Technology & Operations Management
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- October 2021
- Article
Shareholder Activism and Firms' Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks
By: Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel and Kala ViswanathanThis paper examines whether—in the absence of mandated disclosure requirements—shareholder activism can elicit greater disclosure of firms’ exposure to climate change risks. We find that environmental shareholder activism increases the voluntary disclosure of climate change risks, especially if initiated by institutional investors, and even more so if initiated by long-term institutional investors. We also find that companies that voluntarily disclose climate change risks following environmental shareholder activism achieve a higher valuation post disclosure, suggesting that investors value transparency with respect to firms’ exposure to climate change risks.
- October 2021
- Article
Shareholder Activism and Firms' Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks
By: Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel and Kala ViswanathanThis paper examines whether—in the absence of mandated disclosure requirements—shareholder activism can elicit greater disclosure of firms’ exposure to climate change risks. We find that environmental shareholder activism increases the voluntary disclosure of climate change risks, especially if initiated by institutional investors, and even more...
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- September 2021
- Case
Telepass: From Tolling to Mobility Platform
By: Chiara Farronato, Stefano Denicolai and Sarah MehtaTelepass, the sole processor of electronic toll payments on Italy’s highways, has ambitions beyond tolling. Since the mid-2010s, the company has been expanding into adjacent services. In 2017, Telepass launched TelepassPay—a mobile payment application (app) that allows subscribers to pay for dozens of mobility-related services and products from their smartphones. In 2019, Telepass launched a car insurance brokerage service. Using Telepass data, the brokerage service offers tailored insurance products to existing customers on behalf of insurance companies for a commission on converted leads. Now, in September 2020, Telepass’s senior leaders are considering a new, insurance-related growth opportunity: moving beyond the brokerage model to become the primary insurance seller. It is unclear, however, whether Telepass’s data provides sufficient insights into individual drivers’ risk profiles to build competitive, customized insurance products. Alternatively, Telepass could continue to improve the brokerage model and focus its resources on adding new mobility services to TelepassPay. This case is paired with a supplementary dataset (courseware no. 622-701), which provides a data analysis opportunity for students.
- September 2021
- Case
Telepass: From Tolling to Mobility Platform
By: Chiara Farronato, Stefano Denicolai and Sarah MehtaTelepass, the sole processor of electronic toll payments on Italy’s highways, has ambitions beyond tolling. Since the mid-2010s, the company has been expanding into adjacent services. In 2017, Telepass launched TelepassPay—a mobile payment application (app) that allows subscribers to pay for dozens of mobility-related services and products from...
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- 2021
- Working Paper
How Important is Editorial Gatekeeping? Evidence from Top Biomedical Journals
We examine editors' influence on the scientific content of academic journals by unpacking the role of three major forces: journals' missions, aggregate supply of and demand for specific topics, and scientific homophily via editorial gatekeeping. In a sample of top biomedical journals, we find that the first two forces explain the vast majority of variation in published content. The upper bound of the homophily effect is statistically significant but practically unimportant. Marginal editorial changes thus likely do not meaningfully impact journals' content in the short run. However, we do not rule out persistent or pervasive frictions in the publication process.
- 2021
- Working Paper
How Important is Editorial Gatekeeping? Evidence from Top Biomedical Journals
We examine editors' influence on the scientific content of academic journals by unpacking the role of three major forces: journals' missions, aggregate supply of and demand for specific topics, and scientific homophily via editorial gatekeeping. In a sample of top biomedical journals, we find that the first two forces explain the vast majority of...
About the Unit
As the world of operations has changed, so have interests and priorities within the Unit. Historically, the TOM Unit focused on manufacturing and the development of physical products. Over the past several years, we have expanded our research, course development, and course offerings to encompass new issues in information technology, supply chains, and service industries.
The field of TOM is concerned with the design, management, and improvement of operating systems and processes. As we seek to understand the challenges confronting firms competing in today's demanding environment, the focus of our work has broadened to include the multiple activities comprising a firm's "operating core":
- the multi-function, multi-firm system that includes basic research, design, engineering, product and process development and production of goods and services within individual operating units;
- the networks of information and material flows that tie operating units together and the systems that support these networks;
- the distribution and delivery of goods and services to customers.
Recent Publications
Shareholder Activism and Firms' Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks
- October 2021 |
- Article |
- Strategic Management Journal
GHN and AhaMove: Last-Mile Delivery in Vietnam
- September 2021 |
- Teaching Note |
- Faculty Research
Telepass: From Tolling to Mobility Platform
- September 2021 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
Telepass: From Tolling to Mobility Platform
- September 2021 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
How Important is Editorial Gatekeeping? Evidence from Top Biomedical Journals
- 2021 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Toward Automated Discovery of Novel Anomalous Patterns
- 2021 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Detecting Anomalous Patterns of Care Using Health Insurance Claims
- 2021 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Non-parametric Subset Scanning for Detection of Heteroscedasticity
- 2021 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
There are no upcoming events.