Michael W. Toffel

Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management

Technology and Operations Management

+1 (617) 384-8043

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Technology and Operations Management

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(617) 384-8043

Working Conditions in Supply Chains microsite

This microsite is a new resource for managers of global supply chains, including brands who want to source products from suppliers that avoid problematic working conditions, auditors who assess factory working conditions, and NGOs focused on this area. The site highlights key insights of academic research in this area that provide answers to questions such as: What audit approaches are more effective at uncovering problems? How can audit programs be designed to foster improved working conditions? Which types of factories are more likely to improve working conditions?

HBS Climate Rising podcast

A podcast that features business and policy leaders and HBS faculty discussing what businesses are doing, can do, and should do to confront climate change

This podcast features experts sharing business opportunities and innovations to address climate change across a wide array of industries including agriculture, buildings, energy, financial services, and transportation. All episodes, transcripts, and show notes are here. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts or Google Play.

The New CEO Activists

A playbook for polarized political times

CEOs are increasingly taking a stand on divisive social issues that don't directly affect their companies' bottom lines—a dramatic departure from tradition. This Harvard Business Review article explains why CEOs are speaking up, the tactics they are using, and the risks and potential rewards of doing so. It also provides a playbook to guide CEOs on what to weigh in on, when to lead or follow, and when to act alone or in coordination with others. it also highlights some research that shows that CEO activism can affect brand loyalty and public policy. In a follow-up, our article Divided We Lead: CEO Activism has Entered the Mainstream launched the HBR Big Idea series on Leadership in a Hot Button World. (Winner of the 2019 HBR Warren Bennis Prize as best 2018 HBR article on leadership.)

Managing Climate Change: Lessons from the U.S. Navy

This Harvard Business Review article describes lessons for business from how the U.S. Navy is operating at the front lines of climate change. Climate change will require more of the navy—new patrols of an Arctic free of sea ice, more vigilance against drought-induced state failures, and more humanitarian missions to aid climate refugees—all while shoring up its bases to make them more resilient and less vulnerable to sea level rise and melting permafrost. In this accompanying video, the former U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus describes the planning and actions the Navy is undertaking to address climate change.

Enhancing the Practical Relevance of Research

I think that most business school research should examine and help solve real-world problems that managers are facing--or that they might face in the future. This means that these scholars need to choose relevant research questions, and propose and test hypotheses that connect independent variables within the control of practitioners to outcomes they care about using logic they view as feasible. This presentation and article describe how scholars can enhance research relevance, including: (1) engaging practitioners in on-campus encounters, at managerial conferences, and at crossover workshops; (2) conducting site visits and practitioner interviews; (3) working as a practitioner; and (4) developing a practitioner advisory team. Scholars seeking to influence the practice of management also need to convey their findings and insights to practitioners. How? By presenting at practitioner conferences; writing for practitioners in crossover journals, op-eds, and blogs; and attracting the interest of those who write columns, blogs, and articles about research for practitioners. The article also offers several ideas for academic institutions-- journals, professional societies, and doctoral programs--to encourage more relevant research. This follow-up article describes how several HBS faculty conduct relevant research and communicate results to managers who can put their ideas into action. I helped organize the "Research on Effective Government: Inspection and Compliance Workshop" that brought together scholars and regulators from EPA and state-level environmental agencies to find ways to encourage more relevant research and to better communicate findings to regulators. (Image source)

OSHA Inspections: Protecting Employees or Killing Jobs?

Government agencies responsible for enforcing workplace safety are often at the center of controversy about whether they are effective. This Science article reports surprising findings based on randomized government inspections of single-establishment firms in California, conducted by California's labor protection agency (Cal/OSHA). These inspections led to a 9.4 percent decrease in injury rates and a 26 percent decrease in costs from medical expenses and lost wages—translating to an average of $350,000 per company. We found no evidence of any cost to inspected companies complying with regulations. These findings strongly indicate that OSHA regulations actually save businesses money. Read a related blog entry and summary article. Coauthored with Matt Johnson and David Levine. (Image source)

When Business Competition Harms Society

This research article (and summary article) show that automobile service stations in more competitive markets are more likely to falsely pass vehicle emissions tests, presumably to retain customers because car owners are less likely to return to stations that fail their emissions test. Vehicles were much more likely to pass the test if they were tested at a facility that was located near a competitor. This research suggests that managers and policymakers should be aware that competition can induce unethical behavior. Coauthors are Victor Bennett, Lamar Pierce, and Jason Snyder.

Professor Toffel is the Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management, Faculty Chair of the HBS Business and Environment Initiative, and is course head of and teaches the Technology & Operations Management core MBA course. Mike Toffel's research examines companies' management of environmental affairs and occupational safety, identifying which types of management programs and regulations improve environmental and safety performance.

His work ranges from academic articles based on econometric analyses of large datasets to case studies of individual companies. His research on occupational health and safety has been profiled by the head of U.S. OSHA and featured in the national press including US News & World Report, and Scientific American. His research has been published in many top scholarly journals including Science, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Organization Science, in practitioners journals including Sloan Management Review and California Management Review, and in mainstream outlets including The Atlantic Monthly and Newsweek/DailyBeast.

Prof. Toffel is co-editing two special issues in top tier journals: a Management Science Special Issue on Business and Climate Change and a Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Special (MSOM) Issue on Responsible Research in Operations Managements. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of the Strategic Management Journal and Organization Science. He is also a co-founder andboard member, and serves on the executive committee of, the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS), which organizes a leading annual academic conference to foster high-quality research on corporate sustainability and to build collaboration among scholars engaged in these topics.

His co-authors include Yanhua Zhou Bird, Aaron (Ronnie) Chatterji, Magali Delmas, Anil Doshi, Glen Dowell, Kira Fabrizio, Caroline Flammer, Andrea Hugill, Maria Ibanez, Chonnikarn (Fern) Jira, Matthew Johnson, Andrew King, David Levine, Julian Marshall, Chris Marquis, Melissa Ouellet, Ashley Palmarozzo, Lamar Pierce, Erin Reid, Tim Simcoe, Sara Singer, Jodi Short, Kala Viswanathan, and David Vogel.

He recommends the HBS Business & Environment Initiative, Environmental Leader, Grist, Ethical Corporation, and SustainableBusiness.com to keep up on corporate environmental news.

Toffel has organized several conferences , including on climate change risks and opportunities at HBS (2020), effective government inspection and compliance in Washington DC (2015), corporate sustainability at HBS (2010), the role of information disclosure in corporate transparency and accountability at the National Press Club in Washington DC (2009), business and human rights in operations and supply chains at HBS (2008), and industry self-regulation at HBS (2007) .

Professor Toffel received a Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business' Business and Public Policy department at the University of California at Berkeley, an MBA from the Yale School of Management, a Master’s in Environmental Management (Industrial Environmental Management) from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and a BA in Government from Lehigh University. He has worked as the Director of Environment, Health and Safety at the Jebsen & Jessen (South East Asia) Group of Companies, based in Singapore. He has also worked as an environmental management consultant for Arthur Andersen, Arthur D. Little, and Xerox Corporation. He started his career as an operations management analyst at J.P. Morgan.

Prof. Toffel has served on the Advisory Panel of the Newsweek Green Rankings, is a Town Meeting Member for the Town of Brookline, and served for many years on the School Council of the Devotion School/Coolidge Corner Schoo/Florida Ruffin Ridley School, a public K-8 school.

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