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    Non-Governmental OrganizationsRemove Non-Governmental Organizations →

    New research on non-governmental organizations from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including how leadership can prioritize among competing accountability demands, how environmental protection groups such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund create value, and brand management issues in nonprofits.
    Page 1 of 10 Results
    • 26 Sep 2019
    • Research & Ideas

    What Can the World’s Largest Refugee Camp Teach Us About the Meaning of Work?

    by Danielle Kost

    Almost 1 million Rohingya refugees are sinking deeper into despair while sitting idle in a camp they can’t easily leave. But the opportunity to work might provide a resource more scarce than cash: hope. Research by Reshmaan N. Hussam.

    • 18 Sep 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    After the Carnival: Key Factors to Enhance Olympic Legacy and Prevent Olympic Sites from Becoming White Elephants

    by Isao Okada and Stephen A. Greyser

    After the Games end, Olympic venues must be used effectively and earn enough revenue to cover large ongoing costs or their owners—local governments and taxpayers—will face deficits. This fieldwork-based research and analysis of stadium use at 10 of the last 12 Summer Olympics sites highlights eight factors for better sustainability.

    • 01 Jul 2016
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica

    by Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora

    Costa Rica has grown as a mecca for ecotourism from the late twentieth century. Although biologists and other students of ecosystems and biodiversity were vital at the start of the process, as were conservation NGOs and the national government, this paper argues that entrepreneurs were also pivotal. While showing the benefits of ecotourism, it is also shown that as the industry scaled, there were increasing challenges of greenwashing.

    • 20 May 2016
    • Op-Ed

    World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics

    by John Quelch

    When it comes to emergency preparedness for pandemics, the World Health Organization is falling short, argues John A. Quelch. A better solution: The World Bank. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 11 Mar 2010
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Many Faces of Nonprofit Accountability

    by Alnoor Ebrahim

    Nonprofit leaders face multiple, and sometimes competing, accountability demands: from numerous actors (upward, downward, internal), for varying purposes (financial, governance, performance, mission), and requiring differing levels of organizational response (compliance and strategic). Yet is it feasible, or even desirable, for nonprofit organizations to be accountable to everyone for everything? The challenge for leadership and management is to prioritize among competing accountability demands. This involves deciding both to whom and for what they owe accountability. HBS professor Alnoor Ebrahim provides an overview of the current debates on nonprofit accountability, while also examining the tradeoffs inherent in a range of accountability mechanisms. Key concepts include: Accountability is not simply about compliance with laws or industry standards, but is more deeply connected to organizational purpose and public trust. Nonprofits will continue to face multiple and competing accountability demands, so they must be deliberate in prioritizing among these demands. A critical challenge is to find a balance between upward accountability to their patrons and remaining true to their missions. Few nonprofits have paid serious attention to how they might be more accountable to the communities they seek to serve. Juggling the many expectations of accountability—for finances, governance, performance, and mission—requires integration and alignment throughout the organization. Numerous mechanisms of accountability are available to nonprofits, such as greater transparency and disclosure, performance assessment, industry self-regulation, and adaptive learning. But leaders must adapt any such mechanisms to suit their organization. The greatest payoffs rest with strategy-driven forms of accountability that can help nonprofits to achieve their missions. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 08 Sep 2008
    • HBS Case

    The Value of Environmental Activists

    by Sarah Jane Gilbert

    With decidedly non-profit goals leading them on, how do environmental protection groups such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund create value? Can it be measured? A Q&A with Harvard Business School professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and case writer Jordan Mitchell. Key concepts include: The challenge for a business student is how to put a quantifiable measure on whether Greenpeace and WWF are successful in reaching goals. WWF and Greenpeace create value by increasing the world's willingness-to-pay on environmental issues. Most scientists agree that the earth is deteriorating at a faster rate than during the 1960s and 1970s, but it would be worse off had it not been for the tireless campaigning of environmental NGOs. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 09 Apr 2007
    • Research & Ideas

    Industry Self-Regulation: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

    by Martha Lagace

    Self-regulation has been all over the news, but are firms that adopt such programs already better on important measures like labor and quality practices? Does adopting a program help companies improve faster? In this Q&A, HBS professor Michael Toffel gives a reality check and discusses the trends for managers. Key concepts include: Many more of these programs are targeted at business customers than at end consumers. Most studies that have examined industry-initiated programs have found that, at the time of adoption, participants are no better than others. The results of government-initiated programs, however, are more ambiguous. Managers increasingly realize that some so-called voluntary programs are actually not very voluntary. In order to really deliver on the promise of these programs, third-party verification will become increasingly important. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 29 Aug 2005
    • Research & Ideas

    How Organizations Create Social Value

    by Manda Salls

    A study of smart practices by social and business organizations in Iberoamerica. Research by HBS professor James Austin, HBS senior researcher Ezequiel A. Reficco, and UNIANDES professor Roberto Gutiérrez. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 13 Mar 2005
    • Research & Ideas

    The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

    by Manda Salls

    Coca-Cola, move over. Many of the world's best-known brands belong to nonprofits, but the brand management issues these organizations face can be quite different. A conversation with professor John A. Quelch and collaborator Nathalie Laidler-Kylander. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 21 Aug 2000
    • Research & Ideas

    From Emerging Economies to the Global Market: The Case of Embraer

    by Martha Lagace

    Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

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