attracting long-term investors through integrated thinking and.pdfVIP

Attracting Long-Term Investors Through Integrated Thinking and Reporting: A Clinical Study of a Biopharmaceutical Company by Andrew Knauer and George Serafeim, Harvard Business School growing number of companies are engaging with of companies over time with the aim of establishing a causal sustainability issues, driven by a greater aware- link between a company’s actions and its investor base. AB ness of environmental and social problems and In contrast to such large-sample studies, the analysis in this a changing set of institutions and social expec- article is designed to provide more insight into what compa- tations about the role of business in society. Specifically, nies are doing internally and the kind of policies and practices there is an emerging public sentiment that businesses should that are likely to lead to an investor base with a longer-term engage in the production of public goods and the mitiga- orientation. tion of negative externalities. As a result, businesses have been asked to provide solutions to problems in the areas of The Value Creation Process education, poverty, climate change, corruption, and social Shire PLC is a specialty biopharmaceutical company whose inequality. With this public sentiment reflected in consumer products consist of treatments for neurological and other choices and employment preferences—as well as increas- rare diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and internal medi- ingly codified in laws, regulations, and business practices, cine generally, with attention hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) such as the mandated disclosure of nonfinancial informa- as one of its main treatment areas. The company was founded tion and supply chain transparency requirements—there are in 1986 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Its products in