Chemicals - Publications - Faculty & Research

January 2020
Case

SK Group: Social Progress Credits

By: George Serafeim, Ethan Rouen and David Freiberg

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... View Details

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11 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Meet the MBA Class of 2020

View Video Andrew Baxter “YOU BUILD UP PERSONAL CAPITAL BY SHARING COMMON EXPERIENCES.” HOME REGION St. Andrews, UK UNDERGRAD EDUCATION Imperial College London, Chemical Engineering, 2011 PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE Shell, Schlumberger HBS... View Details

26 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food

cellophane accounted for 10 percent of DuPont’s sales and 25 percent of its profits. “Between 1925 and 1938, its return on investment averaged 36 percent, over twice that of chemically similar rayon,” says Hisano, citing the book Science... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Retail; Advertising

July 2020
Case

Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics

By: Steven Rogers, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alterrell Mills

The co-founders (Black HBS alumnae) of an e-commerce beauty startup explore the unmet needs within the beauty industry. This case study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities that come from identifying an underserved market, specifically within the Black community... View Details

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08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

10 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Do You Have Change Fatigue?

Mintzberg argues that the best kind of leader doesn't try to effect much change. Rather, she functions like a queen bee, which "does nothing but make babies and exude a chemical that keeps everything together." It is the other... View Details

Keywords: by Nick Morgan

June 2008 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Cook Composites and Polymers Co.

By: Deishin Lee, Michael W. Toffel and Rachel Gordon

This case describes how a company improves resource efficiency and process quality in its manufacturing process by developing a waste by-product into a new product. The case describes how CCP cleans production equipment between batches using styrene, which becomes a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Business Processes; Performance Efficiency; Natural Environment; Wastes and Waste Processing; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry

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March 1978 (Revised February 1991)
Case

Caustic Soda in Japan (A)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Chemicals; Chemical Industry; Japan

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21 Nov 2015
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Stella McCartney Combines High Fashion with Environmental Values

chemicals and water that you use to produce the items, but also the waste. People throw away 90 percent of what they are going to buy in the next two years. So it’s just amazing. In the US and in the UK, people throw away about 30 kilos... View Details

Keywords: by Brian Kenny; Fashion

September–October 2020
Article

Social-Impact Efforts That Create Real Value

By: George Serafeim

Until the mid-2010s few investors paid attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data—information about companies’ carbon footprints, labor policies, board makeup, and so forth. Today the data is widely used by investors. How can organizations create... View Details

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15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries. In his lifetime, he produced a range of books, edited collections, and articles covering railways, management, global competition, anthracite coal, the career of Alfred P. Sloan, the nature of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

The Accidental Innovator

Companies spend many hundreds of billions of dollars on R&D each year, but the microwave oven was conceived from a melted candy bar, saccharin from an accidental chemical spill, and the Daguerre photo process via a shattered... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

28 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Could Create a 'Bankruptcy Pandemic'

after Lehman Brothers’ collapse ushered in the Global Financial Crisis. Lyondell was the world’s third-largest diversified chemicals company, with $55 billion in annual revenues and operations in 25 countries. Hit by a one-two punch of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

adjusted to completely new work and personal situations." Case 4: Commitment to employees’ mental well-being and fairness Chemical and materials companies are an essential part of their customers’ supply chains. Guaranteeing business... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

William H. Nichols

Nichols was instrumental in the building of the chemical supply business in the United States and was one of the original founders of the American Chemical Society. Under his leadership of General Chemical,... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

By: Ethan Bernstein

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details

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Dow Chemicals began by producing bleaching powder as its main product. Through Dow’s inventiveness, Dow Chemical expanded dramatically, especially with the discovery of many uses for brine. Dow manufactured... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

Thomas W. Mastin

Mastin was instrumental in the development and commercialization of many of Lubrizol’s products, the world’s largest manufacturer of chemical additives for lubricants. Mastin was a published chemist who held over 20 patents for new View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

Orlando F. Weber

Weber and an associate pooled their resources to merge several small chemical companies into one conglomerate that came be known as Allied Chemical. Weber maintained stability at the chemical company... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial