Christopher Marquis
Associate Professor of Business Administration, Marvin Bower Fellow
Chris Marquis is an Associate Professor in the Organizational Behavior unit at the Harvard Business School and is affiliated with the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative and Harvard University Hauser Center for Non-Profit Organizations. He teaches the MBA elective Social Entrepreneurship in the Business Sector and a doctoral course on Organizational Theory. He has previously taught Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LEAD) in the required MBA curriculum, and in a number of executive education programs. Professor Marquis' current research is focused on how business can have a positive impact on society and in particular how historical processes and community relations have shaped firms' and entrepreneurs' social strategies and activities. He is currently pursuing several streams of research. The first seeks to assess how organizations can be designed to maximize both business and social value. Questions that drive his inquires include: How can companies grow in reach and profit, while staying true to a social mission and maintaining their quality of services or products? And, should social entrepreneurs focus their efforts on leading change of the broader system in which they operate, or should they focus on achieving impact within the existing system? The second explores how environmental sustainability initiatives have developed in China. This research investigates questions such as: What are the implications of transitioning to greener technology when government and business are structurally intertwined? These research projects build on Marquis' earlier work that analyzed how firm behavior is shaped by broader contexts such as embeddedness in geographic communities and how environmental conditions during founding periods leave a lasting imprint on organizations. In particular, Marquis' prior research examined the effects of these processes in the contexts of community-based social networks and the evolution of the US banking industry. Marquis' research has won a number of national awards including the 2006 William H. Newman Award for best dissertation across the entire the Academy of Management, the 2006 Louis R. Pondy award for best dissertation in organizational theory from the Academy of Management, the 2003 James D. Thompson Award for best graduate student paper from the American Sociological Association and the 2005 State Farm Doctoral Dissertation Award. He was a finalist for the 2010 Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer Award, a runner-up in the Academy of Management's Best Published Paper in Organization and Management Theory in 2009 and a finalist in the 2004 INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition. He has published in Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Organization Science, and Strategic Management Journal as well as a number of edited collections. He is a member of the editorial boards of Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science and Strategic Organization.
Marquis received a BA in History from Notre Dame, MA in History and MBA in Finance from Pitt, and MA and PhD in Sociology from Michigan. Prior to his academic career, he worked for 6 years in the financial services industry, most recently as Vice President and Technology Manager for a business unit of Bank One Corporation (now J.P. Morgan Chase).
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Article
| Stanford Social Innovation Review
| Forthcoming
The Buy One, Give One Model: A New Model of Social Entrepreneurship
Christopher Marquis and Andrew Park
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Andrew Park. "The Buy One, Give One Model: A New Model of Social Entrepreneurship." Stanford Social Innovation Review (forthcoming).
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Article
| Academy of Management Annals
|
Imprinting: Toward A Multilevel Theory
Christopher Marquis and Andras Tilcsik
The concept of imprinting has attracted considerable interest in numerous fields—including organizational ecology, institutional theory, network analysis, and career research—and has been applied at several levels of analysis, from the industry to the individual. This article offers a critical review of this rich yet disparate literature and guides research toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. We start with a definition that captures the general features of imprinting across levels of analysis but is precise enough to remain distinct from seemingly similar concepts, such as path dependence and cohort effects. We then provide a framework to order and unite the splintered field of imprinting research at different levels of analysis. In doing so, we identify economic, technological, institutional, and individual influences that lead to imprints at the level of (a) organizational collectives, (b) single organizations, (c) organizational building blocks, and (d) individuals. Building on this framework, we develop a general model that points to major avenues for future research and charts new directions toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. This theory provides a distinct lens for organizational research that takes history seriously.
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Article
| Organization Science
| Forthcoming
Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?
Christopher Marquis and Cuili Qian
This study focuses on how and why firms strategically respond to government signals regarding appropriate corporate activity. We integrate institutional theory and research on corporate political strategy to develop a political dependence model that explains (a) how different types of dependency on the government lead firms to issue corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and (b) how the risk of governmental monitoring affects the extent to which CSR reports are symbolic or substantive. First, we examine how firm characteristics reflecting dependence on the government—including private versus state ownership, executives serving on political councils, political legacy, and financial resources—affect the likelihood of firms issuing CSR reports. Second, we focus on the symbolic nature of CSR reporting and how variance in the risk of government monitoring through channels such as bureaucratic embeddedness and local government institutional development influences the extent to which CSR communications are symbolically decoupled from substantive CSR activities. Our database includes all CSR reports issued by the approximately 1,600 publicly listed Chinese firms between 2006 and 2009. Our hypotheses are generally supported. The political perspective we develop contributes to organizational theory by showing (a) the importance of government signaling as a mechanism of political influence, (b) how different types of dependency on the government expose firms to different types of legitimacy pressures, and (c) that firms face a decoupling risk that leads them to be more likely to enact substantive actions in situations where they are likely to be monitored.
Keywords: institutional theory;
political strategy;
Non-market Strategy;
emerging markets;
China;
corporate social responsibility;
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Article
| Administrative Science Quarterly
|
Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities
Andras Tilcsik and Christopher Marquis
Geographic communities have been shown to affect organizations through their enduring features, but less attention has been given to communities as sites of human-made and natural events that occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop a social-normative perspective to unpack how and why major events within communities affect organizations. To test this framework, we examine how different types of mega-events (the Olympics, the Super Bowl, political conventions) and natural disasters (such as floods and hurricanes) affected the philanthropic spending of locally headquartered Fortune 1000 firms between 1980 and 2006. Results show that philanthropic spending fluctuated dramatically as mega-events generally led to a punctuated increase in otherwise relatively stable patterns of giving by local corporations. The impact of natural disasters depended on the severity of damage: while major disasters had a negative effect, smaller-scale disasters had a positive impact. Firms' philanthropic history and communities' inter-corporate network cohesion moderated some of these effects. This study extends institutional and community literatures by illuminating the geographic distribution of punctuating events as a central mechanism for community influences on organizations; sheds new light on the temporal dynamics of both endogenous and exogenous punctuating events; and provides more nuanced understanding of corporate-community relations.
Keywords: geographic communities;
punctuated equilibrium;
corporate social responsibility;
institutional theory;
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Article
| Stanford Social Innovation Review
|
China's Quest to Adopt Electric Vehicles
Christopher Marquis, Hongyu Zhang and Lixuan Zhou
The Chinese government's effort to create an electric vehicle industry is a bold experiment in local and system-level innovation. It also provides a window into understanding the promise and peril of economic development policies, both for China and for the rest of the world.
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Article
| Organization Science
|
Golfing Alone? Corporations, Elites and Nonprofit Growth in 100 American Communities
Christopher Marquis, Gerald F. Davis and Mary Ann Glynn
We examine the link between corporations and community by showing how corporate density interacts with the local social and cultural infrastructure to affect the growth and decline of the number of local nonprofits between 1987 and 2002. We focus on two sub-populations of nonprofits in 100 American cities: elite-oriented cultural and educational institutions and social welfare-oriented organizations. We find that corporate density enhances the growth of both types of nonprofits, as does location in the Northeast U.S. and being a long-established business community, but corporate density is especially potent for the growth of elite-oriented nonprofits--but not social welfare nonprofits--when local networks and cultural norms support elite mobilization. We conclude that despite globalizing trends, the local geographic community continues to be an important unit of analysis for unpacking multi-sector organizational processes among corporations and nonprofits.
