational Structure; Performance Evaluation; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Valuation

Teaching Interest

Public Entrepreneurship

By: Mitchell B. Weiss

Public entrepreneurship is designed for future private entrepreneurs and public leaders who want to build new ventures operating in or selling into traditionally public domains.

The last few years have seen a wave of new public entrepreneurs start companies... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship

Video

Dr. Silvia Gold

Dr. Silvia Gold, President of the Mundo Sano Foundation and co-founder of Grupo Insud, describes her foundation’s pursuit to make meaningful social change by decreasing barriers to treatment for “neglected tropical diseases” (NTDs). View Details

Career Coach

Nicolle Richards

Nicolle is passionate about supporting students in navigating different roles focused on creating social impact. Nicolle has spent her whole career in the social impact space,... View Details

07 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 7

case:http://hbr.org/search/612095-PDF-ENG Purchase this supplemeent (B):http://hbr.org/search/612096-PDF-ENG Frameworks for Dialogue and Research about Social Impact Investing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Mar 2019
Blog Post

SEI25 Series: Misan Rewane, MBA 2013, CEO, WAVE

the walk if they want to attract and retain the best talent! How would you describe the social impact you seek to have in the world? I seek to work towards a world where every young African has access to the... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government; Entrepreneurship

April 2009 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Oprah Winfrey

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Erica Helms, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox

The case explores the entrepreneurial journey of Oprah Winfrey, examining how she built an audience for one of the most successful television shows in history; how she created the company, Harpo Productions, that produces that show as well as other media offerings; how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

Career Coach

Betsy Edwards

Betsy (HGSE, '12) is a Corporate Relations Director in HBS Career & Professional Development with over ten years of coaching experience. Her focus is on supporting students and alumni seeking an impact-oriented career primarily in the health care, energy and View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing; Impact Investing

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

and to what extent their skill is impacted by the VC firm where they work. We examine a unique dataset that tracks the performance of individual venture capitalists' investments across time and as they move... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

August 2022
Case

Rocket Learning: Evidence in Action

By: Brian Trelstad, Tomas Rosales and Malini Sen

Founders of Rocket Learning, an India-based nonprofit which focused on early childhood education (ECE), received an invitation from MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL), a development research organization, to test its intervention for ECE with a... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Early Childhood Education; Nonprofit Organizations; Literacy; Values and Beliefs; Social and Collaborative Networks; Education Industry; India; Asia

Web

Publications - Faculty & Research

it-or-lose-it" Provisions By: Louis T. Wells Citation Read Now Related Wells, Louis T. Mining Terms: 'Use it-or-lose-it" Provisions." Columbia FDI Perspectives , no. 415 (August 4, 2025). August 2025 Case REDF: Investing in Employment... View Details

26 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Tap into Top Talent with the HBS Leadership Fellows Program

When Rob Zeaske (MBA 2002) came to Harvard Business School two decades ago, he was also interested in having an impact at the intersection of business and social enterprise, but he didn’t know exactly how to... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise

23 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

In Venture Capital, Birds of a Feather Lose Money Together

few key questions: What specific characteristics influence individuals' desire to work together on an investment deal? And given that influence, how does affinity affect investment performance? Do common... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

20 Oct 2015
HBS Seminar

Elizabeth Pontikes, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

2015
Chapter

Making the Business Case for Environmental Sustainability

By: Rebecca Henderson

Can a business case be made for acting sustainably? This is a difficult question to answer precisely, largely because there is no generally accepted definition of the term "sustainability." Is it acting sustainably to protect the human rights of the firm's workforce?... View Details