Publications

SSRN

April 2015 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Proxy Access at Whole Foods

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

Proxy access grants shareholders meeting certain ownership requirements the right to nominate directors for election to the board without going through a typical proxy contest. In August 2010 the SEC approved a rule granting proxy access for shareholders meeting... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Proxy Advisor; Shareholder Activism; Shareholder Voting; Shareholder Votes; Proxy Battle; Institutional Change; Institutional Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; North America

Educators

December 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Amazon Buys Whole Foods

By: José B. Alvarez, David Lane and Joni Coughlin

The June 2017 news that e-commerce giant Amazon was paying $13.7 billion for organic supermarket chain Whole Foods precipitated a broad sell-off in the shares of grocery retailers and suppliers. Behind the precipitous declines lay recognition that Amazon’s bold move... View Details

Keywords: Amazon; Whole Foods; Grocery; Grocery Delivery; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Business Models; Food Value Chain; Agribusiness; Mergers and Acquisitions; Operations; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Educators

2020
Working Paper

Food Security and Human Mobility During the COVID-19 Lockdown

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Wesley W. Koo, Xina Li, Nishant Kishore, Satchit Balsari and Tarun Khanna

During the COVID-19 crisis, millions of migrants around the world face food insecurity. This could force migrants to travel during the pandemic, exposing them to health risks and accelerating the spread of the virus. Anecdotal evidence demonstrates the importance of... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Migrants; Food Security; Mobility; Health Pandemics; Food; Distribution; Policy; Global Range

SSRN

2021
Article

Public Health Risks Arising from Food Supply Chains: Challenges and Opportunities

By: Lu Chen, Donovan Guittieres, Retsef Levi, Elisabeth Paulson, Georgia Perakis, Nicholas Renegar and Stacy Springs

Safe, healthy, and resilient food supply chains are essential to ensuring the livelihood and well-being of humans and societies, as well as local and global economies. However, the ability to provide and sustain access to nutritious and safe food continues to be a... View Details

Keywords: Food Safety; Adulteration; Malnutrition; Supply Chain; Health; Government Administration; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

27 Jun 2016
News

Food Stamp Entrepreneurs

27 Sep 2021
Blog Post

Working to Change the Food System

Jesse Lou (MBA 2022) reflects on his decision to come to HBS, what motivates him to make a difference in the world by using technology to build a more sustainable food system, and how he has utilized resources at HBS to make this happen.... View Details

17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

As much as 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. Source: Eivaisla After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry, solutions are starting to come... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

26 Sep 2014
News

How Food Stamps Fuel Entrepreneurship

February 2014
Teaching Note

The Slingshot: Improving Water Access

By: John A. Quelch

Entrepreneur Dean Kamen has inked a multimillion dollar partnership with Coca-Cola (CC) to mass produce and distribute the Slingshot, a low energy device that can convert raw sewage into potable water for poor people and communities in developing economies. View Details

Keywords: DEKA; Dean Kamen; Coca-Cola; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Commercialization; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; North Africa; South Africa; Asia; South America

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Consumer-Packaged Foods Industry

By: Amanda Rischbieth, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the consumer-packaged goods industry. We design a methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates on customer... View Details

SSRN

September 2012
Article

Food Choices of Minority and Low-Income Employees: A Cafeteria Intervention

By: Douglas E. Levy, Jason Riis, Lillian M. Sonnenberg, Susan J. Barraclough and Anne N. Thorndike

Background: Effective strategies are needed to address obesity, particularly among minority and low-income individuals.

Purpose: To test whether a two-phase point-of-purchase intervention improved food choices across racial, socioeconomic (job... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Safety; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Advantage; Cost

Web

Food & Agriculture - Business & Environment

Chan HBS MBA 2018, Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder, FarmTogether Tim Folger, “ The Next Green Revolution ,”National Geographic, 2014, accessed September 13, 2019. “ Food Sector Summary ,” Project... View Details

02 Sep 2014
News

Food Stamp Entrepreneurs: How Public Assistance Enables Business Bootstrapping

02 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Food Stamp Entrepreneurs: How Public Assistance Enables Business Bootstrapping

Gareth Olds grew up toeing the poverty line. For years his parents struggled to support three children in Anchorage, Alaska, where food costs run high. His stepfather held down a steady but low-paying job as a dental assistant, and his... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

2017
Article

Refugees Misdirected: How Information, Misinformation and Rumors Shape Refugees’ Access to Fundamental Rights

By: Melissa Carlson, Laura Jakli and Katerina Linos

The global refugee regime represents one of the few generous commitments governments offer to outsiders. Indeed, few persons fleeing armed conflict actually claim international protection upon first arriving in Europe, even though the benefits of legal protection are... View Details

Keywords: Refugees; Knowledge Dissemination; Trust; Risk and Uncertainty; Rights; Europe