Keywords: Business and Community Relations;
Civil Society or Community;
Business Model;
For-Profit Firms;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Profit;
Local Range;
Welfare or Wellbeing;
Business Processes;
Corporate Entrepreneurship;
Trends;
Management Practices and Processes;
United States;
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Article
| Strategic Management Journal
|
Who Is Governing Whom? Executives, Governance, and the Structure of Generosity in Large U.S. Firms
Christopher Marquis and Matthew Lee
We examine how organizational structure influences strategies over which corporate leaders have significant discretion. Corporate philanthropy is our setting to study how a differentiated structural element-the corporate foundation-constrains the influence of individual senior managers and directors on corporate strategy. Our analysis of Fortune 500 firms from 1996 to 2006 shows that leader characteristics at both the senior management and director levels affect corporate philanthropic contributions. We also find that organizational structure constrains the philanthropic influence of board members but not of senior managers, a result that is contrary to what existing theory would predict. We discuss how these findings advance understanding of how organizational structure and corporate leadership interact and of how organizations can more effectively realize the strategic value of corporate social responsibility activities.
Keywords: Organizational Structure;
Corporate Strategy;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Leadership;
Governing and Advisory Boards;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
United States;
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Article
| Harvard Business Review
|
How Much Is Sweat Equity Worth?
Christopher Marquis and Joshua D. Margolis
The article presents a case study of a business decision related to the valuing of sweat equity in a start-up business. One man starts a premium vodka business, bringing in his cousin at an early stage, but with no initial discussion of the eventual split of equity or managerial control between the two. The article offers each man's case for his ownership stake in a narrative style, and then presents various views of how and what they should decide.
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Article
| Social Science Research
|
State Activism and the Hidden Incentives Behind Bank Acquisitions
Christopher Marquis, Doug Guthrie and Juan Almandoz
A number of studies have shown that, as a result of the ambiguity of U.S. legal mandates, organizations have considerable latitude in how they comply with regulations. In this paper, we address how the different agendas of the federal and state governments increase ambiguities in state-firm relations and how states are interested actors in creating opportunities for firms to navigate the federal legislation. We analyze the institutional forces behind bank acquisitions within and across state lines in order to illuminate the ways that U.S. states take advantage of federal ambiguity and are able to shape corporate practices to their benefit. We specifically examine how patterns of bank acquisitions are shaped by the crucial relationship between the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and a little understood provision in the federal tax code that is implemented at the state level, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The relationship is complex because, while the federal government uses the CRA to control bank acquisition activity, states promote use of the LIHTC, through which banks can address federal CRA concerns, and thereby promote bank acquisitions in their jurisdictions. Thus, our findings suggest that the implementation of social legislation at one level in a federal regulatory system undermines the mechanisms of social legislation at another level. We use archival research and in-depth interviews to examine the interaction between these institutional processes and formulate hypotheses that predict the ways in which bank acquisitions are constrained by banks' CRA ratings and the way states in turn help banks overcome their CRA constraints. Quantitative analyses of all bank acquisitions in the U.S. from 1990 to 2000 largely support these hypotheses.
Keywords: Organizations;
Opportunities;
Government Legislation;
Acquisition;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Banks and Banking;
Motivation and Incentives;
Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;
Management Practices and Processes;
Research;
United States;
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Article
| California Management Review
|
Regulatory Uncertainty and Corporate Responses to Environmental Protection in China
Christopher Marquis, Jianjun Zhang and Yanhua Zhou
We develop a framework to analyze the closing gap between regulation and enforcement of environmental protection in China and present a number of resulting implications for doing business there. We identify three major dimensions that characterize change in regulatory systems generally: priorities and incentives, bureaucratic alignment, and transparency and monitoring. Using these dimensions, we first unpack the mechanisms that characterized China's prior period, during which enforcement of environmental protection was decoupled from regulation. These mechanisms include (a) the intense emphasis on economic growth leading to misaligned incentives and regulatory competition across regions, (b) fragmented bureaucratic organization, and (c) lack of transparency and monitoring, all of which undermined enforcement. Then we show how, in each of these dimensions, regulation and enforcement are becoming realigned or recoupled over time. We show how this results from (a) a change in national development strategy to focus more on sustainable development and a harmonious society, (b) reorganization of the bureaucracy, and (c) an increase in monitoring by both the government and the general public. Correspondingly, we advance managerial implications that stem from these recent changes, illustrated by recent MNC and Chinese domestic firm successes. To address changes in policies and incentives, firms should align with governmental signals and embrace environmental innovation. Regarding bureaucratic alignment, firms should avoid regulatory shopping and integrate local and global standards. Finally, to address transparency and monitoring issues, firms should be transparent and compete on reputation. We conclude with a more general discussion of the contributions of our framework to understanding managerial practice in emerging-market regulatory contexts.
Keywords: Framework;
Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;
Law Enforcement;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Emerging Markets;
Business Ventures;
Alignment;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Natural Environment;
Motivation and Incentives;
Management Practices and Processes;
Competitive Strategy;
China;
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Article
| Academy of Management Journal
|
Acquisitions as Exaptation: The Legacy of Founding Institutions in the U.S. Commercial Banking Industry
Christopher Marquis and Zhi Huang
This study focuses on the imprinting of institutional environments, particularly how founding institutions impact intra-organizational capabilities and how such imprints may have different external manifestations in subsequent historical eras. We introduce the concept of exaptation to organizational theory, identifying an important process whereby the historical origin of a capability differs from its current usefulness. Three founding conditions-branching policy, modernization, and political culture-influenced banks' development of capabilities to manage dispersed branches, and these capabilities subsequently led to variation in banks' propensity to engage in acquisitions. Results highlight that founding institutions have a persistent, and sometimes unexpected, impact on organizations' strategies.
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions;
Commercial Banking;
Organizations;
Theory;
Policy;
Government and Politics;
Management Practices and Processes;
Strategy;
Competency and Skills;
United States;
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Article
| Research in Organizational Behavior
|
Acting Globally but Thinking Locally? The Enduring Influence of Local Communities on Organizations
Christopher Marquis and Julie Battilana
We develop an institutionally oriented theory of how and why local communities continue to matter for organizations in a global age. Since globalization has taken center stage in both practitioner and academic circles, research has shifted away from understanding effects of local factors. Our approach runs counter to the idea that globalization is a homogeneity-producing process, and to the view that society is moving from particularism to universalism. We argue that with globalization, not only has the local remained important, but in many ways local particularities have become more visible and salient. We unpack the market, regulative, social, and cultural mechanisms that result in this enduring community influence while reviewing classic and contemporary research from organizational theory, sociology, and economics that have focused on geographic influences on organizations. In this paper, our aim is to redirect theoretical and empirical attention back to understanding the determinants and importance of local influences. We suggest that because organizations are simultaneously embedded in geographic communities and organizational fields, by accounting for both of these areas, researchers will better understand isomorphism and change dynamics.
Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management;
Business and Community Relations;
Local Range;
Civil Society or Community;
Power and Influence;
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Article
| Academy of Management Journal
|
The Contingent Nature of Public Policy and the Growth of U.S. Commercial Banking
Christopher Marquis and Zhi Huang
That public policy affects organizational behaviors is well accepted, but less explored is how these effects may depend on other external environmental factors. We investigate how policy is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to understand the growth of commercial banking in the United States, 1896-1978. We highlight a trade-off for banks between centralized and dispersed growth strategies and show that which strategy prevails depends on how policy enabling branching interacts with technological, economic, and cultural environments. Our findings contribute to understanding the contingent effects of policy on organizations and on the growth of large corporations in the twentieth century.
Keywords: Policy;
Organizational Culture;
Strategy;
Commercial Banking;
Growth and Development Strategy;
United States;
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Article
| Academy of Management Journal
|
Vive La Resistance: Competing Logics and the Consolidation of U.S. Community Banking
Christopher Marquis and Michael Lounsbury
Keywords: Banks and Banking;
Competition;
Consolidation;
Banking Industry;
United States;
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Article
| Academy of Management Review
|
Community Isomorphism and Corporate Social Action
Christopher Marquis, Mary Ann Glynn and Gerald F. Davis
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Civil Society or Community;
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Journal Article
| Journal of Management Inquiry
|
Diagnosing and Dissolving Our 'Translation Gap'
Rakesh Khurana and Christopher Marquis
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Article
| Social Networks
|
Egocentric, Sociocentric, or Dyadic? Identifying the Appropriate Level of Analysis in the Study of Organizational Networks
Mark S. Mizruchi and Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Groups and Teams;
Theory;
Organizations;
Networks;
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Article
| Journal of Management Inquiry
|
Understanding Mechanisms in Organizational Research
Peter J. Anderson, Ruth Blatt, Marlys K. Christianson, Adam M. Grant, Christopher Marquis, Eric J. Newman, Scott Sonenshein and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe
Keywords: Organizations;
Research;
Citation: Anderson, Peter J., Ruth Blatt, Marlys K. Christianson, Adam M. Grant, Christopher Marquis, Eric J. Newman, Scott Sonenshein, and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe. " Understanding Mechanisms in Organizational Research." Journal of Management Inquiry 15, no. 2 (June 2006): 102–113.
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Article
| American Sociological Review
|
The Conditional Nature of Embeddedness: Borrowing by Large U.S. Firms, 1973-1994
Mark S. Mizruchi, Linda Brewster Stearns and Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Borrowing and Debt;
Business History;
United States;
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Article
| Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings
|
Historical Environments, Coordination and Consolidation in the U.S. Banking Industry, 1896-2001
Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Banks and Banking;
Business History;
Banking Industry;
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Article
| Organization Science
|
Prospects for Organizational Theory in the Early 21st Century: Institutional Fields and Mechanisms
Gerald F. Davis and Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Theory;
Organizations;
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Book Review
| Administrative Science Quarterly
|
Review of Nonprofit Trusteeship in Different Contexts by Rikki Abzug and Jeffrey S. Simonoff
Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Law;
Nonprofit Organizations;
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Article
| Administrative Science Quarterly
|
The Pressure of the Past: Network Imprinting in Intercorporate Communities
Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Business Ventures;
Groups and Teams;
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Introduction
| Communities and Organizations
| 2011
Community as an Institutional Order and a Type of Organizing
Christopher Marquis, Michael Lounsbury and Royston Greenwood
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Michael Lounsbury, and Royston Greenwood. "Community as an Institutional Order and a Type of Organizing." Introduction to Communities and Organizations. Vol. 33, edited by Christopher Marquis, Michael Lounsbury, and Royston Greenwood.Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 2011.
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Chapter
| Communities and Organizations
| 2011
Explaining the Loss of Community: Competing Logics and Institutional Change in the U.S. Banking Industry
Christopher Marquis, Zhi Huang and Juan Almandoz
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Zhi Huang, and Juan Almandoz. "Explaining the Loss of Community: Competing Logics and Institutional Change in the U.S. Banking Industry." In Communities and Organizations. Vol. 33, edited by Christopher Marquis, Michael Lounsbury, and Royston Greenwood.Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 2011.
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Chapter
| Artifacts and Organizations
| 2006
How Institutional Norms and Individual Preferences Legitimate Organizational Names
Mary Ann Glynn and Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Organizational Culture;
Personal Characteristics;
Perspective;
Attitudes;
Prejudice and Bias;
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Dictionary Entry
| International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology
| 2006
Banks
Christopher Marquis and Mark Mizruchi
Keywords: Banks and Banking;
Banking Industry;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Mark Mizruchi. " Banks." In International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology, edited by Jens Beckert, and Milan Zafirovski, 20–22. London: Routledge, 2006.
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Chapter
| International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology
| 2006
Interlocking Directorates
Mark Mizruchi and Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Business Organization;
Organizational Structure;
Governing and Advisory Boards;
Citation: Mizruchi, Mark, and Christopher Marquis. " Interlocking Directorates." In International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology, edited by Jens Beckert, and Milan Zafirovski, 375–377. London: Routledge, 2006.
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Chapter
| Economic Sociology of Capitalism
| 2004
The Globalization of Stock Markets and Convergence in Corporate Governance
Gerald F. Davis and Christopher Marquis
Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries;
Financial Markets;
Corporate Governance;
Financial Services Industry;
Information Technology Industry;
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Chapter
| Legitimacy Processes in Organizations
| 2004
When Good Names Go Bad: Organizational Illegitimacy, and the Dotcom Collapse
Mary Ann Glynn and Christopher Marquis
Keywords: History;
Business Ventures;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Online Technology;
Ethics;
Reputation;
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Working Paper
| HBS Working Paper Series
| 2013
Imprinting: Toward A Multilevel Theory
Christopher Marquis and Andras Tilcsik
The concept of imprinting has attracted considerable interest in numerous fields—including organizational ecology, institutional theory, network analysis, and career research—and has been applied at several levels of analysis, from the industry to the individual. This article offers a critical review of this rich yet disparate literature and guides research toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. We start with a definition that captures the general features of imprinting across levels of analysis but is precise enough to remain distinct from seemingly similar concepts, such as path dependence and cohort effects. We then provide a framework to order and unite the splintered field of imprinting research at different levels of analysis. In doing so, we identify economic, technological, institutional, and individual influences that lead to imprints at the level of (a) organizational collectives, (b) single organizations, (c) organizational building blocks, and (d) individuals. Building on this framework, we develop a general model that points to major avenues for future research and charts new directions toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. This theory provides a distinct lens for organizational research that takes history seriously.
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Andras Tilcsik. " Imprinting: Toward A Multilevel Theory." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13–061, January 2013. (Forthcoming in Academy of Management Annals.)
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Working Paper
| HBS Working Paper Series
| 2013
Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities
Andras Tilcsik and Christopher Marquis
This article focuses on geographic communities as fields in which human-made and natural events occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop an institutional perspective to unpack how and why major events within communities affect organizations in the context of corporate philanthropy. To test this framework, we examine how different types of mega-events (the Olympics, the Super Bowl, political conventions) and natural disasters (such as floods and hurricanes) affected the philanthropic spending of locally headquartered Fortune 1000 firms between 1980 and 2006. Results show that philanthropic spending fluctuated dramatically as mega-events generally led to a punctuated increase in otherwise relatively stable patterns of giving by local corporations. The impact of natural disasters depended on the severity of damage: while major disasters had a negative effect, smaller-scale disasters had a positive impact. Firms' philanthropic history and communities' intercorporate network cohesion moderated some of these effects. This study extends the institutional and community literatures by illuminating the geographic distribution of punctuating events as a central mechanism for community influences on organizations, shedding new light on the temporal dynamics of both endogenous and exogenous punctuating events and providing a more nuanced understanding of corporate-community relations.
