Publications

06 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

The Problem with Hedge Funds

investment markets. The same is true of commodity markets. Hedge funds are now very active in equity markets and are making equity markets much more like currency markets; that is, speculative markets rather than investment markets.... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

02 Oct 2017
What Do You Think?

Do Bitcoin and Digital Currency Have a Future?

first Wall Street firm to do so. For me, the jury is still out. Here’s why. Back in the 1960s, I partnered with a commodities broker at the then-existent Hayden, Stone brokerage firm to form the Comsec Fund, a mutual fund that could trade... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Financial Services

11 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Strategy Execution and the Balanced Scorecard

describe organizations that have successfully implemented their strategies. They operate in varied regions and industries, including manufacturing, financial services, consumer services, nonprofit, educational, and public sector. Their strategies differ; some produce... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why IT Does Matter

Harvard Business Review editor-at-large, Nicholas G. Carr, ignited a firestorm in the opinion piece "Why IT Doesn't Matter" published in the May 2003 issue of HBR. Carr's argument wasn't exactly that IT doesn't matter, but rather that it has become a View Details

Keywords: by F. Warren McFarlan & Richard L. Nolan

16 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Has COVID-19 Broken the Global Value Chain?

dollars (or perceived that payments would be interrupted). Firms operating in the commodity markets also saw their revenues shrinking, and struggled to meet obligations in (dollar) debt. As a result, most of them turn to banks to obtain... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2024
Supplement

Seeds of Innovation: GALY’s Quest to Cultivate the Future of Agriculture in the Lab

By: George Serafeim

In 2023, Luciano Bueno, CEO and founder of plant cell culture agriculture company GALY, was considering the best path forward for his company as he planned to pitch Series B investors. GALY, founded in 2019, aimed to produce cotton and other crops from cells grown in... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Green Technology; Goods and Commodities; Growth and Development Strategy; Science-Based Business; Entrepreneurship; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Startups; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Production; Entrepreneurial Finance; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry; Boston; Sao Paulo

20 Mar 2000
Research & Ideas

Incubators: The New Venture Capitalists?

get a startup successfully off the ground in the electronic economy. Venture Capital as a Commodity "We definitely see a major shift occurring in the venture capital community," said Corey, who co-founded the Web consulting firm... View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss

February 2022
Case

US Foods: Driving Post-Pandemic Success?

By: David E. Bell, Olivia Hull and Amy Klopfenstein

In November 2021, US Foods CEO Pietro Satriano must decide his company’s trajectory following the COVID-19 pandemic. US Foods suffered due to business closures and social distancing during the height of the pandemic. While the situation improved following the return of... View Details

16 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Luxury Isn’t What It Used to Be

Smithsonian." These days, it seems that more and more products have been raised to a level of connoisseurship. By turning a commodity into an affordable luxury, Starbucks has demonstrated that there is significant consumer demand for... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products

18 Jun 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How Natural Winemaker Frank Cornelissen Innovated While Staying True to His Brand

Keywords: Re: Tiona W. Zuzul; Food & Beverage; Agriculture & Agribusiness

December 1995
Article

Retail Competition in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry: The Case of France and the U.K.

By: R. Lal, M. Corstjens and J. Corstjens

Keywords: Competition; Goods and Commodities; Consumer Products Industry; France; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

January 2002 (Revised April 2002)
Background Note

Note on Conflict Diamonds: Why Are Civil Wars, Like Diamonds, Forever?

Discusses the role of diamonds in Angola's civil war. View Details

Keywords: War; Goods and Commodities; Mining; Mining Industry; Angola

2007
Working Paper

The Price of Capital: Evidence from Trade Data

By: Laura Alfaro and Faisal Ahmed

We use highly disaggregated data on trade in capital goods to study differences in the price of capital across countries. This strategy is motivated by the fact that most countries import the bulk of machinery equipment from a small number of industrialized countries.... View Details

Keywords: Price; Goods and Commodities; Trade

Read Now

1987
Chapter

State Trading and the Futures Market

By: James E. Austin and Kenneth L. Hoadley

Keywords: Futures and Commodity Futures; Government and Politics; Financial Markets

08 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

Solving an Economic Mystery Surrounding Argentina and Chile

globalized world. During the late nineteenth century both countries flourished as major exporters of commodities to the industrialized nations in North America and Europe. Argentina did so well that it became one of the richest countries... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
Case

Play Time Toy Co.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The president of a toy company is considering the adoption of level production in a business characterized by highly seasonal sales. The issues include balancing the cost savings and the inventory risk, estimating the seasonal financing need, and determining the... View Details

Keywords: Production; Cost Management; Banks and Banking; Sales; Goods and Commodities; Financial Management; Risk Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry