Publications

March 2012
Article

Managing Political Risk in Global Business: Beiersdorf 1914-1990

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski

This article is concerned with business strategies of political risk management during the twentieth century. It focuses especially on Beiersdorf, a pharmaceutical and skin care company in Germany. During World War I, the expropriation of its brands and trademarks... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Communication Technology; Cost; Trademarks; Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Germany

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2015
Working Paper

Business Groups Exist in Developed Markets Also: Britain Since 1850

By: Geoffrey Jones

Diversified business groups are well-known phenomena in emerging markets, both today and historically. This is often explained by the prevalence of institutional voids or the nature of government-business relations. It is typically assumed that such groups were much... View Details

Keywords: Business Groups; Business History; Economic History; Conglomerates; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Management; Organizations; United Kingdom

SSRN

2012
Working Paper

'Power from Sunshine': A Business History of Solar Energy

By: Geoffrey Jones and Loubna Bouamane

This working paper provides a longitudinal perspective on the business history of solar energy between the nineteenth century and the present day. It covers early attempts to develop solar energy, the use of passive solar in architecture before World War 2, and the... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Business History; Policy; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; Energy Industry

21 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: December 21

PIC joint venture. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/211020-PDF-ENG Rupert Murdoch: The Last Tycoon Geoffrey G. Jones and Hari BalkrishnaHarvard Business... View Details

20 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 20

Industry Author: Geoffrey Jones Publication: Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010 Abstract The global beauty business permeates our lives, influencing how we... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2014
Book

Business History

By: Walter A. Friedman and Geoffrey Jones

This volume contains a selection of 42 foundational articles on the discipline of business history written between 1934 and the present day by scholars based in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. A wide-ranging editorial introduction describes the... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Business History; History

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May 2016 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Olivia Lum: Wanting to Save the World

By: Geoffrey Jones and Essie Alamsyah

This case considers the entrepreneurial career of Olivia Lum, who founded the Singaporean water company Hyflux in 1989. An orphan born in Malaysia, Lum provides a rare case of an entrepreneurial success in a country whose economic success has primarily rested on... View Details

Educators

Fall 2017
Article

The Alternative Business History: Business in Emerging Markets

By: Gareth Austin, Carlos Davila and Geoffrey Jones

This article suggests that the business history of emerging markets should be seen as an alternative business history rather than merely adding new settings to explore established core debates. The discipline of business history evolved around the corporate strategies... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; History; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Developing Countries and Economies; Business History; Asia; Latin America; Africa

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2013
Working Paper

Historical Origins of Environmental Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s-1980s

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski

This working paper examines the growth of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. German business has been regarded as pioneering corporate environmentalism after World War II. In contrast, this study reveals... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Green Business; Pollution; Environmental Sustainability; Business History; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

SSRN

03 Nov 2023
News

Global Networking Night; Sweden Club Holds Climate Forum

Interest Group (SIGs), and Liaisons on the same day around the world. All HBS alumni are invited to this evening of informal networking and engagement. One participating club, the HBS Club of Washington DC,... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

October 2018
Teaching Plan

Helena Rubinstein: Making Up the Modern Woman

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

01 Sep 2017
News

Research Brief: As the Wind Blows

To better understand the prospects for future entrepreneurial success in sustainable industries, Professor Geoffrey Jones looks to the past. In his chapter in the new book Green Capitalism?, for instance,... View Details

Keywords: Administration of Environmental Quality Programs; Government

Web

Globalization - Faculty & Research

Stern, Ariel D., and Susan Pinckney. "Aidoc: Building a Hospital-Centric AI Platform." Harvard Business School Case 624-046, June 2024. More Publications Faculty Geoffrey G. View Details

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/311099-PDF-ENG Vehbi Koc and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group Geoffrey Jones and Asli M.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2017
News

New Regional Offices Broaden HBS’s Intellectual Reach

Geoffrey Jones (photo by Susan Young) Professor Geoffrey Jones (photo by Susan... View Details

18 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 18

Perspective on the Growth of the Koç Group in Turkey By: Coplan, Asli M., and Geoffrey Jones Abstract—This working paper examines the origins and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Aug 2014
News

A closer look at the industry of beauty

The global beauty business is a $450 billion industry, yet it received little serious scholarly attention until Geoffrey G. Jones, the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History at HBS, published Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global... View Details

March 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

WeightWatchers: Promoting Weight Health

By: Ranjay Gulati, Cynthia A. Montgomery, Ashley Whillans, Allison Ciechanover and Emily Grandjean

In December 2023, the 60-year-old weight management industry stalwart WeightWatchers announced the launch of WeightWatchers Clinic, which incorporated GLP-1s , a new class of prescription weight-loss medications, into the company’s portfolio of products and mobile app... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Resource Allocation; Diversification; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

Educators