SK Group was one of the largest companies South Korea. A family-run conglomerate consisting of around 120 subsidiaries and employing more than 100,000, SK was tightly knit into the fabric of Korean society. SK viewed their future success as contingent upon the strength of the societal ecosystem in which they operated. As such, the company had a long history of philanthropic giving. However, SK questioned if their donations were producing the desired impact, as many of the societal issues they, and the rest of Korean society, sought to address were not improving. In order to create a new system of generating social value, SK established the Social Progress Credit (SPC) initiative. The SPC initiative designed a measurement methodology that was used to measure the social value created by social enterprises - firms whose mission was to generate social value in conjunction with generating sustainable financial returns. Additionally, the SPC initiative provided monetary incentives to social enterprises in proportion to the social value generated by participating social enterprises. Looking to the future, SK envisioned a marketplace in which SPC's were traded among investors and credits were priced by the market. Initial results of the SPC initiative were positive, showing positive growth in social value created and financial stability of social enterprises. How then could SK convince other public and private organizations to adopt the SPC model and promote social value? Moreover, how could SK convince mainstream capital markets to make investments into society enterprises on the basis of the social value creation? More importantly, was this attempt to enrich and grow the ecosystem of social value creation making a difference?
Jarrid Tingle and Henri Pierre-Jacques had spent the summer between their first and second years of their Harvard Business School MBA program fund raising for their start-up venture capital (VC) firm, Harlem Capital Partners. Harlem Capital was founded upon the principle that addressing the VC funding gap for minorities and women-who received only 3% of total VC funding-could produce superior returns. Tingle and Pierre-Jacques were passionate about the mission of Harlem Capital to change the face of entrepreneurship. However, despite generating significant media attention, Harlem Capital had only raised a few million dollars over the summer, not nearly enough for the fund to be financially viable as a career path for Tingle and Pierre-Jacques. Should Tingle and Pierre-Jacques commit to Harlem Capital despite the serious roadblocks on their path? Or should they capitalize on their pre-MBA private equity experience and attempt to be impactful through a more traditional career post-MBA graduation?
Case B describes Tingle and Pierre-Jacques' decision to commit fully to Harlem Capital as their post-graduation job. The case explores the results of their fundraising efforts, new strategic partnerships and how they plan to "build the market" in order to achieve future, sustained success in building funds comprised of diverse entrepreneurs.
In 2015, Reynir Indahl left top Nordic private equity firm Altor Equity Partners to found Summa Equity (Summa). After long contemplation following the financial crisis, Indahl was convinced the financial system was producing negative externalities and that the current private equity model adopted by most firms would no longer be successful. Summa was developed under a new private equity model that sought to "future-proof" businesses by focusing on long-term value creation and growth, in addition to traditional private equity practices of implementing best practices and productivity improvements. To find businesses best suited for long-term growth with disruptive potential, Summa invested in four thematic areas that were mapped to megatrends outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-trends Summa believed presented long-term growth opportunities for businesses that presented commercial solutions for these challenges. In addition, Summa integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues to create value during the ownership phase and expand multiples. While ESG investing was practiced by many firms with a focus on compliance and reporting, Indahl wanted ESG to be a tool for value creation and growth. After a period of successful recruiting, fund raising, and deal completion, Summa needed to develop a set of practices and expectations across portfolio companies and partners. The case concludes with Indahl contemplating exiting Summa's first company. What should Summa look for in a buyer? Is sale price all that matters, or should a potential buyer share Summa's focus on building purpose-driven organizations with a positive social impact on the world? How can Summa maximize its impact, both through investment and voice? With impact investing taking off a critical question also was how to measure and report impact to its Limited Partners (LPs).
