Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcast
  • Managing the Future of Work Podcast
  • About Us
  • Book
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Podcasts
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    Filter Results: (29) Arrow Down
    Filter Results: (29) Arrow Down Arrow Up
    • Popular
    • Browse All Articles
    • About Us
    • Newsletter Sign-Up
    • RSS
    • Popular
    • Browse All Articles
    • About Us
    • Newsletter Sign-Up
    • RSS

    Corporate GovernanceRemove Corporate Governance →

    New research on corporate governance from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the structure of board committees, the consequences of mandatory corporate sustainability reporting, and a cure of Enron-style audit failures.
    Page 1 of 29 Results →
    • 17 Jan 2023
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Nestlé’s KitKat Diplomacy: Neutrality vs. Shared Value

    Re: Geoffrey G. Jones

    In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and multinational companies began pulling out of Russia, in response. At Switzerland-based Nestlé, chief executive Mark Schneider had a difficult decision to make. Nestlé had a long tradition of neutrality that enabled it to operate in countries regardless of their political systems and human rights policies. But more recently the company had embraced Michael Porter’s “shared value” paradigm, which argues that companies have a responsibility to improve the business community and the health of their communities. What should Schneider do? Professor Geoffrey Jones discusses the viability of the shared value concept and the social responsibility of transnational corporations today in the case, “Nestlé, Shared Value and Kit Kat Diplomacy.”

    • 04 Oct 2022
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Cold Call: Corporate Governance and Growth Strategy at Capital SAFI

    Re: V.G. Narayanan

    Jorge Quintanilla Nielsen started the independent asset management firm Capital SAFI in 2007. Now a leader in Bolivia’s closed-end funds industry with a total of $430 million in assets under management, Quintanilla planned to expand into other countries, like Peru and Colombia. He knew that governance would be one of the main aspects potential partners would evaluate. Capital SAFI’s board had evolved over time with the establishment of a governance committee, an assessment process for the board, professional development offerings for board members, tools to manage governance risk, and succession plans for board members and company executives. Would local and foreign investors be impressed by those measures or were additional improvements needed? Professor V. G. Narayanan discusses the importance of corporate governance in his case, “Building the Governance to Take Capital SAFI to the Next Level.”

    • 19 Apr 2022
    • Cold Call Podcast

    What Role Do Individual Leaders Play in Corporate Governance?

    Re: Aiyesha Dey

    From 1997 to 2012, Scott Tucker built a nationwide network of payday lending businesses, becoming a pioneer in online lending along the way. Many of his borrowers could not access credit from commercial banks and depended on payday loans as a financial lifeline to cope with emergency expenses. But in 2012 federal prosecutors indicted Tucker on several criminal charges that he violated disclosure requirements. He was later convicted on 14 charges, including racketeering, misleading disclosures, and fraud. Associate Professor Aiyesha Dey discusses how the case, “Scott Tucker: Race to the Top,” examines the role of individual leaders in the corporate governance system, as well as their responsibility for creating a positive corporate culture that embodies ethics, self-restraint, and a commitment to serve. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 04 Apr 2022
    • What Do You Think?

    As Disney Board Chair, What Would You Advise CEO Bob Chapek Regarding 'Don’t Say Gay'?

    by James Heskett

    Disney started the year off strong—until a controversial new law in Florida set off a public firestorm. What guidance should Disney Chairman Susan Arnold provide to Bob Chapek? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 30 Nov 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Short-Termism, Shareholder Payouts, and Investment in the EU

    by Jesse M. Fried and Charles C.Y. Wang

    Shareholder-driven “short-termism,” as evidenced by increasing payouts to shareholders, is said to impede long-term investment in EU public firms. But a deep dive into the data reveals a different story.

    • 13 Nov 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The European Commission’s Sustainable Corporate Governance Report: A Critique

    by Mark Roe, Holger Spamann, Jesse Fried, and Charles Wang

    The European Commission commissioned a report on sustainable corporate governance that purports to find serious problems of corporate short-termism. The report is wholly flawed: it conflates time horizon problems with externality problems, mismeasures investment and its financing, and proposes ineffective, possibly harmful reforms.

    • 13 Nov 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Shareholder Activism and Firms’ Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks

    by Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel, and Kala Viswanathan

    Shareholder resolutions typically fail, and often by a wide margin. So why do active investors bother? It turns out that resolutions nonetheless can influence corporate transparency. Specifically, after being targeted with shareholder resolutions on environmental topics, this research shows that companies are more likely to publicly disclose their climate change risks—and that such disclosure increases these companies’ valuation.

    • 02 Oct 2019
    • What Do You Think?

    What Grade Would You Give Walmart CEO Doug McMillon?

    by James Heskett

    SUMMING UP: James Heskett's readers gave Walmart high marks for its response to gun violence but suggested the company could have been even more proactive. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 20 Aug 2019
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World?

    Re: Rebecca M. Henderson & George Serafeim

    Can inclusivity, sustainability, and better governance boost economies? Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim discuss the impact investing efforts of GPIF, Japan’s government pension fund. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 03 Jan 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    Everyone Knows Innovation is Essential to Business Success—Except Board Directors

    by Michael Blanding

    In a recent survey of 5,000 board members, innovation was not ranked high on their list of priorities. What are they not seeing? ask Boris Groysberg and Yo-Jud Cheng. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 01 Nov 2017
    • What Do You Think?

    What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?

    by James Heskett

    SUMMING UP James Heskett's readers identify key failures in Wells Fargo's culture and leadership. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 31 Oct 2017
    • Op-Ed

    Op-Ed: In Tackling #MeToo, Don’t Ignore Micro-Insults That Harm Women’s Careers

    by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

    The #MeToo movement is giving women power to speak out against sexual harassment, but Rosabeth Moss Kanter worries about less visible, but still harmful, "micro-insults" that undermine careers of women. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 14 Sep 2017
    • Op-Ed

    Op-Ed: Google Engineer Deserved to be Fired by the CEO

    by Bill George

    Was Google CEO Sundar Pichai right to fire engineer James Damore after his condemnation of the company's diversity initiatives? Of course, answers Bill George; treating colleagues as gender stereotypes rather than as individuals poisons the workplace. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 06 Sep 2017
    • What Do You Think?

    Summing Up: What Are the Limits of CEO Activism?

    by James Heskett

    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.

    • 07 Aug 2017
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Governance Through Shame and Aspiration: Index Creation and Corporate Behavior in Japan

    by Akash Chattopadhyay, Matthew D. Shaffer, and Charles C.Y. Wang

    By exploiting the unique features of Japan’s JPX-Nikkei 400 index, this paper examines how membership in a stock index serves as a source of prestige that can motivate managers and influence corporate governance norms. Findings are important for understanding non-pecuniary mechanisms to induce meaningful changes in corporate behavior.

    • 31 May 2017
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Stock Price Synchronicity and Material Sustainability Information

    by Jody Grewal, Clarissa Hauptmann, and George Serafeim

    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.

    • 09 May 2017
    • What Do You Think?

    Should Management Be Primarily Responsible to Shareholders?

    by James Heskett

    SUMMING UP Opinions among James Heskett's readers are divided over a critical corporate governance question: Should management put the shorter-term interests of shareholders over the longer-term needs of the company? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 02 Nov 2016
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Structure of Board Committees

    by Kevin D. Chen and Andy Wu

    Despite the central role of boards in corporate governance, there has been relatively little understanding of their internal organization, specifically the structure of board committees. Using a dataset of over 6,000 firms, the authors find that committee activity, especially the number of committees, has been stable over time. Most of the familiar non-required board committees are rarely used. The majority of directors sit on multiple committees. The benefits and costs of a committee depend on its type. Overall, committees need to be more integrated into our understanding of corporate governance.

    • 01 Aug 2016
    • Research & Ideas

    Retail Execs Underplay Current Performance to Investors--but Why?

    by Dina Gerdeman

    In quarterly earnings calls with investors and analysts, some retail managers may underplay how their companies are actually performing, according to recent research by Kenneth Froot and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 22 Jul 2016
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Who Pays for White-Collar Crime?

    by Paul Healy and George Serafeim

    Punishments of white-collar crime are systematically related to perpetrator, transaction, and company characteristics. This variation is consistent with executives determining appropriate punishments by an economic analysis of costs and benefits. Even so, senior male executives receive lighter punishments than female peers, for example. These and other variations suggest that not all decisions about punishment are taken with shareholders’ interests in mind: The self-interest of host company executives is also an important consideration.

    • 1
    • 2
    • →
    ǁ
    Campus Map
    Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
    Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
    Soldiers Field
    Boston, MA 02163
    Email: Editor-in-Chief
    →Map & Directions
    →More Contact Information
    • Make a Gift
    • Site Map
    • Jobs
    • Harvard University
    • Trademarks
    • Policies
    • Accessibility
    • Digital Accessibility
    Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College