- 03 Dec 2018
- Research & Ideas
How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts
There is a connection between public sentiment about a company and how the market rewards its corporate social performance, according to George Serafeim. Is your company undervalued? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 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.
- 16 Sep 2015
- Op-Ed
The Real Duty of the Board of Directors
Robert G. Eccles and Tim Youmans argue that a board's primary duty is not to the shareholders, but to the corporation itself. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 23 May 2011
- Op-Ed
Leading and Lagging Countries in Contributing to a Sustainable Society
To determine the extent to which corporate and investor behavior is changing to contribute to a more sustainable society, researchers Robert Eccles and George Serafeim analyzed data involving over 2,000 companies in 23 countries. One result: a ranking of countries based on the degree to which their companies integrate environmental and social discussions and metrics in their financial disclosures. Closed for comment; 11 Comment(s) posted.
- 17 May 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting
The number of firms reporting sustainability information has grown significantly in the past decade, both due to voluntary actions and to mandates from several national governments and stock exchange authorities. In this paper, London Business School's Ioannis Ioannou and Harvard Business School's George Serafeim investigate whether mandatory sustainability reporting has any effect on a company's tendency to engage in socially responsible management practices. Key concepts include: The researchers show that mandatory sustainability reporting effectively promotes socially responsible managerial practices. Overall, supervision of managers by boards of directors improves, bribery and corruption decreases, and credibility of managers in society increases. In companies where sustainability reporting is a requirement, employee training becomes a higher priority, and corporate boards supervise management more effectively. These positive results are more pronounced in countries that have stronger law enforcement, countries where assurance of sustainability data is more frequent, and countries that are generally more developed. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Apr 2010
- Research & Ideas
One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting
Stakeholders expect it. And smart companies are doing it: integrating their reporting of financial and nonfinancial performance in order to improve sustainable strategy. HBS senior lecturer Robert G. Eccles and coauthor Michael P. Krzus explain the benefits and value of the One Report method. Plus: book excerpt from One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy. Key concepts include: Integrating reporting in One Report means to describe, simply and clearly, management's view of the relationships between financial and nonfinancial metrics. Companies like Philips, Novo Nordisk, Natura, and United Technologies are leaders in conducting and communicating integrated reporting. The four key benefits of integrated reporting are: greater clarity about the relationship between financial and nonfinancial key performance indicators; better management decisions; deeper engagement with the broad stakeholder community; and lower reputational risk. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
Updating the Balanced Scorecard for Triple Bottom Line Strategies
Society increasingly expects businesses to help solve problems of environmental degradation, inequality, and poverty. This paper explains how the Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Map should be modified to reflect businesses’ expanded role for society.