Rebecca Henderson

Featured Resources

As a professor at Harvard Business School and formerly MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Rebecca's work as an academic researcher offers a number of ways in which to dive more deeply into the problem of organizational and strategic change, the question of exactly why purpose-driven firms are likely to be more productive and more creative than conventional firms and some compelling examples of firms leading the charge to reimagine capitalism.

  • HBS Course

    Reimagining Capitalism: Business and Big Problems

    Does capitalism need to be reimagined? If so, what would it look like if it was? Can the private sector play a significant role in driving this transformation? Would it be legal for them to try? Would it be moral? Could they survive in today’s brutally competitive markets if it was? In 28 90-minute sessions, Rebecca’s “Reimagining Capitalism” MBA class at HBS unpacks these questions, drawing on a wide range of readings and more than X case studies of firms trying to make a difference on the ground right now.

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  • HBS Online

    Sustainable Business Strategy

    Too many business leaders think issues like climate change, inequality and social justice are for governments or nonprofits to consider. Their only concern, so the dominant way of thinking goes, is to deliver profits for shareholders. But Rebecca’s extensive research has revealed that socially responsible companies actually perform just as well if not better than those driven only by profit. In this course, Henderson uses case studies such as Walmart and Unilever to demonstrate the merits of purpose-driven firms, and show future and present business leaders alike how to devise and implement a Sustainable Business Strategy.

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Why is Change so Hard and What Can Be Done?

Making the Numbers?

What is Organizational Purpose? And Why Does Purpose Drive Performance?

Why Do Firms Have Purpose?

What Do Managers Do?

What Will It Take to Reimagine Capitalism?

Useful Cases