Robert S. Kaplan

Robert S. Kaplan

Senior Fellow
Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus

Senior Fellow
Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus

Accounting and Management
+1 (617) 495-6150
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Robert S. Kaplan
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(617) 495-6150
Featured Work Publications Research Summary Awards & Honors

Robert S. Kaplan is Senior Fellow and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He joined the HBS faculty in 1984 after spending 16 years on the faculty of the business school at Carnegie-Mellon University, where he served as Dean from 1977 to 1983. Kaplan has co-developed both activity-based costing (ABC) and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), widely recognized as seminal contributions to management theory and practice. His current research applies these two innovations to important problems at the intersection of business and society.

Since 2010, he has collaborated with Michael Porter on the HBS Value Based Health Care initiative, enabling time-driven activity-based costing to become a global standard for health care costing. He and Porter have become leading advocates to replace fee-for-service with value-based bundled payments to motivate providers to deliver superior patient outcomes at lower societal cost.

In 2021, Kaplan partnered with Oxford professor Karthik Ramanna to create the E-liability method, the first system to accurately measure and report corporate greenhouse gas emissions across corporate supply and distribution chains. The approach, readily extendible to societal and other environmental outcomes, is the first rigorous approach for ESG reporting.

In a third research stream, conducted as Palladium thought leader, Kaplan extends the Balanced Scorecard strategy execution for inclusive-growth regional ecosystems. These generate strong financial returns while transforming the socio-economic and environmental conditions of residents in low-income communities around the world.

He also continues research and teaching on enterprise risk management with Anette Mikes and Dutch Leonard.

Kaplan has authored or co-authored 14 books and more than 200 papers, including three dozen in Harvard Business Review. He has co-authored five books with David P. Norton: The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage; Alignment; Strategy Maps (named as one of the top ten business books of 2004 by Strategy & Business and amazon.com);, The Strategy-Focused Organization (named by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as the best international business book for year 2000); and The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action, which has been translated into 24 languages and won the 2001 Wildman Medal from the American Accounting Association (AAA) for its impact on practice. He also co-authored Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing with Steve Anderson; Cost and Effect with Robin Cooper; and Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of Management Accounting, with H. Thomas Johnson, which received the AAA Seminal Contributions to Literature Award in 2007.

Kaplan received a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from M.I.T., a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Cornell University, and honorary doctorates from four international universities. Elected to the Accounting Hall of Fame in 2006, he received the Outstanding Accounting Educator Award in 1988 from the AAA, the 1994 CIMA Award from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK), and Lifetime Contribution Awards from the Management Accounting Section of the AAA (2006) and the Institute of Management Accountants (2008).

Featured Work
The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage
By Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Harvard Business School Press, 2008
From HBSP: " In a world of stiffening competition, business strategy is more crucial than ever. Yet most organizations struggle in this area--not with formulating strategy but with executing it, or putting their strategy into action. Owing to execution failures, companies realize just a fraction of the financial performance promised in their strategic plans. It doesn't have to be that way, maintain Robert Kaplan and David Norton in The Execution Premium. Building on their breakthrough works on strategy-focused organizations, the authors describe a multistage system that enables you to gain measurable benefits from your carefully formulated business strategy. This book shows you how to:  Develop an effective strategy--with tools such as SWOT analysis, vision formulation, and strategic change agendas; Plan execution of the strategy--through portfolios of strategic initiatives linked to strategy maps and Balanced Scorecards; Put your strategy into action--by integrating operational tools such as process dashboards, rolling forecasts, and activity-based costing; Test and update your strategy--using carefully designed management meetings to review operational and strategic data. Drawing on extensive research and detailed case studies from a broad array of industries, The Execution Premium presents a systematic and proven framework for achieving the financial results promised by your strategy."
 