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Working Paper
| HBS Working Paper Series
| 2012
When Do Firms Greenwash? Corporate Visibility, Civil Society Scrutiny, and Environmental Disclosure
Christopher Marquis and Michael W. Toffel
Under increased pressure to report environmental impacts, some firms selectively disclose relatively benign impacts, creating an impression of transparency while masking their true performance. What deters selective disclosure and leads firms to instead make disclosures more representative of their environmental performance? We hypothesize that selective disclosure, a novel symbolic strategy firms use to manage stakeholder perceptions, is mitigated by two forms of organizational visibility. Firms with greater domain-specific visibility have specific characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to stakeholder criticism and as a result are less prone to selective disclosure. In contrast, more generically visible firms are deterred from selectively disclosing only when they are subjected to civil society scrutiny. We test our hypotheses using a novel panel dataset of 4,484 public companies in many industries, headquartered in 38 countries, during 2005–2008, when environmental disclosure increased among global corporations. We find that domain-specific visibility mitigates selective disclosure, that it mitigates selective disclosure more so than generic visibility, and that generic visibility mitigates selective disclosure only in the presence of civil society scrutiny. This research contributes to understanding how corporations manage the symbolic use of information and how corporate behavior is influenced by civil society scrutiny embedded in institutional processes.
Keywords: disclosure strategy;
disclosure;
environmental performance;
environmental strategy;
environment;
symbolic;
reporting;
Integrated Corporate Reporting;
Globalization;
Corporate Accountability;
Corporate Disclosure;
Governance Compliance;
Management Practices and Processes;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Business and Government Relations;
Environmental Sustainability;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2013
New Resource Bank: In Pursuit of Green (TN)
Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz
This case involves the founding and early life of a new bank enterprise in San Francisco with a commitment to the cause of sustainability. It illustrates the opportunities and challenges of banking on values and of specifying and making explicit the practical implications of such commitment.
Keywords: business and society;
entrepreneurial management;
growth strategy;
leadership;
social enterprise;
Banking Industry;
San Francisco;
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Course Overview Note
|
2013
Creating Shared Value: Entrepreneurial and Corporate Models for a Changing Economy
Christopher Marquis
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
Building a Community at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
Christopher Marquis, Zucheng Zhou, Mo Chen and Heng Fan
Over the past decade, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) had developed a unique set of benefits and cultural amenities for its employees, including a beautiful residential campus, known as the Living Quarters (LQ), and an award winning international school from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade that by 2012 enrolled over 2,000 students. These amenities allowed the company to attract and retain high-quality employees at modest pay; however, the company had recently experienced some financial difficulties, a shrinking number of new available living spaces, and questions about how relevant it was for a semiconductor firm to be operating a school. Thus, these benefits now presented significant dilemmas for the SMIC management team, including how the company can justify the costs of these benefits to investors in the face of the company's other financial challenges.
Keywords: Culture and Community;
Semiconductor Industry;
Shanghai;
China;
Beijing;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2013
First Green Bank: Bringing Bloom to Desert Landscapes
Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz
First Green Bank is a bank start-up in the midst of the financial crisis which aims to promote sustainability while making money as a bank. The case presents an ethical dilemma as it considers a loan to an arms manufacturer.
Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship;
Financial Crisis;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Business and Community Relations;
Environmental Sustainability;
Ethics;
Banking Industry;
United States;
Florida;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Juan Almandoz. "First Green Bank: Bringing Bloom to Desert Landscapes." Harvard Business School Case 413-073, March 2013.
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2012 version)
Warby Parker: Vision of a 'Good' Fashion Brand
Christopher Marquis and Laura Velez Villa
In its third year of existence and poised to double its workforce, Warby Parker attributed its success to an innovative approach in the eyewear industry and to the company culture that supported it. With a mission combining social and business goals, the company had articulated a stakeholder-centric model that benefited consumers through high-quality, fashionable, and affordable eyewear: the global community by donating, through sustainable channels, one pair of glasses per every pair sold; employees through a fun culture and inspiring work; and the environment, by becoming carbon neutral. The case covers the decisions that Warby Parker must make at the beginning of its third year of existence as a consequence of growth and in order to avoid losing momentum. Some of the challenges that Warby Parker faced were maintaining the company culture, finding adequate partners to preserve the quality of the "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" program, and devising an integrated online and offline marketing strategy that fit the brand personality.
Keywords: entrepreneurship;
innovation;
business and society;
social responsiblity;
organizational behavior;
Social Entrepreneurship;
Growth Management;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Brands and Branding;
Organizational Culture;
Marketing Strategy;
Innovation and Invention;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Health Industry;
United States;
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Course Overview Note
|
2012
Managing Stakeholders with Corporate Social Responsibility
Christopher Marquis and Laura Velez Villa
This note articulates the ways in which strong stakeholder-company relationships developed through corporate social responsibility initiatives and other types of social strategies deliver bottom line benefits. The analysis follows stakeholder logic models connecting the impact of CSR initiatives on a stakeholder group (employees, customers, investors, government, the community, and suppliers) and its effect on company revenues, costs, and market value.
Keywords: business and society;
social responsibility;
stakeholder management;
government and business;
philanthropy;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Revenue;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Driving Sustainability at Bloomberg L.P. (TN)
Christopher Marquis, Daniel Buenza, Fabrizio Ferraro and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for 411025.
Keywords: Performance;
Employees;
Innovation and Invention;
Environmental Sustainability;
Social Issues;
Governance;
Financial Services Industry;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Daniel Buenza, Fabrizio Ferraro, and Bobbi Thomason. " Driving Sustainability at Bloomberg L.P. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 411-068, May 2012. (Revised from original November 2010 version.)
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2009 version)
PNC Financial: Grow Up Great (A)
Christopher Marquis, V. Kasturi Rangan and Alison Comings
In 2003, PNC Financial focused its corporate citizenship and philanthropic resources on a ten-year, $100 million investment in early childhood education called PNC Grow Up Great. The case tracks the origination of Grow Up Great, how it was developed and implemented within PNC, and some of the key challenges and successes of the program during its first 5 years of operation. Key elements of the case are the process by which PNC decided to focus on Grow Up Great as its signature program, and how the program was designed to provide extensive volunteering opportunities for employees. The case also explores how PNC leadership has engaged in extensive advocacy on the issue of early childhood education. The branding and marketing issues associated with Grow Up Great and how it fits in PNC's organizational structure are also highlighted in the case.
Keywords: Early Childhood Education;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Leadership;
Brands and Branding;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Organizational Structure;
Business and Community Relations;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, V. Kasturi Rangan, and Alison Comings. " PNC Financial: Grow Up Great (A)." Harvard Business School Case 409-108, March 2012. (Revised from original March 2009 version.)
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Teaching Note
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2012
(Revised from original 2010 version)
PNC Financial: Grow Up Great (TN) (A) and (B)
Christopher Marquis, V. Kasturi Rangan and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for [409108].
