Publications

09 Apr 2021
Blog Post

Reflections on Student Conferences in 2020

Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Nourishing Global Food System "Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Nourishing Global Food System" was... View Details

May 1987 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Caruso's Pizza (Condensed)

Caruso's Pizza is a small, entrepreneurial restaurant chain. The case considers expansion of an experimental pizza delivery system ("express delivery") that involves a major process innovation--producing pizzas to inventory rather than to order. The system promises... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Processes; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry

18 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 18, 2008

Beshears, Katherine Lyford Milkman, Max H. Bazerman, and Lisa Sutherland Abstract Background—Research over the last several decades indicates the failure of existing nutritional labels to substantially improve the healthiness of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 May 2020
News

New Menu

managing director of Food-X, the firm's accelerator program focused on the food industry. But now, as he considered his next decade, and the world as it looked to his 17-year-old daughter, he realized he... View Details

September 1974 (Revised January 1988)
Case

Midwest Ice Cream Co.

Midwest Ice Cream (a disguised name) serves as an example to examine a planning and control system. Useful management information, which otherwise would not be apparent, is derived by preparing a basic profit variance analysis. This illustrates how the company is doing... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Management Systems; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2022 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Applegate Farms

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Consumer Behavior; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Brands and Branding; Integration; Strategy; Change Management; Change; Organizational Structure; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

September 1974 (Revised April 1975)
Case

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (B)

A consumer attitude survey involving more than 1,000 cranberry users has been conducted. Multivariate statistical procedures including factor analysis, cluster analysis and multiple discriminant analysis have been employed to suggest four attitude segments in the... View Details

Keywords: Surveys; Product Positioning; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Behavior; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

January 2007 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Organic Growth at Wal-Mart

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Troy Smith

In 2005, an executive vice president at Wal-Mart must decide whether to expand the retailer's selection of organic food. The decision is made in the context of wider attempts to move the giant retailer slightly upscale and to focus on environmental sustainability. View Details

Keywords: Food; Growth and Development Strategy; Product; Business Processes; Environmental Sustainability; Expansion; Retail Industry; United States

January 2009 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Restaurant Promotions in 2015

By: Benjamin Edelman

A variety of services offer consumers discounts when dining at participating restaurants. This case examines four such services: Entertainment Book, Restaurant.com, Rewards Network, and Groupon. Despite key functional similarities, each of the services chooses an... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Internet; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment

By: Ray A. Goldberg, James Weber and James M Beagle

Monsanto is the biotechnology leader in agriculture. How does it use its leadership in Round Up to fund long-term research and development in biotechnology that is acceptable to the priority system of consumers in different parts of the world? Includes color exhibits. View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Food; Business or Company Management; Agribusiness; Industry Growth; Customer Focus and Relationships; Globalization; Leadership; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

01 Mar 2015
News

Fıelds of Gold

the land dedicated to the crop a decade ago. That could be a boon for food lovers globally, but for Luo, the true value of Afghan saffron is its potential to support agricultural development. The question for Earth2Globe: how can it brand... View Details

Keywords: April White; Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry; Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry

04 Sep 2019
News

Action Plan: A New ’Cue

opinion of what barbecue is and how it should be made.” How would he please people across the barbecue spectrum? Corsello’s solution was bold. He and his partner Jeff Mauro, of View Details

Keywords: April White

03 Sep 2014
What Do You Think?

Who Should Choose Your Boss?

the world choosing a leader for an organization is a primary responsibility of a board of directors. But others tempered that judgment with a variety of cautions. Richard Belloff made the base case by saying "The Board should choose the CEO of the company View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Food & Beverage

September 2020
Supplement

Commonwealth Joe: January 2020 Update from CEO Robert Peck

By: Alexander J. MacKay

At the end of 2016, the leadership team of Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters—Robert Peck, Chase Damiano, and Jeremy Martin—had begun an ambitious retail expansion strategy in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for their specialty coffee business. That October, they... View Details

Keywords: Cold Brew Coffee; Specialty Coffee; On-premise Coffee Market; Retail Expansion Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Strategy; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Sep 2009
News

From Bytes to Bites

which built the large machines that automate the production of cardboard boxes. “I’ve always been wired operationally,” says Thomas, who majored in industrial engineering at Stanford University before coming to HBS. That background, coupled with her interest in people... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Food Services and Drinking Places; Food Services and Drinking Places; Food Services and Drinking Places; Food Services and Drinking Places

November 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

ASIMCO: The Alliance Brewing Group

ASIMCO is a direct investment fund with $350 million invested in 17 Chinese joint ventures in the brewing and auto components industries. The CEO must decide whether to invest in distribution to grow the brewing business or to invest in additional manufacturing joint... View Details

Keywords: Production; Distribution; Joint Ventures; Decision Making; Investment Funds; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China