 
Mastering the Management System
By Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Harvard Business School Press, 2008
From HBSP: " Companies have always found it hard to balance pressing operational concerns with long-term strategic priorities. The tension is critical: World-class processes won't lead to success without the right strategic direction, and the best strategy in the world will get nowhere without strong operations to execute it. In this article, Kaplan, of Harvard Business School, and Norton, founder and director of the Palladium Group, explain how to effectively manage both strategy and operations by linking them tightly in a closed-loop management system. The system comprises five stages, beginning with strategy development, which springs from a company's mission, vision, and value statements, and from an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, and competitive environment. In the next stage, managers translate the strategy into objectives and initiatives with strategy maps, which organize objectives by themes, and balanced scorecards, which link objectives to performance metrics. Stage three involves creating an operational plan to accomplish the objectives and initiatives; it includes targeting process improvements and preparing sales, resource, and capacity plans and dynamic budgets. Managers then put plans into action, monitoring their effectiveness in stage four. They review operational, environmental, and competitive data; assess progress; and identify barriers to execution. In the final stage, they test the strategy, analyzing cost, profitability, and correlations between strategy and performance. If their underlying assumptions appear faulty, they update the strategy, beginning another loop. The authors present not only a comprehensive blueprint for successful strategy execution but also a managerial tool kit, illustrated with examples from HSBC Rail, Cigna Property and Casualty, and Store 24. The kit incorporates leading management experts' frameworks, outlining where they fit into the management cycle."
Books
Journal Articles
Book Chapters
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Conceptual Foundations of the Balanced Scorecard." Chap. 1.03 in Handbook of Management Accounting Research. Vol. 3, edited by Christopher Chapman, Anthony Hopwood, and Michael Shields. Elsevier, 2008. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. "Use the Balanced Scorecard to Partner with Strategic Constituents: Employees, Customers, Suppliers, and Communities." Chap. 2 in Partnering: The New Face of Leadership, edited by Larraine Segil, Marshall Goldsmith, and James Belasco, 9–33. New York: AMACOM, 2002. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Activity-Based Costing." Chap. A4 of Cost Management for Service Industries, edited by James B. Edwards. Boston: Warren, Gorham & Lamont, 1999. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Companies as Laboratories." In The Relevance of a Decade: Essays to Mark the First Ten Years of the Harvard Business School Press, edited by Paula B. Duffy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1994. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Limitations of Cost Accounting in Advanced Manufacturing Environments." In Measures for Manufacturing Excellence, edited by Robert S. Kaplan, 15–38. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1990. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Originality in Management Accounting Systems: Field Studies of the Processes." In New Directions in Creative and Innovative Management, edited by Y. Ijiri and R. L. Kuhn, 103–114. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1988. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Research Cultures in Management Accounting: Empirical Research." In Accounting and Culture, edited by Barry E. Cushing, 78–87. Sarasota: American Accounting Association, 1987. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S., and Robin Cooper. "How Cost Accounting Systematically Distorts Product Costs." Chap. 8 in Accounting and Management: Field Study Perspectives, edited by W. J. Bruns Jr. and R. S. Kaplan, 204–228. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1987. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "The Role of Field Studies in Accounting Research and the Development of Accounting." Introduction to Accounting and Management: Field Study Perspectives, edited by W. J. Bruns Jr. and R. S. Kaplan, 1–14. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1987. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Regaining Relevance." In Cost Accounting, Robotics, and the New Manufacturing Environment, edited by Robert Capettini and Donald K. Clancy. Sarasota, FL: American Accounting Association, 1987. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Strategic Cost Analysis." In Cost Accounting for the '90s: The Challenge of Technological Change. Montvale, NJ: National Association of Accountants, 1986. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Quantitative Models for Management Accounting in Today's Production Environment." Chap. 7 in Research & Current Issues in Management Accounting, edited by M. Bromwich and A. Hopwood, 103–115. Pitman Publishing, 1986. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Accounting Lag: The Obsolescence of Cost Accounting Systems." Chap. 5 in The Uneasy Alliance: Managing the Productivity-Technology Dilemma, edited by R. Hayes, K. Clark, and C. Lorenz, 195–226. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1985. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Statistical Methods for Auditing and Accounting." Chap. 1 in Handbook of Modern Accounting. 3rd ed. Edited by Sidney Davidson and Roman L. Weil. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983. (Similar chapter also appeared in 2nd ed., 1977.) View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "The Impact of Management Accounting Research on Policy and Practice." In The Impact of Accounting Research on Policy and Practice, edited by John W. Buckley. Arthur Young Professors' Roundtable, 1981. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Should Accounting Standards be Set inthe Public or Private Sector?" In Regulation and the Accounting Profession, edited by John W. Buckley and J. Fred Weston, 178–195. