Publications

29 May 2020
Op-Ed

How Leaders Are Fighting Food Insecurity on Three Continents

according to the Nwunelis. Sahel Capital Agribusiness Managers, where Mezuo Nwuneli is the managing partner, provides capital and technical assistance to food and... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence; Agriculture & Agribusiness

October 1987 (Revised November 1987)
Case

Gruppo Ferruzzi: Economics, Politics and Ethanol

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

2017
Working Paper

Creating the Market for Organic Wine: Sulfites, Certification, and Green Values

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

This working paper examines the history of organic wine, which provides a case study of failed category creation. The modern organic wine industry emerged during the 1970s in the United States and Western Europe, but it struggled to gain traction compared to other... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Failure; Problems and Challenges; Complexity; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

SSRN

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2018
Working Paper

Information Provision and Innovation: Natural Experiment of Herbal Patent Prior Art Adoption at the United States and European Patent Offices

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury and Tarun Khanna

We exploit a natural experiment to study how codifying information about prior innovation affects subsequent innovation. A codified database of traditional Indian herbal formulations was adopted by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Ethnicity; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; China; India

Read Now

November 2015 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Nestle's Creating Shared Value Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer, Kerry Herman and Sarah McAra

This case considers Nestlé’s creating shared value (CSV) strategy, which focused on the three categories of nutrition, water, and rural development. In the packaged food and beverage industry, pressure had mounted since the 1990s to improve supply chain sustainability... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Health And Wellness; Nutrition; Health; Labor; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Operations; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland; Europe; Africa; Latin America; North America; Asia

August 2024
Background Note

Mitigating Climate Change with Machine Learning

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kelsey Carter, Amy Chambers, Avery Park and Susan Pinckney

This note highlights how machine learning is being used to decarbonize (reduce GHG emissions) several key sectors including electricity, transportation, building, industrial processes, and agriculture -- and how machine learning is being used to accelerate efforts to... View Details

Keywords: Climate; Artificial Intelligence; Adaptation; Climate Change; AI and Machine Learning; Innovation and Invention

April 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Background Note

Fighting Malnutrition and Hunger in the Developing World

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Djordjija Petkoski and Kerry Herman

The millennium objectives of reducing poverty and malnutrition are not being met. How do the private, public, and NGO sectors of society work together to achieve better results and include the recipients in the process? View Details

Keywords: Food; Nutrition; Poverty; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations; Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

March 1988
Case

U.S. Farm Credit System: Regrouping and Rebuilding

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

October 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Global Farmer and the Future of Soybean Production, The

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Kevin M. Allison

Three farmers from three different countries are looking at the global soybean system and how to position themselves in the future. View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Globalized Markets and Industries; Food; Strategic Planning; Forecasting and Prediction; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

23 Apr 2024
In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

With each month clocking record-breaking temperatures across the planet, this Earth Day reflected the renewed urgency of regulators and businesses to find climate-change solutions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted new rules that will mandate... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

2002
Chapter

Just a Peasant? Economy and Legacy in Vietnam

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

April 2020
Teaching Note

Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature

By: Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett

Teaching Note for HBS No. 620-024. Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Product Development; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Digital Platforms; Science-Based Business; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; Massachusetts

October 2013 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Chobani: Growing a Live and Active Culture (Abridged)

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Matthew Preble

Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of the Greek yogurt company Chobani, Inc., was reflecting on what explained his young company's meteoric rise. The company held over half of the U.S. Greek yogurt market and nearly 20% of the total yogurt market. The company's innovative approach to... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Culture; Growth Strategy; Growth Management; Yogurt; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Agribusiness; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Canada; Australia

January 2016
Case

COFCO

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In 2015, COFCO, China's state-owned agribusiness giant, was working to protect China's food security (a key national security priority) by extending its control of the global food system through overseas acquisitions. At the same time, COFCO sought to grow its market... View Details

March 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Identifying and Realizing Investments in Eastern Europe (A)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Robert E. Kennedy and Laure Mougeot Strook

A Greek milling firm wants to invest in Eastern Europe. The case explores the firm's search strategy and its due diligence process after a potential investment, and considers how the company should structure its bid. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe

July 2011
Teaching Note

Asian Agri and the Future of Palm Oil (TN)

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Teaching Note for 511015. View Details

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Indonesia; Malaysia

Research Summary

Overview

Dr. Lurtz researches the history of agricultural economies in Latin America. She has a particular interest in export agriculture and attendant state- and locally-driven modernization projects. Her current work looks to the coffee economy of southern Mexico in the 19th... View Details

July 2013
Case

B. Zaitz & Sons Co. Farmland Investing

By: Andre F. Perold

In April 2013, Ben Zaitz was looking down at an expanse of agricultural land as his plane flew over the Midwest. He would soon arrive in northern Minnesota to meet with farmers regarding land he had recently purchased there. The vast tracts of row-crop acreage below... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Investment; Market Participation; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Minnesota; Latin America; Africa; United States; Europe