Publications

May 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Debt Policy at UST Inc.

UST, Inc. is a very profitable smokeless tobacco firm with low debt compared to other firms in the tobacco industry. The setting for the case is UST's recent decision to substantially alter its debt policy by borrowing $1 billion to finance its stock repurchase... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

15 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 15

productivity on a subsequent task. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-090.pdf Box-Tickers to Frame-Makers: Transformations in the Roles of Functional Experts Authors:Matthew Hall, Anette Mikes, and Yuval Millo Abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 27

agricultural raw materials were safe, high quality, of consistent supply, and sustainably, ethically, and economically produced? How can the procurement process enable the small-scale producer to become a viable partner in the milk View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2012
Working Paper

Entrepreneurship in the Natural Food and Beauty Categories Before 2000: Global Visions and Local Expressions

By: Geoffrey Jones

This working paper examines the creation of the global natural food and beauty categories before 2000. This is shown to have been a lengthy process of new category creation involving the exercise of entrepreneurial imagination. Pioneering entrepreneurs faced little... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Goods; Entrepreneurs; Environment; Food; Globalization; Business History; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America

Read Now

December 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Darling Ingredients International

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Led by CEO Randall Stuewe, Texas-based Darling Ingredients International was a rendering firm with $3.7 billion in 2017 revenues. Since 2003, Darling had transformed from U.S. focused into a global player in the processing of biological waste from meat and foodservice... View Details

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

two locations shared knowledge of palm oil production even as they competed for market share—a contest that Malaysia eventually won thanks to its more stable political climate and higher quality of institutions. “Because the Malaysian... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

02 Aug 2016
First Look

August 2, 2016

the methodology used to allocate fixed costs on strategic decisions, such as eliminating product lines or firm segments. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/116047-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 316-150... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, February 28

systems, and advancing the field of impact investing. Purchase this case:https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/417051-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 517-051 Paine & Partners: Private Equity in Agriculture No abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jul 2016
First Look

July 19, 2016

is a San Francisco–based data analytics company focused on agricultural applications. It was acquired by Monsanto in 2013. In 2015, Climate's decision support platform was used on 75 million acres of farmland in the U.S.; however, most of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2020
Background Note

U.S. Food Retail During the Pandemic: March 2020

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This note, written in late March 2020 and mainly U.S. focused, looks at the unfolding impact of the coronavirus pandemic on food retailers and their suppliers. It allows student to consider the challenges facing food retail executives as they navigate urgent supply... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus Pandemic; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Food; Supply Chain; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Trade; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

June 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

COFCO Xinjiang Tunhe Co., Ltd.

By: David E. Bell and Aldo Sesia

In 2005, COFCO Ltd., one of China's largest and most successful companies, acquired Xinjiang Tunhe, a tomato processing firm, which had been, in recent years, poorly managed. COFCO changed Tunhe's management team and set out to create a culture of professionalism and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Customer Relationship Management; Rural Scope; Supply Chain Management; Performance Consistency; Safety; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

06 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 6

improvements in outcomes such as productivity and longevity, and that good nuts-and-bolts management at individual firms shapes national performance. At 14 textile manufacturers in India, for example, an intervention-involving free,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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