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1980. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "A Comparison of Rates of Return to Social Security Retirees under Wage and Price Indexing." In Financing Social Security, edited by Colin D. Campbell, 119–144. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1979. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Information Content of Financial Accounting Numbers: A Survey of Empirical Evidence." In The Impact of Accounting Research on Practice and Disclosure, edited by A. Rashad Abdel-Khalik and Thomas Keller, 134–173. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1978. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Management Accounting in Hospitals: A Case Study." In Accounting for Social Goals: Budgeting and Analysis of Nonmarket Projects, edited by J. L. Livingstone and S. Gunn, 131–148. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. View Details
Working Papers
Cases and Teaching Materials
Presentations
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Comments on 'The Commission on Auditors' Responsibilites: Report of Tentative Conclusions." Paper presented at the Stanford Lecture in Accounting, Price Waterhouse Foundation, April 01, 1997. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Keynote Address." In The Total Quality Forum: Forging Strategic Links with Higher Education: A Report of Proceedings. Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH, August 6–8, 1991. (pp. 4-10.) View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Developing a Financial Planning Model for An Analytic Review: A Feasibility Study." Paper presented at the Symposium on Audit Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, January 01, 1979. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert. "Applications of Quantitative Models in Managerial Accounting: A State of the Art Survey." Lecture at the University of Wisconsin Robert Beyer Lecture Series, University of Wisconsin, 1977. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "The Roles for Research and Development in Auditing." Paper presented at the Symposium on Audit Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, January 01, 1977. View Details
Other Publications and Materials
  • Kaplan, Robert, Robert C. Merton, and Scott Richard. "Disclose the Fair Value of Complex Securities." Financial Times Ltd., August 2009. (op-ed.) View Details
  • Salmon, Walter J., Robert S. Kaplan, and Marci K. Dew. "The Economics of Variety." Report, Food Marketing Institute, Washington, D.C., January 1999. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Indexing Social Security: An Analysis of the Issues." American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., January 1977. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Financial Crisis in the Social Security System." Domestic Affairs Studies, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., September 1976. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S. "Tax Policies of U.S. and Foreign Nations in Support of R&D and Innovation." Report, National Science Foundation, January 1976. View Details
  • Kaplan, Robert S., and Roman L. Weil. "An Actuarial Audit of the Social Security System." Report, U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, September 1974. View Details
Research Summary
Performance Management Systems
Kaplan's research on performance management systems includes further applications of strategy maps and The Balanced Scorecard for effective strategy execution. His recent research encompasses using strategy maps and scorecards for inter-organizational alignment particularly for creating shared value with customers, suppliers, strategic alliance partners, and communities. In another stream of work, Kaplan is demonstrating how to integrate enterprise risk management into the BSC strategy execution system.
Cost Management Systems
Robert S. Kaplan continues to explore the design and use of activity-based cost management systems for manufacturing and service companies. His most recent work, done collaboratively with Professor Michael E. Porter, applies time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) to measure and manage the costs of health care delivery. Currently, he is leading pilot projects in about a dozen hospitals to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of this approach.
Risk Management Systems
Along with Assistant Professor Anette Mikes and Associate Professor Dennis Campbell, Kaplan continues to explore how companies can implement risk management processes that reflect their strategies. The research involves case writing, teaching in executive program, and writing articles for general managers and risk professionals.
Awards & Honors
Awarded a Doctor Oeconomicae Honoris Causa from Prague University of Economics and Business in 2021.
Inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame in 2013 with David Norton.
Awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Waterloo in 2008.
Received the 2008 Champion of Workplace Learning and Performance Award (with David P. Norton) from the American Society for Training and Development.
Winner of the 1999 Lybrand Certificate of Merit Award presented by the Institute of Management Accountants for "Transfer Pricing with ABC" (with Dan Weiss and Eyal Desheh, Management Accounting, May 1997).
Winner of the 1998 Notable Contributions to Management Accounting Literature Award from the Management Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association for The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action (with David P. Norton, Harvard Business School Press, 1996).
Nominated as the 1996 Finalist for the Financial Times/Booz-Allen & Hamilton Global Business Book Award for The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action (with David P. Norton, Harvard Business School Press, 1996).
Winner of the 1993 Notable Contributions to Management Accounting Literature Award from the Management Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association for Implementing Activity-Based Cost Management: Moving from Analysis to Action (with Robin Cooper, Larry Maisel, Eileen Morrissey, and Ronald M. Oehm, Institute of Management Accountants, 1992).
Areas of Interest