Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact →
- 03 Feb 2018
- Op-Ed
How to Heed BlackRock's Call for Corporate Social Responsibility
BlackRock's Larry Fink is challenging CEOs to serve a social purpose as well as a financial one. Institutional change expert Julie Battilana discusses what it will take to create this "transformation of capitalism." Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Sep 2017
- Research & Ideas
Why Politics is Failing America, and What Business Can Do To Help
How could a country that epitomized the success of modern democracy have fallen into such a state of failure? Michael Porter and Katherine Gehl find a rigged American political system that limits competition and works against the public interest. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Sep 2017
- What Do You Think?
Summing Up: What Are the Limits of CEO Activism?
Do CEOs have a responsibility to speak out when they encounter social injustice? James Heskett's readers offer a variety of viewpoints. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Aug 2017
- Research & Ideas
Should Industry Competitors Cooperate More to Solve World Problems?
George Serafeim has a theory that if industry competitors collaborated more, big world problems could start to be addressed. Is that even possible in a market economy? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Investors as Stewards of the Commons?
This paper lays out a framework suggesting that index investors and adequately funded asset owners are a potential mechanism to build and sustain pre-competitive collaborations for addressing environmental and social issues. With long time horizons and significant common ownership of companies within the same industry or supply chain, investors could serve as vehicles for the establishment and/or stability of collaborations between companies.
- 17 Jul 2017
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: As America Recedes from Global Leadership, Its CEOs are Stepping Up
CEOs and other business leaders are speaking loud and clear on global issues of monumental importance, says Bill George. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 31 May 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Stock Price Synchronicity and Material Sustainability Information
This paper seeks to understand and provide evidence on the characteristics of emerging accounting standards for sustainability information. Given that a large number of institutional investors seek sustainability data and have committed to using it, it is increasingly important to develop a robust accounting infrastructure for the reporting of such information.
- 30 Jan 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Environmental Legacies of The North Face's Doug Tompkins and Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard
The contrasting strategies taken by founders of Patagonia and The North Face provide a new lens on current debates about the ability of business to contribute to environmentalism. This paper suggests that the strategies of both founders bring positive environmental benefits but with trade-offs and limitations. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Sep 2016
- Research & Ideas
Shabana Azmi: Leveraging Bollywood Fame into Social Good
Indian screen star Shabana Azmi talks to Rohit Deshpandé about how she leverages movie fame into social activism. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Aug 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues
Shareholder proposals on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics have more than doubled in the last two decades. Testing the effect that ESG proposals have on firms’ subsequent ESG performance and market valuation, the authors find a considerable portion (42 percent) of ESG proposals to be financially beneficial and associated with subsequent increases in environmental and social performance, too. Managers need to identify significant sustainability issues, based on their industry, wisely because errors could be value-destroying as the authors show declines in financial value for the rest of the sample (58 percent).
- 06 Jul 2016
- What Do You Think?
How Do We Pay for the Costs of Globalization?
SUMMING UP The benefits of globalization outweigh the problems it causes, but James Heskett's readers are far from united on how to the fix human and societal costs. What do YOU think? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Feb 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Executive Compensation and Misconduct: Environmental Harm
To what extent does executive compensation push firms into environmental law-breaking in particular and misconduct in general? This study finds that changing a CEO’s compensation from 100 percent stock to 100 percent options resulted in a 60 percent increased odds of environmental harm and close to a doubling of the magnitude of harm. We find similar results for financial accounting misconduct. A rule change making the higher powered incentives more costly for firms to provide reduced incidences.
- 21 Nov 2015
- HBS Case
HBS Cases: Stella McCartney Combines High Fashion with Environmental Values
Fashion designer Stella McCartney is the subject of a recent case study by Anat Keinan showing that luxury and sustainability need not be mutually exclusive. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Mar 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility
Research by Christopher Marquis shows that a company's degree of social responsibility is affected by a surprising factor—the language it uses to communicate. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Aug 2013
- Research & Ideas
‘Hybrid’ Organizations a Difficult Bet for Entrepreneurs
Hybrid organizations combine the social logic of a nonprofit with the commercial logic of a for-profit business, but are very difficult to finance. So why would anyone want to form one? Julie Battilana and Matthew Lee investigate. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Mar 2013
- Research & Ideas
How CEOs Sustain Higher-Ambition Goals
At a recent conference, executives underscored the importance of employee engagement, contributing to the community, and creating sustainable environment strategies. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Jan 2013
- Research & Ideas
Altruistic Capital: Harnessing Your Employees’ Intrinsic Goodwill
Everyone comes to the table with some amount of "altruistic capital," a stock of intrinsic desire to serve, says professor Nava Ashraf. Her research includes a study of what best motivates hairdressers in Zambia to provide HIV/AIDS education in their salons. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Nov 2012
- Op-Ed
Stop Talking About the Weather and Do Something: Three Ways to Finance Sustainable Cities
How do we ensure that our cities are resilient in the face of inevitable future weather events like Hurricane Sandy? John Macomber offers three ways that the private sector can take action. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Jul 2012
- Research & Ideas
Why Good Deeds Invite Bad Publicity
Many executives assume that investments in corporate social responsibility create public goodwill. But do they? Felix Oberholzer-Gee and colleagues find surprising results when it comes to oil spills. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
Op-Ed: Why BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Is Not a Socialist
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s open letter to CEOs has reignited the “shareholders versus stakeholders” debate. Bill George says it's actually not much of a debate: mission-driven, values-centered companies perform better. Open for comment; 0 Comments.