Keywords: Investment;
Problems and Challenges;
Opportunities;
Leadership;
Early Childhood Education;
Brands and Branding;
Organizational Structure;
Success;
Financial Services Industry;
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Supplement
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2012
PNC Financial: Grow Up Great (B)
Christopher Marquis, William Drewery, Bradley Crane and Laura Velez Villa
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, William Drewery, Bradley Crane, and Laura Velez Villa. " PNC Financial: Grow Up Great (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 412-119, March 2012.
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Case
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2012
(Revised from original 2012 version)
China Greentech Initiative (CGTI)
Christopher Marquis, Laura Velez Villa and Lynn Yin
Keywords: China;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Laura Velez Villa, and Lynn Yin. " China Greentech Initiative (CGTI)." Harvard Business School Case 412-105, February 2012. (Revised from original January 2012 version.)
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Case
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2012
(Revised from original 2011 version)
New Resource Bank: In Pursuit of Green
Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz
New Resource Bank was founded in San Francisco in 2006 with a mission focused on environmental sustainability. The case illustrates the opportunities and challenges of banking on values and the challenges of organizations defining a social and environmental commitment. The case also highlights the tension and potential synergies between social mission and shareholder value in the context of the crisis of 2008, the taken-for-granted expectations and norms arising from a commercial bank charter, and the distinct perspectives of bank regulators, founders, investors, and other stakeholders of the newly founded bank.
Keywords: Motivation and Incentives;
Corporate Entrepreneurship;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Strategy;
Business and Government Relations;
Banking Industry;
San Francisco;
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Case
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2012
(Revised from original 2011 version)
Chairman Zhang and Broad Group: Growth Dilemmas
Christopher Marquis, Nancy Hua Dai and Lynn Yin
Zhang Yue, founder and chairman of Broad Group, had developed a series of innovative products aimed at solving China's environmental problems. Broad Group's products, services, and management were guided by values that prioritized morals, responsibility, environmental protection, and energy conservation over company growth and profit. Zhang's current focus was Broad Sustainable Building (BSB), a unique prefabricated building technology that was significantly more environmentally friendly than traditional building methods, as well as much less expensive. In order to obtain the capital and talent that BSB's development required, Zhang realized he may need to publicly list the company, despite publicly saying he never would do so. Would scaling the new businesses result in compromises to the mission and values that guided the company? If so, was the overall environmental impact from the new building technology worth the cost?
Keywords: Growth and Development;
Strategy;
Environmental Sustainability;
China;
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Case
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2011
COSCO: Implementing Sustainability
Christopher Marquis, Lynn Yin and Dongning Yang
Keywords: Retail Industry;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2011
(Revised from original 2011 version)
Social Innovation at salesforce.com
Christopher Marquis, Marley C. Kornreich and Bobbi Thomason
Salesforce.com recently implemented an innovative social enterprise business model whereby the Salesforce.com Foundation funds its operations and grant budget by selling discounted salesforce.com software licenses to nonprofits and education clients. The case recounts the development and initial stages of this project and the tradeoffs inherent in mixing social and business goals. Furthermore, as background the case also provides detail on Salesforce's 1-1-1 business model, whereby the company contributes one percent of product, one percent of equity, and one percent of employee hours back to the communities it serves.
Keywords: Innovation and Invention;
Corporate Entrepreneurship;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Business Model;
Information Technology;
Leading Change;
Problems and Challenges;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Marley C. Kornreich, and Bobbi Thomason. " Social Innovation at salesforce.com." Harvard Business School Case 412-049, October 2011. (Revised from original August 2011 version.)
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Case
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2011
(Revised from original 2009 version)
VeeV on the Rocks?
Joshua D. Margolis, Christopher Marquis and Laura Winig
Three pressing challenges (equity split, extent of commitment to social responsibility, and product discoloration) confront VeeV, the world's first alcoholic beverage infused with acai berries. Brothers Courtney and Carter Reum founded VeeV in 2007 and the firm has experienced rapid growth since then. The case documents the backgrounds of the young founders, details the launch and early phase of the company, and presents three challenges the founders must address: how to split the equity of the new company, how far to go in their efforts to be a "green" and socially responsible brand, and an unexpected potential product quality issue.
Keywords: Quality;
Food;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Ethics;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Entrepreneurship;
Business Startups;
Equity;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Citation: Margolis, Joshua D., Christopher Marquis, and Laura Winig. " VeeV on the Rocks?" Harvard Business School Case 410-006, October 2011. (Revised from original July 2009 version.)
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Case
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2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
The Dannon Company: Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (A)
Christopher Marquis, Pooja Mehta Shah, Amanda Elizabeth Tolleson and Bobbi Thomason
At the end of 2009, The Dannon Company was considering pro actively communicating its CSR efforts to consumers. With the strong connection between Dannon's production of health foods and its commitment to health and nutrition-based CSR activities, communicating these activities to consumers could enhance the company's success, but risked tainting its deeply ingrained CSR as a marketing ploy. Dannon wanted to maintain its holistic approach to social responsibility and commitment to social values. Dannon's CSR focused on three areas: Nutrition and Health, People and Nature. The case follows the perspectives of various stakeholders within the organization, including members of the Marketing, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs departments. Some of the specific questions examined are: Should we communicate Dannon's CSR activities? What would be the best means to do so? Should it be a corporate or brand level campaign? How would the parent company, Danone, respond? Can CSR remain sincere when being leveraged for PR purposes?
Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions;
Nutrition;
Marketing Communications;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Natural Environment;
Food and Beverage Industry;
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Case
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2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Driving Sustainability at Bloomberg L.P.
Christopher Marquis, Daniel Beunza, Fabrizio Ferraro and Bobbi Thomason
Describes the addition of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance indicators to the Bloomberg terminal. The initiative grew out of Bloomberg's broader sustainability initiatives and is an example of how committed employees can create positive social change within organizations. Issues highlighted in the case for discussion include the following: How can committed employees implement an innovative sustainability initiative within a large corporation? How can ESG data be more strategic for both Bloomberg and investors? And finally, how should the ESG data industry be structured, and what impact does ESG data have on the future institutionalization of sustainability?
Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship;
Knowledge Dissemination;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Organizational Culture;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Environmental Sustainability;
Publishing Industry;
New York (city, NY);
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Daniel Beunza, Fabrizio Ferraro, and Bobbi Thomason. " Driving Sustainability at Bloomberg L.P." Harvard Business School Case 411-025, September 2011. (Revised from original August 2010 version.)
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Case
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2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
B Lab: Building a New Sector of the Economy
Christopher Marquis, Andrew David Klaber and Bobbi Thomason
The founders of B Lab are on a mission to create a new sector of the economy and are specifically focused on a three objectives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations (B=Benefit) that legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of diverse stakeholder interests; 2) advancing the public policies necessary to create a new corporate form called a Benefit Corporation; and 3) creating an investment rating system to help drive institutional investment to the emerging asset class of "impact investments." The case considers the challenges associated with achieving each of these objectives, let alone all three at the same time. Is B Lab's tripartite strategy its secret sauce or its albatross?
