Publications

July 2004 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Opium and Entrepreneurship in the Nineteenth Century

By: Geoffrey Jones, Elisabeth Koll and Alexis Gendron

This case examines the role of Jardine Matheson, a trading company founded by two Scottish merchants, in the opium trade between India and China during the nineteenth century. The two Opium Wars fought between Western powers and China, which sought to stop opium... View Details

Keywords: History; Globalized Economies and Regions; Ethnicity; Multinational Firms and Management; Groups and Teams; Trade; Social and Collaborative Networks; China; United Kingdom

July – August 2009
Article

Preferential Treatment: The New Face of Protectionism?

Free trade agreements have increased dramatically over the past decade. This forethought considers how they present global executives with thorny strategic and operational decisions, a piece of which has to do with China's entry into the FTA scene. View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Trade; Strategy; Operations; Decisions; Practice; China

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October 1996 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Regarding NAFTA

By: Debora L. Spar

In the aftermath of World War II, the countries of the industrialized world engaged in an unprecedented round of institution-building, through which historical barriers to international trade, especially tariffs, came tumbling down. The GATT has reshaped the... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Trade; North America

11 Sep 2012
News

Top 1,000 Companies Wield Power Reserved for Nations

February 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Brazil: Leading the BRICs?

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich and Aldo Musacchio

Brazil's new president, Dilma Rousseff, had announced plans to sustain GDP growth above 5% annually and continue the country's leadership role among emerging economies. Between 2003 and 2010, Brazil benefited from strong economic growth and stable policies under the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Intellectual Property; Infrastructure; Economic Growth; Trade; International Relations; Economic Systems; Globalization; Corporate Strategy; Brazil; Russia; India; China; United States

2024
Working Paper

The Golden Revolving Door

By: Ling Cen, Lauren Cohen, Jing Wu and Fan Zhang

Using both the onset of the US-China trade war in 2018 and the most recent Russia-Ukraine war and associated trade tensions, we show a counterintuitive pattern in global trade. Namely, while the average firm trading with these nations significantly decreases their... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Business and Government Relations; International Relations

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October 2002 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Codex Alimentarius and Food Labeling

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Codex Alimentarius is a set of international food standards devised by the Codex Commission, a body within the United Nations jointly sponsored by the FAO and WHO. The purpose of the standards is to harmonize global trade in food products and agricultural commodities,... View Details

Keywords: Standards; Trade; Agreements and Arrangements; Food; Agribusiness; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Globalization; Health; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

01 Jul 2025
Video

Green Industrial Policy at a Crossroads

09 Jun 2021
News

If You Thought the Ever Given Blocking The Suez Canal Was Bad, What’s Coming Could Be Worse

November 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Grupo Beta San Miguel (A)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Hal Hogan

The World Trade Organization and NAFTA are reviewing the sweetener system and governmental sugar programs and their impact on world trade. What position should Jose Pinto take, and how will this affect his company, Mexico, and the global sugar players? View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Government and Politics; System; Competitive Advantage; Management Teams; Mexico

Research Summary

Overview

My current project examines how U.S. industrial union leaders engaged in political lobbying and worked through international trade union federations to advance their interests related to international trade, capital movements, and global labor standards from the 1940s... View Details

November 2023 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Decarbonizing Shipping at A.P. Møller-Maersk (A)

By: Willy Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter

Container shipping was responsible for moving more than 80% of globally traded goods, and almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A.P. Møller-Maersk, one of the top three container lines, conducted an extensive lifecycle assessment (LCA) of alternative fuels,... View Details

Keywords: Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Energy Sources; Environmental Sustainability; Ship Transportation; Shipping Industry

Research Summary

Business history

Espen Storli is currently working on a project on commodity trading in the post-WWII period, with a special interest in the political economy of the world mercury markets. He is also one of the editors of a forthcoming book on the global economic history of bauxite. View Details

13 Mar 2014
HBS Seminar

David Moss, Harvard Business School

December 2019
Case

CME Group in 2019

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

Chicago-based CME Group is the world’s largest futures and options marketplace, with annual trading volume of over 4.8 billion contracts in 2018. This case is set in late 2019, as heightened perceptions of risk stemming from the U.S.-China trade war are driving record... View Details

Keywords: Financial Markets; Risk Management; Futures and Commodity Futures; Trade; Price; Competition; Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; United States; China; Brazil

18 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How Eliminating Non-Competes Could Reshape Tech

Harvard Business School says. As part of a sweeping executive order aimed at promoting competition in the American economy, US President Joe Biden specifically called out non-compete agreements as hurtful to innovation and workers. Issued last July, the order asks the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

02 Mar 2018
News

Trump’s Tariffs Will Take Their Toll

October 2001
Case

Meg Whitman and eBay Germany

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

After acquiring the German online auction company Alando.de, eBay CEO Meg Whitman and her team must integrate Alando's Web site with the company's existing platform. The acquisition is the first step of eBay's journey to become a global trading platform. In addition to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Integration; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Globalized Markets and Industries; Germany