Publications

December 2022
Case

Mission Produce in 2022

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Founded by CEO Steve Barnard in 1983, California-based Mission Produce was a leading supplier of Hass avocados with a global sourcing, marketing, and distribution network and $892 million in 2021 sales. Barnard had been influential in the global avocado trade’s... View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; California; Peru; Guatemala; Colombia; Mexico; Chile

17 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’

both ways. Peter Levitt, a lawyer in Boston, says that his father often fine-tuned discussion points while eating breakfast at a diner on Western Avenue. After a big meal, Levitt père would skip lunch: "Dad enjoyed food so much that... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Retail

January 2017
Case

Danaher Corporation, 2007–2017

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On July 2, 2016, Danaher Corporation completed the spinoff of Fortive Corporation. The previous day, Danaher’s stock price had reached an all-time high. In 2015, Danaher had decided to split off its test and measurement, fuel and fleet management, and automation... View Details

August 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

Diageo and Mey Icki: Turkish Delight or Turkish Hangover?

By: Dante Roscini and Gamze Yucaoglu

In September 2013, two years after its $2.1 billion acquisition of Mey Icki Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (Mey Icki), the principal spirits company in Turkey specializing in the local beverage, raki, Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks company, was concerned about new... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Emerging Markets; Government Legislation; Taxation; Valuation; Business and Government Relations; Government and Politics; Risk Management; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Middle East; Turkey

June 1999 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Supermercados Disco: Regional Strategy

The Disco chain of supermarkets has pursued a successful local niche strategy in Argentina to compete with intense competition from multinational chains. Now Disco considers options for expanding its regional strength. View Details

Keywords: Food; Marketing Strategy; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Argentina

December 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Ben & Jerry's: Preserving Mission & Brand within Unilever

By: James E. Austin and James Quinn

In the months after Ben & Jerry's was acquired by Unilever, Ben & Jerry's head social mission faces challenges and opportunities unique in the company's history, including: how to manage employee morale; whether to include synthetic ingredients to meet consumer... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Management Teams; Governing and Advisory Boards; Value Creation; Corporate Governance; Employee Relationship Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 2018
Supplement

OldTown Berhad

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Greg Saldutte

In December 2017, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE, a Dutch coffee company) made an offer to acquire OldTown Berhad (OTB), a Malaysian coffee company. Three large shareholders, representing more than half of the outstanding shares, have agreed to tender their shares and... View Details

December 2017
Supplement

Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle

In January 2017, the leadership team of Bega Cheese—the Australian dairy company—was considering a bid for Mondelēz International’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) grocery business which included several leading consumer brands (Vegemite—the iconic Australian spread,... View Details

03 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The State of Customer Service Leadership

Southwest Airlines, for instance, has continued as a legendary US-based service provider since its inception in 1971, IKEA of Sweden has evolved to teach the world’s retailers about the power of a well- defined and well-executed service... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Retail

03 Jan 2017
First Look

January 3, 2017

broadly available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52046 October 2016 Business History Review The Rise of Synthetic Colors in the American Food Industry, 1870–1940 By: Hisano, Ai Abstract—This article... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

14 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Rewriting the Rules of Service Competition

well. As a result, these organizations staff very carefully, hiring for attitude and then training for skills, whether the business is fast food or cutting-edge medical organizations such as the Mayo Clinic. These are not good places to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett, W. Earl Sasser & Leonard A. Schlesinger; Retail

19 Feb 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Amazoned: Is Any Industry Safe?

obvious—igniting a revolution in retail—to the more subtle—how Amazon's web development services resulted in more startups receiving VC funding. What will be the next shoe to fall? Can Amazon Do What Walmart Couldn’t, Stop the 'Wheel of Retailing'? Is Amazon's growing... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

25 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Who Wants to Be an Entrepreneur? [Part II]

being able to put the team in place," as she put it, Polished could not take root. But by last December, Polished seemed closer to its initial destination. Rhyne had secured a lease at Boston's Logan Airport, begun building the first Polished center, added an... View Details

Keywords: by John S. Rosenberg

01 May 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 1, 2018

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/718039 Harvard Business School Case 517-064 Note on the Impact of Millennials on the Food System In 2016, the millennial generation (those age 19 to 35 in 2016), the largest generation by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 11

story-one located far from the factory floor. Can Wages Buy Honesty? The Relationship Between Relative Wages and Employee Theft Authors:Tatiana Sandino and C. X. Chen Publication:Journal of Accounting Research 50, no. 4 (2012) Abstract In this study we examine whether,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Small Businesses Are Worse Off Than We Thought

If the COVID-19 crisis lasts four months, 65 percent of small retailers say there’s a good chance they’ll be forced to close permanently by the end of the year. Among restaurants and bars, 70 percent expect to go out of business if... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

November 2015 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Mission Impossible? Yummy77 Delivers Groceries within the Hour

By: Benjamin Edelman

Yummy77 considers alternative operational models to reduce cost, improve speed, and increase appeal. Can one of these approaches succeed where others have failed? View Details

Keywords: Grocery Delivery; Operations; Platforms; Logistics; Distribution; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China