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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,171)
- People (3)
- News (225)
- Research (739)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (446)
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- Article
The Social Purpose of Corporations
By: Nien-he Hsieh, Marco Meyer, David Rodin and Jens van ‘t Klooster
To think about the purpose of corporations is to think about what corporations are for. In this article, we argue that the concept of a purpose has an important role in thinking about the moral evaluation of corporations. We make three contributions. First, we... View Details
Keywords: Social Purpose; Corporate Purpose; The Corporation; Market Failures; Measurement Of Purpose; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics
Hsieh, Nien-he, Marco Meyer, David Rodin, and Jens van ‘t Klooster. "The Social Purpose of Corporations." Journal of the British Academy 6, no. s1 (2018): 49–73. ( DOI: https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/006s1.049.)
- March 2023 (Revised November 2023)
- Module Note
The Social Purpose of the Firm
By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
The Social Purpose of the Firm (SPF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to “make a difference in the world” – that is, to address a significant societal problem as a... View Details
Keywords: Social Accounting; Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Mission and Purpose; United States; Sweden; Kenya; Netherlands
Spar, Debora L., and Julia M. Comeau. "The Social Purpose of the Firm." Harvard Business School Module Note 323-051, March 2023. (Revised November 2023.)
- October 2024
- Module Note
Purpose of the Firm
By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
Purpose of the Firm (PoF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to “make a difference in the world”—that is, to address a significant societal problem as a commercial... View Details
Keywords: Social Accounting; Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Mission and Purpose; Leadership
Spar, Debora L., and Julia M. Comeau. "Purpose of the Firm." Harvard Business School Module Note 325-035, October 2024.
- Article
The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose
By: Ranjay Gulati
Most forward-thinking executives have embraced the notion that purpose-driven companies can solve social and environmental problems while also generating wealth, creating win-win outcomes that benefit everyone. But ideal solutions are rare. Many purpose-driven... View Details
Keywords: Purpose; Sustainability; Mission and Purpose; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Profit; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Decision Making
Gulati, Ranjay. "The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose." Harvard Business Review 100, no. 2 (March–April 2022): 45–55.
- 2019
- Working Paper
Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose
In this paper, I address how the ascendance of the theory of shareholder value maximization into the central consciousness of public corporations and its canonization as the only legitimate expression of corporate purpose has contributed to both a widening breach... View Details
Keywords: Capitalism; Justice; Corporate Purpose; Shareholder Value Maximization; Ethical Reciprocity; Economic Systems; Business Ventures; Mission and Purpose; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Salter, Malcolm S. "Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-104, April 2019.
- 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.
- September 2023
- Article
Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms
By: Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim
Analyzing data from approximately 1.5 million employees across 1,108 established public and private US companies, we find that the strength of employee beliefs related to purpose is weaker in public companies. Among public companies, those beliefs are stronger for... View Details
Keywords: Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Culture; Corporate Culture; Public And Private Organizations; Hedge Fund; Executive Pay; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Employees; Attitudes; Executive Compensation; Ownership
Gartenberg, Claudine, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms." Management Science 69, no. 9 (September 2023): 5087–5111.
- Article
The Social Contract Model of Corporate Purpose and Responsibility
By: Nien-he Hsieh
Of the many developments in business ethics that Thomas Donaldson has helped pioneer, one is the application of social contract theory to address questions about the responsibilities of business actors. In Corporations and Morality, Donaldson develops one of the... View Details
Hsieh, Nien-he. "The Social Contract Model of Corporate Purpose and Responsibility." Business Ethics Quarterly 25, no. 4 (October 2015): 433–460. (DOI: 10.1017/beq.2016.1.)
- January 9, 2023
- Editorial
The Pursuit of Profit with Purpose Requires Patience
By: George Serafeim
Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Purpose Of Business Schools; Entrepreneur; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Profit; Entrepreneurship
Serafeim, George. "The Pursuit of Profit with Purpose Requires Patience." Financial Times (January 9, 2023).
- Teaching Interest
Social Innovation Field Projects
The class will serve as the central clearing house for all independent projects relating to enterprises that are creating social value, with projects ranging from nonprofits to purpose driven for-profit businesses. This course provides students an opportunity to use... View Details
- January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
- Case
BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit
By: Aiyesha Dey
The case revolves around the actions that Barbara Novick, co-founder and Vice-Chair of Blackrock, and Michelle Edkins, Global Head of Investment Stewardship, would need to take in response to the controversial CEO letters from Laurence (Larry) Fink, Chairman and CEO of... View Details
Keywords: Boards Of Directors; Institutional Investors; Disclosure; Transparency; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Profits; ESG; ESG Disclosure Metrics; Corporate Sustainability; Engagement Strategy Of Institutions; Stewardship Role Of Institutions; BlackRock; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Institutional Investing; Accounting; Corporate Disclosure; Mission and Purpose; Profit; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Diversity; Corporate Accountability; Financial Services Industry; United States
Deshpandé, Rohit, Aiyesha Dey, and George Serafeim. "BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit." Harvard Business School Case 120-042, January 2020. (Revised July 2020.)
- January 2020
- Case
SK Group: Social Progress Credits
By: George Serafeim, Ethan Rouen and David Freiberg
SK Group was one of the largest companies South Korea. A family-run conglomerate consisting of around 120 subsidiaries and employing more than 100,000, SK was tightly knit into the fabric of Korean society. SK viewed their future success as contingent upon the strength... View Details
Keywords: Impact; Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Social Value; Social Development; Conglomerates; Measurement Of Purpose; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Capital Markets; Innovation; Environmental Impact; Collaboration; Social Enterprise; Social and Collaborative Networks; Social Issues; Measurement and Metrics; Value Creation; Cooperation; Environmental Sustainability; Employment; Accounting; Energy Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Chemical Industry; South Korea
Serafeim, George, Ethan Rouen, and David Freiberg. "SK Group: Social Progress Credits." Harvard Business School Case 120-071, January 2020.
- 2013
- Article
Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose
By: Nien-he Hsieh
Do multinational corporations (MNCs) have a responsibility to address unjust conditions—not simply by refraining from contributing to injustice, but also by actively working to bring about a just state of affairs? This paper examines whether this question can be... View Details
Keywords: Multinational Corporations; Global Justice; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Responsibility; Human Needs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Hsieh, Nien-he. "Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose." Notizie di Politeia 29, no. 111 (2013).
- 2022
- Book
From Strength to Strength: Finding Meaning, Success, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
By: Arthur C. Brooks
Many of us assume that the more successful we are, the less susceptible we become to the sense of professional and social irrelevance that often accompanies aging. But the truth is, the greater our achievements and our attachment to them, the more we notice our... View Details
Keywords: Aging; Meaning In Life; Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Success; Happiness; Satisfaction
Brooks, Arthur C. From Strength to Strength: Finding Meaning, Success, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. New York, NY: Portfolio/Penguin, 2022.
- 25 Sep 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Corporate Purpose and Firm Ownership
- 22 Dec 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Dove: Maintaining a Brand with Purpose
- December 1995 (Revised November 1996)
- Background Note
Corporate Purpose and Responsibility
By: Lynn S. Paine
Presents several conceptions of corporate purpose and responsibility as articulated by a variety of groups and individuals during the period 1970-95. Included are materials from the Business Roundtable, the American Law Institute, the Royal Society of Arts and... View Details
Paine, Lynn S. "Corporate Purpose and Responsibility." Harvard Business School Background Note 396-201, December 1995. (Revised November 1996.)