Publications

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

December 2001
Case

iSteelAsia-2001

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Iris T. Li

Presents a follow-up one year later. Shows how this online steel distributor has now reached breakeven. Focuses on the new challenges for the future. View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Economy; Goods and Commodities; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Information; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Problems and Challenges; Steel Industry; China; United States

December 2010
Article

Markets, Morals, and Practices of Trade: Jurisdictional Disputes in the U.S. Commerce in Cadavers

By: Michel Anteby

This study examines the U.S. commerce in human cadavers for medical education and research to explore variation in legitimacy in trades involving similar goods. It draws on archival, interview, and observational data mainly from New York state to analyze market... View Details

Keywords: Education; Goods and Commodities; Trade; Lawfulness; Moral Sensibility; Market Participation; Management Practices and Processes; New York (state, US)

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26 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

Why the US-China Tariff Standoff Hurts American Companies More

Cavallo suggests that American companies—and more recently, consumers—are bearing the brunt of the trade war with China, whose government has been retaliating with its own import tax increases. US exporters, particularly farmers selling View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Retail; Manufacturing; Steel

June 2010
Article

What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns

By: Glenn Ellison, Edward Glaeser and William R. Kerr

Why do firms cluster near one another? We test Marshall's theories of industrial agglomeration by examining which industries locate near one another, or coagglomerate. We construct pairwise coagglomeration indices for US manufacturing industries from the Economic... View Details

Keywords: Production; Economics; Industry Clusters; Analytics and Data Science; Labor; Theory; Goods and Commodities; United States; United Kingdom

October 1995
Case

Groupe Danone Prepares for the Next Century

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Elizabeth Ashcroft

Danone is the largest food company in France and is in the top ten in the world, but most of its activity is in France, Spain, and Italy. How does it become a global company? Should it? How does it leverage its leadership in yogurt, biscuits, and mineral water? View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry

06 Dec 2006
Op-Ed

India Needs to Encourage Trade with China

Jiabao last year during a similar visit. But $19 billion is hardly anything to write home about, even if one were to discount the fact that much of what India exports to China is low-value-added commodities (notably iron ore). I asked... View Details

Keywords: by Tarun Khanna

June 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Background Note

Digital Commerce and Delivery: Preparing Food and Retail Value Chains for a 50-50 World

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor, Paige Boehmcke and Will Ensor

Increasing digitalization of grocery retail and quick commerce reveals insights about managing complex supply chains at scale and shifting revenue streams from product sales to data monetization. How are the roles of retailers changing? What happens if marginal cost... View Details

Keywords: Grocery Delivery; Grocery; Digitalization; Fulfillment; Delivery; Supply Chain; Disruption; Food; Supply Chain Management; Market Design; Trends; Value Creation; Goods and Commodities; Customer Value and Value Chain; Digital Transformation; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; China

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

30 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 30

pricing for first-exposure products on the site. Many in the industry have relied on years of experience and intuition to determine pricing—can Wilson provide new insights? Purchase this case:https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/617059-PDF-ENG Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Market Makers Bid for Success

two-minute version is that after I left HBS I worked at McKinsey down in Texas. I learned two major things while I was there. First, the way to make money in commodities markets is to have superior information, to make better trades, and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Web Services; Technology

September 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

GoodGuide

By: George Serafeim, Robert G. Eccles and Tiffany A. Clay

GoodGuide, a high-technology start-up company, founded by University of California Professor at Berkley Dara O'Rourke is at a critical junction. The venture capital funded company has yet to find the business model to monetize a very promising product that provides... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Goods and Commodities; Business Model; Information Technology; Knowledge; Education Industry; California

November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Can Florida Orange Growers Survive Globalization?

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Florida Citrus Department has to deal with increasing competition from Brazil. What position should the industry take on its existing tariff? Who benefits? Who loses? View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Trade; Price; Globalized Markets and Industries; Goods and Commodities; Competition; Competitive Strategy

07 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Online Retailers Should Hide Their Best Discounts

Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker Fixing Price Tag Confusion What do you think of this research? Share your insights and experiences below. View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

15 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 15

in India and outline both quantitative and qualitative evidence from 42 Indian state-owned laboratories to support this argument. August 2013 Journal of Economic History Colonial Institutions, Commodity Booms, and the Diffusion of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

If Your Customers Don't Care What You Charge, What Should You Charge?

typhoonski] Related Reading: Deconstructing the Price Tag Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker Name Your Price. Really. What do you think of this research? Share your insights below. View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Energy

01 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 1, 2006

We find evidence consistent with a shift toward a commodity relationship and an increased reliance on business-getting. Specifically, we find some evidence of a disappearance of the midsized firm and strong evidence of a rise in the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jul 2006
Op-Ed

Enron Jury Sent the Right Message

behavior could possibly arise, lie many examples of highly innovative management: the successful intermediation of the natural gas market, the "gas bank" created by Jeff Skilling, the development of standardized commodity... View Details

Keywords: by Malcolm S. Salter

September 2010
Article

Do Inventory and Gross Margin Data Improve Sales Forecasts for U.S. Public Retailers?

By: Saravanan Kesavan, Vishal Gaur and Ananth Raman

Firm-level sales forecasts for retailers can be improved if we incorporate cost of goods sold, inventory, and gross margin (defined here as the ratio of sales to cost of goods sold) as three endogenous variables. We construct a simultaneous equations model, estimated... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Forecasting and Prediction; Distribution; Goods and Commodities; Cost; Public Sector; Profit; Mathematical Methods; Analytics and Data Science; Retail Industry; United States

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