Keywords: Economic Sectors;
Social Entrepreneurship;
Investment;
Policy;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Business and Government Relations;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Social Enterprise;
Value Creation;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Andrew David Klaber, and Bobbi Thomason. " B Lab: Building a New Sector of the Economy." Harvard Business School Case 411-047, September 2011. (Revised from original September 2010 version.)
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Supplement
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2011
(Revised from original 2011 version)
The Dannon Company: Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (B)
Christopher Marquis and Bobbi Thomason
Details Dannon's decision to initiate a cause marketing program focused on breast cancer to directly compete with Yoplait.
Keywords: Marketing;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Food and Beverage Industry;
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Case
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2011
(Revised from original 2011 version)
Global Business School Network
Christopher Marquis and Rwitwika Bhattacharya
The mission of the Global Business School Network (GBSN) is to strengthen business education for the developing world. The organization was transitioning out of its startup phase and wants to shift its focus from capacity building activities driven by the organization to empowering the network to carry out GBSN's mission. The case asks, what is the best way to accomplish this objective?
Keywords: Mission and Purpose;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Strategy;
Business Education;
Development Economics;
Globalization;
Global Strategy;
Education Industry;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Rwitwika Bhattacharya. " Global Business School Network." Harvard Business School Case 412-044, September 2011. (Revised from original August 2011 version.)
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Teaching Note
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2011
The Dannon Company: Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (TN) (A) and (B)
Christopher Marquis
Teaching Note for 410-121 and 412-047.
Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry;
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Case
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2011
(Revised from original 2011 version)
sweetriot 2.0
Christopher Marquis, Donna Khalife and Bobbi Thomason
In the fall of 2010, Sarah Endline, CEO and Founder of sweetriot, an organic chocolate company, was deciding the best way to grow her organic chocolate company, while keeping her chocolate physically and conceptually on the shelf. She wanted to grow the offerings and profits of her company, while maintaining its social mission and unique flair. The case tracks the origins of sweetriot from Sarah's formative early career experiences, to the company's launch and beyond as Sarah prepares future products, establishes production channels, and seeks future funding. Sarah was not content to just be a small New York City candy company. Her goal was for sweetriot to be the number one natural chocolate company in the world and to thus be a vehicle to drive change globally. How can she meet that objective while also keeping the company true to its social roots?
Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship;
Profit;
Business Strategy;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Social Enterprise;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Experience and Expertise;
Economic Growth;
Organizational Culture;
Mission and Purpose;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Food and Beverage Industry;
New York (state, US);
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Donna Khalife, and Bobbi Thomason. " sweetriot 2.0." Harvard Business School Case 412-007, August 2011. (Revised from original June 2011 version.)
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Case
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2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
China Environment Fund: Doing Well by Doing Good
Christopher Marquis and Nancy Dai
In early 2010, cleantech investment pioneer Tsing Capital was planning for the China Environment Fund IV and considering how to maintain its commitment to social and environmental practices. Tsing Capital embraced its philosophy of "Doing Well by Doing Good" and developed a proprietary system to manage social & environmental functions throughout the investment process. Some of the specific questions examined in the case are: with a more diversified investor base, how could the firm balance the different expectations of investors and continue to achieve "Doing Well by Doing Good"? Despite the increasing importance of social & environmental practices, they also had a cost for the firm and its portfolio companies. How could the firm most effectively motivate its portfolio companies to actively integrate social & environmental practices with their strategies?
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Business Strategy;
Balance and Stability;
Environmental Sustainability;
Weather and Climate Change;
Energy Conservation;
Business Organization;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Venture Capital;
Financial Services Industry;
China;
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Teaching Note
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2011
State Grid: Corporate Social Responsibility (TN)
Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings
Teaching Note for 410141.
Keywords: Utilities Industry;
China;
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Teaching Note
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2011
China Environment Fund: Doing Well by Doing Good (TN)
Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings
Teaching Note for 410142.
Keywords: Financial Services Industry;
China;
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Teaching Note
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2010
VeeV on the Rocks? (TN)
Christopher Marquis, Joshua D. Margolis and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for 410006.
Keywords: Quality;
Ownership Stake;
Growth and Development;
Problems and Challenges;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Brands and Branding;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, Joshua D. Margolis, and Bobbi Thomason. " VeeV on the Rocks? (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 411-076, December 2010.
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Case
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2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Western Union: Our World, Our Family®
Christopher Marquis
In 2006, Western Union spun-off from its former parent, First Data Corporation, and began the process of defining itself as a stand-alone organization. Part of that effort was the creation of a strategic corporate social responsibility program called Our World, Our Family. The case tracks Western Union's earlier CSR initiatives and how they resulted in the creation Our World, Our Family. Key elements of the case focus on understanding the Western Union business model focused on financial remittances, and how its corporate citizenship efforts bring value to the company by satisfying the diverse needs of Western Union's stakeholders.
Keywords: Business Model;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Programs;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Alignment;
Value;
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Teaching Note
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2013
(Revised from original 2010 version)
B Lab: Building a New Sector of the Economy (TN)
Christopher Marquis and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for 411047.
Keywords: Change;
Problems and Challenges;
Welfare or Wellbeing;
Value;
Emerging Markets;
Management Practices and Processes;
Balance and Stability;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
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Teaching Note
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2010
Whole Foods: Balancing Social Mission and Growth (TN)
Christopher Marquis and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for 410023.
Keywords: Food;
Growth and Development;
Mergers and Acquisitions;
Mission and Purpose;
Supply Chain;
Business Model;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Integration;
Management Practices and Processes;
Labor Unions;
Food and Beverage Industry;
United States;
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Case
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2010
(Revised from original 2010 version)
State Grid: Corporate Social Responsibility
Christopher Marquis, Nancy Dai, Dongning Yang and Hong Wu
In October 2009, State Grid, the largest utility company in the world, and a pioneer and leader in CSR practices in China, was planning its 2009 CSR Report and long-term CSR implementation. Some of the specific challenges faced at the time include: How could the company balance the different stakeholder expectations and respond to their concerns in a clear and concise way? To what extent should the company reference international standards in its CSR reporting? How could it change the mindsets of 1.5 million employees across diverse geographies to help them abide by CSR principles and management policies on a daily basis? Finally, how could State Grid improve its stakeholder management to establish mutual trust with stakeholders so that they would see State Grid as a responsible company?
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Management Systems;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Corporate Accountability;
Behavior;
Change Management;
Global Range;
Employees;
Utilities Industry;
China;
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Case
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2010
Mekong Capital: Building a Culture of Leadership in Vietnam
Christopher Marquis, Vinay Ganti, Kevin Smith and Doug Guthrie
Mekong Capital, a private equity firm specializing in investing in Vietnam, had grown dramatically since its inception in 2002 and faced numerous organizational issues in 2007. There was a shortage of qualified middle managers, an overall lack of leadership, and a culture of making excuses for performance shortfalls. These issues not only plagued Mekong, but also the portfolio companies that they took positions in. The case recounts how the founder and managing partner of Mekong undertook a process to profoundly change the culture, leadership, and accountability within the company to try to transform it so that its people would align and come together as a team, holding themselves responsible to deliver results and committed to the long-term future.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship;
Leading Change;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Organizational Culture;
Performance Improvement;
Groups and Teams;
Alignment;
Financial Services Industry;
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Course Overview Note
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2010
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement
Christopher Marquis, Bobbi Thomason and Jennifer Tydlaska
Analyzes the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and employee engagement, including CSR effects on employee commitment and motivation, new skills and training, and motivation. Also discusses best practices in employee engagement through CSR.