While the first decade of the 21st century saw a massive financial crisis that led to significant economic downturn, the second decade saw the rise of political leaders, who built their support upon a political message that championed the common person against the collective enemy - the political and economic elite. Historically, waves of populism were infrequent and occurred almost exclusively in developing nations. However, not seen since the pre-World War II years had populist leaders gained such a following throughout the developed world - in countries with the strongest democracies. Driven heavily by growing inequality and degrading trust in institutions, populist leaders took global elections by storm. Populist movements raised the fundamental question of the role of business in the development of the conditions for the genesis of these movements, especially in relation to inequality, and how business would respond to subsequent government interventions that reduced the freedom of markets.
In 2017, JetBlue, the airline founded on the mission to "bring humanity back to air travel", was considering becoming one of the first companies to report its sustainability performance according to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards. SASB standards identified climate change, labor issues, and corporate governance issues as important considerations for companies in the airline industry. Despite operating as a smaller player in an industry dominated by few legacy competitors, JetBlue leadership saw the company as a driver of industry progress. However, would the adoption of SASB standards help JetBlue achieve the goal of "relevant sustainability leadership?" How developing metrics and improved performance on material sustainability issues could be used as an instrument for change management? Should Sophia Mendehlson, the Chief Sustainability Officer, integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics in the regulated fillings as in the 10-K, in separate sustainability reporting mediums, or as a separate report? JetBlue believed sustainability was more than simply a risk mitigation tool. Was it?
This technical note explores how advancements in technology are fundamentally transforming how consumers interact with mobility. Transformation is being driven by three independent trends: the emergence of affordable electric vehicles, the development of autonomous vehicles and the growth of modernized ride sharing. When integrated, these trends create a transportation model which utilizes a fleet of autonomous, electric vehicles which are not privately owned to provide cheaper, safer and "greener" travel to more consumers, more often. The potential economy-wide disruptions caused by this transportation system are enormous. How will car manufacturers adapt when vehicle sales plummet as shared, autonomous vehicles increase vehicle utilization and provide greater mobility with a fraction of the number of cars currently on the road? How will oil companies react to falling oil demand caused by the increased adoption of electric vehicles? What are the income inequality ramifications of significantly increased disposable income? How will governments deal with large increases in unemployment as autonomous cars replace professional human drivers? Before disruption occurs, corporate leaders must be prepared to usher their organization through a phase of transformational change; but change is hard. The note ends with a discussion on how to build and lead a successful ambidextrous organization.
In September 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into ExxonMobil's accounting treatment of its oil and gas reserves. The SEC questioned the company's decision to record no impairments of its reserves, although oil prices had declined by almost 60% since mid-2014 due to a mix of factors, including excess supply from the US, Russia and Middle East and slowing demand from China. Moreover, critics of ExxonMobil's accounting noted that competitors, such as Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell, had impaired their reserves. This followed probes, by New York and Massachusetts Attorney Generals among other state Attorney Generals, which questioned whether ExxonMobil had, for decades, failed to inform investors about potential climate-change risks. As CEO Rex Tillerson stepped down to become the Secretary of State in the new Administration under President Donald Trump, the new CEO of ExxonMobil faced many strategic questions. How should ExxonMobil invest going forward? What were the capabilities that ExxonMobil needed to develop in order to be successful in the future? Did the accounting book value of the reserves reflect economic reality or was an impairment needed?
Supplement to case 117046. The case presents ExxonMobil's response to growing pressure to disclose how climate change will impact their business. This includes multiple asset impairments and losing a proxy vote to shareholders to increase climate change related reporting. Supplements the (B) case.
The case describes Shanghai's decision to abandon growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as its primary metric of measuring success. Within this context, the case presents the historical roots of GDP and how the measure is calculated. Moreover, the case discusses the prominence of GDP as a measure of economic success. After a discussion of China's and Shanghai's use of GDP growth targets, the case discusses Shanghai's past successes and failures. Specifically, the case describes the enormous economic growth that Shanghai has experienced alongside significant economic, social, and environmental failures such as the inefficient use of resources, pollution, and growing inequality. The case concludes with the decision to abandon GDP growth as a measure of success and opens questions about what this means for Shanghai and China. Moreover, the case raises the question of what alternative metrics measuring success might look like.