Publications

SSRN

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13 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Company Reviews on Glassdoor: Petty Complaints or Signs of Potential Misconduct?

even though this stuff can be pretty widespread inside of companies when it occurs, it’s not getting out in a timely way.” In an attempt to discover whether these problems could be exposed earlier, Campbell conducted an experiment with... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

May 2005 (Revised October 2022)
Case

The Octopus and the Generals: The United Fruit Company in Guatemala

By: Geoffrey Jones and Marcelo Bucheli

Examines the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954 in a U.S.-backed coup in support of the United Fruit Co. Over the previous half century, United Fruit had built a large vertically integrated tropical fruit business that owned large banana... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Multinational Firms and Management; Policy; International Relations; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Central America; Guatemala; United States

11 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Merchants to Multinationals: British Trading Companies in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

In this excerpt taken from the chapter entitled "From Trade to Investment," HBS visiting professor Geoffrey Jones traces the transition of the British trading companies from purely trading View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

22 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

Companies Can Expand Their Talent Pool by Giving Ex-Convicts a Second Chance

Assistant Professor Zoë Cullen. After all, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create challenges for companies attempting to fill job openings as record numbers of people quit their jobs in search of new opportunities in a hot labor... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

Summer 2023
Article

(Un)principled Agents: Monitoring Loyalty after the End of the Royal African Company Monopoly

By: Anne Ruderman and Marlous van Waijenburg

The revocation of the Royal African Company's monopoly in 1698 inaugurated a transformation of the transatlantic slave trade. While the RAC’s exit from the slave trade has received scholarly attention, little is known about the company’s response to the loss of its... View Details

Keywords: Slavery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business History; Monopoly; History; Business and Government Relations

Find at Harvard

16 May 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Managed Risk (and Even Benefitted) in World War Internment Camps

international business history story that hasn’t previously been told in great detail, but should be explored, says Giacomin, particularly since internment has long-lasting effects. During their incarceration, the Germans struggled with... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Manufacturing

2022
Chapter

Crises and International Business

By: Geoffrey Jones

This chapter uses the intellectual journey of the author to suggest that crises have been the norm rather than the exception in the history of international business. Over the last 100 years world wars, regional conflicts, the Great Depression, and decolonization are... View Details

Keywords: Crisis; Multinational Companies; International Business; Emerging Market; Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; System Shocks; War; Emerging Markets; Crisis Management

2016
Working Paper

Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica

By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora

Between the 1970s and the 2000s, Costa Rica became established as the world’s leading ecotourism destination. This working paper suggests that although Costa Rica benefited from biodiversity and a pleasant climate, the country’s preeminence in ecotourism requires more... View Details

Keywords: Tourism; Latin America; Business History; Sustainable Strategy; Sustainability; Nonprofit; Entrepreneurs; Environment; Entrepreneurship; History; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Industry; Costa Rica

SSRN

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March 2016
Case

IC Group A/S

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

IC Group owned several of Scandinavia's leading premium fashion brands. How should it respond to the decline of its primary wholesale distribution channels (independent fashion boutiques and department stores)? Should it open more physical stores or focus on... View Details

April 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Oriental Land Co., Ltd.—Tokyo Disney Resort

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Akiko Kanno

This case describes the history of Oriental Land Co. Ltd.’s (OLC's) Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR), its operations, the extent of vertical integration, and the challenges it faced in 2018 as OLC's chairman and CEO, Toshio Kagami, contemplated how best to deal with... View Details

Keywords: Strategy For Multi-business Firm; Business Models; Growth; Theme Parks; Disney; Disney Parks; Licensing; Royalties; Two-part Tariffs; Oriental Land Co.; Tokyo Disneyland; Tokyo DisneySea; Tokyo Disney Resort; Tokyo Disney; Growth Strategy; Hotels; Hotel Industry; Partnership; Development; Attractions; Rides; Urayasu; Kagami; Congestion; Pricing; Amusement Parks; Amusement Park Industry; Brand; Branding; History; OLC; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business History; Price; Retention; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Agreements and Arrangements; Contracts; Operations; Vertical Integration; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Expansion; Rail Transportation; Transportation Networks; Accommodations Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Tourism Industry; Asia; Japan; Tokyo; United States

August 1983 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Honda (A)

Describes the history of Honda Motor Company from its beginning through its entry into and subsequent dominance of the U.S. market. The history is explained primarily in terms of strategic factors and quoted from two sources: an earlier case and Boston Consulting Group... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Global Strategy; Business Strategy; Auto Industry; Japan; United States

February 2017
Supplement

JCDecaux, 2016: Global Leader ... Again

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, JCDecaux was number one in the world in outdoor advertising. This was a far cry from the situation in 2003; at that time, JCDecaux had been unseated by Clear Channel from the number-one spot that it had held for decades, and it was fighting for second place... View Details

Keywords: JCDecaux; Clear Channel Outdoor; OUTFRONT Media; Lamar Advertising Company; Jean-François Decaux; Jean-Charles Decaux; Outdoor Advertising; Street Furniture; Airports; Billboards; Bicycles; Digital Devices; Digital Marketing; Bidding; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; Family Business; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Design; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Globalization; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government Legislation; Business History; Human Resources; Laws and Statutes; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Operations; Distribution; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product; Product Design; Production; Organizational Structure; Property; Public Ownership; Renting or Rental; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Family and Family Relationships; Sales; Situation or Environment; Luxury; Strategy; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Mobile Technology; Wireless Technology; Air Transportation; Bicycle Transportation; Rail Transportation; Transportation Networks; Advertising Industry; France; Paris

04 Apr 2023
Book

Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues

While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Consumer Products; Fashion; Retail; Green Technology

2015
Book

MOVE: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Americans are stuck. We live with travel delays on congested roads; shipping delays on clogged railways; and delays on repairs, project approvals, and funding due to gridlocked leadership. These delays affect us all, whether you are a daily commuter, a frequent flyer,... View Details

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

States in the twentieth century. After 1945 Unilever's once successful business in the United States began to decline, yet the parent company maintained an arms-length relationship with its U.S. affiliates, refusing to intervene in their... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage; Manufacturing; Retail

July 1998 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Jollibee Foods Corporation (A): International Expansion

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Jamie O'Connell

Noli Tingzon, newly-appointed international division VP at Jollibee, the Philippines-based hamburger chain, is faced with the challenge of expanding fast food operations in Asia in the face of stiff competition. The case describes Jollibee's six-year international... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Expansion; Global Range; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Philippines

August 1983 (Revised March 2011)
Supplement

Honda (B)

Describes the history of Honda Motor Company from its beginning through its entry into and subsequent dominance of the U.S. market as seen through the eyes of Honda executives. The history of Honda's successful entry into the U.S. market is viewed as highly adaptive... View Details

Keywords: Management; Business History; Auto Industry; Japan; United States