Publications

2002
Case

Commodities, Specialties and the Great In-Between

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Keywords: Profit; Goods and Commodities

02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

that aims to explain what determines country risk (defined as the difference between the yield of a sovereign's bonds and the risk-free rate). In this paper, we contribute to the discussion by arguing that an important explanatory factor is the impact that View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

1982
Article

Incentive Compatibility in a Market with Indivisible Goods

By: A. E. Roth

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Markets; Goods and Commodities

August 2022
Case

Southwick Social Ventures

By: Henry McGee, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team had found a promising potential investment in Southwick Social Ventures (SSV), a worker and management-owned trouser manufacturer. With a 100% immigrant workforce, the co-operative was focused on reviving... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Massachusetts

March 2013
Supplement

FX Risk Hedging at EADS

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Derivatives; Foreign Exchange; Options; Forward Contract; Aerospace; Europe; Risk Management; Futures and Commodity Futures; Europe

April 2022 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Highland Park Wood Co. (Abridged)

By: David E. Bell

A major home builder wishes to purchase lumber (Southern pine). The builder wants delivery in six months but prefers to lock-in the price near current rates. The lumber wholesaler must decide on a pricing and sourcing strategy. Examples include: 1) buy & hold, 2) wait... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Goods and Commodities; Futures and Commodity Futures; Price; Forest Products Industry; Construction Industry

19 Jun 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: The Evolution of Agribusiness

being low-margin commodity producers to higher-margin providers of "solutions." The future for this massive industry will be both exciting and complex. To feed the world, production must double by 2050, while dealing with... View Details

Keywords: Re: David E. Bell & Ray A. Goldberg; Agriculture & Agribusiness

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

January 1984
Background Note

Note on the Textile Industry in the 1980s

By: Kim B. Clark

Presents major developments in textile production technology during the 1970s and early 1980s. Outlines the specific innovations as well as the company and country of origin. View Details

Keywords: Goods and Commodities; Innovation and Invention; Production; Manufacturing Industry

April–May 2005
Article

History, Social Divisions and Public Goods in Rural India

By: Abhijit Banerjee, Lakshmi Iyer and Rohini Somanathan

Keywords: History; Goods and Commodities; Public Ownership; Society; India

29 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 29, 2008

the U.S. and its new "Solution Pack" in its domestic market, Japan. The case provides rich detail on the firm's evolution from a manufacturer of thermometers to a seller of commodity products like syringes to a diversified firm... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2017 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Flex Hungary: Launching Production (A)

By: Willy Shih

This case examines design choices in the construction of flow lines. Flow lines are a popular way of arranging production because they are simple and inherently efficient. Equipment or workstations are arranged according to the sequence of steps in which a product is... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Line-balancing; Flow Line; Conveyor-paced Line; Consumer Goods; Consumer Products; Production Management; Production Planning; Production Scheduling; Operations; Production; Management; Supply Chain; Design; Analysis; Goods and Commodities; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; European Union

February 1969
Article

Test of a Product Cycle Model of International Trade: U.S. Exports of Consumer Durables

By: Louis T Wells Jr

Keywords: Global Range; Trade; Product; Goods and Commodities; United States

15 Mar 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Targeted Price Controls on Supermarket Products

Keywords: by Alberto Cavallo and Diego Aparicio; Food & Beverage

December 2013
Case

Grupo Beta San Miguel

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In November 2013, Dr. Jose Pinto, head of Grupo Beta San Miguel (BSM), Mexico's largest private sugar producer, is weighing the future prospects of the Mexican sugar industry as he considers whether BSM should bid on one of the state-owned sugar mills slated for... View Details

Keywords: Mexico; Jose Pinto; Beta San Miguel; Polycrom; Sugar; World Sugar Trade; NAFTA; Strategy; Trade; Futures and Commodity Futures; Agribusiness; Price; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico; United States; North America

16 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 16

states to collect export taxes to finance expenditures, rendered states with higher windfall tax revenues from the export of commodities to spend more on education per capita. Second, we prove that colonial institutions constrained the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 1995
Article

Environmental Taxes on Intermediate and Final Goods When Both Can Be Imported

By: J. J. Rotemberg and James M. Poterba

Keywords: Taxation; Natural Environment; Goods and Commodities

March 2021
Article

Targeted Price Controls on Supermarket Products

By: Alberto Cavallo and Diego Aparicio

We study the impact of targeted price controls for supermarket products in Argentina from 2007 to 2015. Using web scraping, we collected daily prices for controlled and non-controlled goods and measured the differential effects on inflation, product availability, and... View Details

Keywords: Prices; Controls; Price Dispersion; Economics; Price; Cost Management; Goods and Commodities; Retail Industry; Argentina