Keywords: Competency and Skills;
Training;
Employees;
Retention;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Organizational Culture;
Practice;
Motivation and Incentives;
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Case
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2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
IBM: The Corporate Service Corps
Christopher Marquis and Rosabeth M. Kanter
Describes the conception, development, and implementation of the Corporate Services Corps (CSC), an international community service assignment for high-potential IBM employees. The year 2008 was the pilot year of the CSC program, and 100 of IBM's best global employees were deployed to work for local partners, frequently non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in locations such as Ghana, Tanzania, Romania, Philippines, and Vietnam. The case provides data for students to assess the first year of operation and recommend what changes IBM should make to the program moving forward. Also considered is how the CSC fits into IBM's broader corporate citizenship portfolio and IBM's globalization strategy.
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies;
Global Strategy;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Mission and Purpose;
Organizational Structure;
Partners and Partnerships;
Non-Governmental Organizations;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Rosabeth M. Kanter. " IBM: The Corporate Service Corps." Harvard Business School Case 409-106, July 2010. (Revised from original March 2009 version.)
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Case
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2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Goldman Sachs: The 10,000 Women Initiative
Christopher Marquis, V. Kasturi Rangan and Cathy Ross
Describes the conception, development, and implementation of Goldman Sachs' five-year, $100 million philanthropic initiative to provide practical business and management education to 10,000 women around the globe. The initiative recently celebrated its first anniversary, and over 1,200 women were either enrolled in, or graduated from, sponsored certificate programs. The case addressees some key strategic decisions facing the firm as they rollout the program over the coming years. These include how to organize the network of schools that deliver the educational services, how to determine the best outside partners to provide additional services for the women entrepreneurs, how to best assess the impact of the program, and finally the extent to which the initiative provides contributions to the long-term strategy of the firm.
Keywords: Gender Characteristics;
Business Education;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Partners and Partnerships;
Education Industry;
Financial Services Industry;
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Teaching Note
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2010
IBM: The Corporate Service Corps (TN)
Christopher Marquis, Alison Comings and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for [409106].
Keywords: Service Operations;
Employees;
Partners and Partnerships;
Non-Governmental Organizations;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Programs;
Global Strategy;
Computer Industry;
Information Technology Industry;
Ghana;
Tanzania;
Romania;
Philippines;
Viet Nam;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2010
(Revised from original 2007 version)
Tim Keller at Katzenbach Partners LLC (TN) (A), (B), and (C)
Boris Groysberg, Christopher Marquis and Geoff Eckman Marietta
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Teaching Note
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2010
Swire Beverages: Implementing CSR in China
Christopher Marquis, Alison Comings and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for [410021].
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Business and Community Relations;
Health;
Organizational Design;
Factories, Labs, and Plants;
Business Strategy;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Safety;
Natural Environment;
Brands and Branding;
Interests;
Partners and Partnerships;
Food and Beverage Industry;
China;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2013
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Goldman Sachs: The 10,000 Women Initiative (TN)
Christopher Marquis, V. Kasturi Rangan and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for [509042].
Keywords: Business Education;
Programs;
Networks;
Entrepreneurship;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Gender Characteristics;
Partners and Partnerships;
Strategy;
Banking Industry;
Financial Services Industry;
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Case
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2010
Burt's Bees: Balancing Growth and Sustainability (Multimedia)
Christopher Marquis
The case examines sustainability initiatives at Burt's Bees, with video segments that detail the company's history, leadership, and implementation of ambitious 2020 sustainability goals. The company traces its roots to 1984, when Roxanne Quinby and Burt Schavitz teamed up selling beeswax candles at craft fairs, and today offers a range of natural skin, hair care, and bath products. The case is set at a crossroads for Burt's Bees, two years after its acquisition by the Clorox Company. Despite moving miles and decades away from its roots in rural Maine. Burt's wants to remain true to the morals and mission that inspired its humble founders. Key elements of the company's culture include a commitment to natural products and a belief in sustainable, earth-friendly practices. But an important question remains: can Burt's Bees continue to be a leader in social environmental innovation, while also sharpening its focus on growth and profitability as a part of a public company with fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders? The case highlights the fundamental tension for companies and their leaders to deliver on the "Triple Bottom Line" of environmental, social and financial performance. First, it examines Burt's Bees' sustainability journey, and in particular the important element of CSR, as essentially a non market strategy; committed companies can set industry standards to corporate acquisitions and how Burt's can continue to pursue its social and environmental endeavors while growing as its own unit and within the larger parent company, Clorox.
Keywords: Balance and Stability;
Leadership;
Problems and Challenges;
Business or Company Management;
Growth Management;
Organizational Culture;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Environmental Sustainability;
Mergers and Acquisitions;
Social Enterprise;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Ethics;
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Teaching Note
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2013
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Burt's Bees: Balancing Growth and Sustainability (TN)
Christopher Marquis
Teaching Note for [410704].
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2013
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Western Union: Our World, Our Family® (TN)
Christopher Marquis and Bobbi Thomason
Teaching Note for [410050].
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Business Model;
Financial Management;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Diversity Characteristics;
Financial Services Industry;
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Case
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2009
(Revised from original 2008 version)
Shaklee Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility
Christopher Marquis, V. Kasturi Rangan and Alison Comings
Having bought Shaklee Corporation from Yamanouchi, Roger Barnett, its owner and CEO, wrestled with the question of how to grow the company and its reputation for environmental sustainability. In addition to preserving the "network marketing" nature of its sales channel (because it creates jobs and entrepreneurs), Barnett wished to take the business model to sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Keywords: Business Model;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Marketing Channels;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Environmental Sustainability;
Reputation;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2009
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Shaklee Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility (TN)
Christopher Marquis and V. Kasturi Rangan
Teaching Note for [509031].
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
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Case
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2009
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Swire Beverages: Implementing CSR in China
Christopher Marquis, G.A. Donovan and YiKwan Chu
Swire Beverage, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in China, recently created a corporate social responsibility (CSR) organization to oversee environmental, community, health and safety initiatives at the companies' nine bottling plants in China. The case considers organizational design decisions in setting up the committee to oversee the diverse CSR initiatives that occurred in the dispersed plant locations, and the ongoing work to better connect CSR activities to Swire Beverage's brand and business strategy. Furthermore, the Swire Beverage CSR team needed to balance the interests of important stakeholders such as the Coca-Cola company, and corporate parent John Swire and Sons. Finally, the case also illustrates some of the key challenges of implementing CSR programs in China, particularly the difficulty of finding suitable NGO partners.
Keywords: Brands and Branding;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Organizational Design;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Partners and Partnerships;
Non-Governmental Organizations;
Food and Beverage Industry;
China;
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Case
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2009
SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility
Christopher Marquis, Kwang Y. Ryu, Philip H. Mirvis and Bobbi Thomason
Since 2006, SK Telecom has worked to develop strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that are aligned with its business operations and corporate mission. The case tracks the original assessment process the company went through and successive organizational design efforts to align its CSR strategy and implementation architecture. In 2009, the company is going through reorganization, and the protagonist is considering how well the existing structure of SK Telecom's CSR efforts supports its strategy. The key dilemma he is faced with is whether to change the design of the CSR organization, or perhaps revise the CSR strategy to better match the existing organizational architecture.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Organizational Design;
Organizational Structure;
Corporate Strategy;
Telecommunications Industry;
South Korea;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2009
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis (TN)
Robert Steven Kaplan, Christopher Marquis and Ben Creo
Teaching Note for [408003].
Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations;
Research;
Health Care and Treatment;
Medical Specialties;
Financing and Loans;
Leadership;
Strategy;
Problems and Challenges;
Health Testing and Trials;
Miami;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2008
(Revised from original 2008 version)
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis
Robert Steven Kaplan, Christopher Marquis and Brent Kazan
Marc Buoniconti is the co-founder of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a nonprofit medical research organization. The project was founded in 1985 by Marc and his father Nick, a former Hall of Fame football player, when Marc suffered a spinal cord injury. In 2007, Marc was still confined to a wheelchair, but the Miami project had developed into the world's largest spinal cord injury research and treatment center. It had 250 employees, operated from a $37 million state of the art facility located on the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine campus, and had raised in excess of $275 million since its inception. However, there was still no cure for spinal cord injury, and many of the project's supporters were becoming anxious for a substantial clinical breakthrough. Fundraising was always a concern, particularly as government spending on research was declining. Marc and his father were keenly aware of the challenge of maintaining the enthusiasm and financial backing of the Miami Project's supporters. Yet they needed to avoid over-promising regarding the likelihood of potential breakthroughs, which required painstaking research and stringent clinical trials. The leadership also questioned whether the mission should remain focused on spinal cord injury, or whether it should broaden to include brain trauma and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Case provides an opportunity to discuss the challenges of non-profit management, medical research and to debate appropriate strategy for the Miami Project in 2007.
Keywords: Investment;
Giving and Philanthropy;
Health Testing and Trials;
Leadership;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Mission and Purpose;
Research and Development;
Nonprofit Organizations;
Health Industry;
Miami;
Citation: Kaplan, Robert Steven, Christopher Marquis, and Brent Kazan. " The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis." Harvard Business School Case 408-003, July 2008. (Revised from original June 2008 version.)
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Case
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2008
(Revised from original 2007 version)
Joel Klein and Leadership in the NYC Public Schools
Christopher Marquis, Doug Guthrie, Richard Arum and Abby Larson
Reviews the work of the New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein and his attempt to create a Leadership Academy in order to better train principals to lead New York City public schools. Assesses what leadership skills and strategies are necessary for Klein to create a new cohort of effective site-based leaders for New York City Public Schools and further, what methodology Klein and the Leadership Academy establish to accomplish this task. The key question involves Klein's attempt to assess whether an institution dedicated to training better administrators can serve as the key component of a larger effort to improve the performance of the New York City public school system; on a more micro basis is the question of whether the Leadership Academy itself and its program to train principals has been effective in the context of the larger problems the school system faces. If so, will the principals trained be able to be successfully integrated and effectively utilized as organizational elements capable of leading site efforts necessary to improve New York City public school system performance?
Keywords: Education;
Training;
Leadership Development;
Management Skills;
Organizational Design;
Performance Improvement;
Education Industry;
New York (city, NY);
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Supplement
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2007
(Revised from original 2006 version)
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (B)
Christopher Marquis, Doug Guthrie and Yannis Katsarakis
Keywords: Sports;
Sports Industry;
Greece;
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Case
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2007
(Revised from original 2006 version)
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (A)
Christopher Marquis, Doug Guthrie and Yannis Katsarakis
Gianna Angelopoulous-Daskalaki led the bidding organization that secured the 2004 Olympics for Athens and then later the preparations for those Games. Tracks her leadership style and how she and her team won the bid. After substantial planning problems threatened to cost Greece the Olympics, Angelopoulos was asked to take over the preparations, with only 4 of the 7 years remaining. Ends with the question of what she needs to consider in making the decision to take over the Games' preparations, what role she should play, and where she should start.
Keywords: Leadership Style;
Bids and Bidding;
Planning;
Social Enterprise;
Sports;
Public Administration Industry;
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Teaching Note
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2007
Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (TN) (A) & (B)
Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings
Keywords: Sports;
Sports Industry;
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Teaching Note
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2007
Congruence Model (TN)
Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Alison Comings. " Congruence Model (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 407-131, June 2007.
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Tutorial
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2007
Congruence Model Tutorial
Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings
Utilizes Beer & Tushman's SMA: Microelectronic Products Division (A) case to explore O'Reilly and Tushman's congruence model. Participants learn about the model through a series of video presentations and become familar with the problems facing SMA through an interactive caselet. They then are given the chance to test their facility with the congruence model by answering a series of questions in which they diagnose the problem of, and prescribe treatment for, SMA.
Keywords: Business Offices;
Presentations;
Problems and Challenges;
Citation: Marquis, Christopher, and Alison Comings. Congruence Model Tutorial. Harvard Business School Tutorial 407-703, June 2007.
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Case
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2007
(Revised from original 2006 version)
Tim Keller at Katzenbach Partners LLC (A)
Boris Groysberg, Christopher Marquis and Ayesha Kanji
Tracks of the first 6 months of a recent MBA grad, Tim Keller, at Katzenbach Partners, a boutique consulting firm focused on organizational change and strategy. Covers how Keller initially struggles with his assignment and ends with a question of whether or not he should attend a meeting that he was not invited to, where more senior consultants plan to implement the system dynamics tool that he was responsible for creating--on a Sunday when he had a major personal engagement.
Keywords: Management;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Personal Development and Career;
Work-Life Balance;
Projects;
Situation or Environment;
Strategy;
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Supplement
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2007
(Revised from original 2006 version)
Tim Keller at Katzenbach Partners LLC (B)
Boris Groysberg, Christopher Marquis and Ayesha Kanji
Supplements the (A) case. The (B) case presents the final outcome of the events. Reveals how Keller is able to turn around perceptions about him and forge relationships with key decision makers. Includes reflections and lessons learned from all parties and Keller's actual 2005 year-end and self evaluations on the project.
Keywords: Projects;
Management;
Leadership;
Organizations;
Situation or Environment;
Competition;
Rank and Position;
Attitudes;
Motivation and Incentives;
Consulting Industry;
Citation: Groysberg, Boris, Christopher Marquis, and Ayesha Kanji. " Tim Keller at Katzenbach Partners LLC (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 407-038, April 2007. (Revised from original September 2006 version.)
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Supplement
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2007
(Revised from original 2006 version)
Tim Keller at Katzenbach Partners LLC (C)
Boris Groysberg, Christopher Marquis and Ayesha Kanji
Supplements the (A) case. The (C) case includes Keller's actual 2006 mid-year and self evaluations.
Keywords: Projects;
Management;
Leadership;
Organizations;
Situation or Environment;
Competition;
Rank and Position;
Attitudes;
Motivation and Incentives;
Performance Evaluation;
Consulting Industry;
Citation: Groysberg, Boris, Christopher Marquis, and Ayesha Kanji. " Tim Keller at Katzenbach Partners LLC (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 407-039, April 2007. (Revised from original September 2006 version.)
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