Publications

January 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Redesigning Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanisms

By: Mihir A. Desai, Christina Pham, Julia Stevens and Kathleen Luchs

How should the debt of sovereign countries be restructured when countries approach default? Anne O. Krueger of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is proposing a new approach to sovereign defaults: the Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism (SDRM). The SDRM would... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Globalized Economies and Regions; International Finance; Laws and Statutes; Latin America; Asia; Mexico

April 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Unrest in Chile

By: Vincent Pons, William Mullins, John Masko, Annelena Lobb and Rafael Di Tella

In 2020, Chileans would head to the ballot box to decide their country’s future. Many international observers credited Chile’s decades of neoliberal governance with turning the country into Latin America’s “Tiger,” a prosperous, diversified economy on its way to... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics; Economy; Political Elections; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Equality and Inequality; System Shocks; Chile; Latin America

November 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Natura Cosméticos, S.A.

Rodolfo Guttilla, Director of Corporate Affairs for Natura Cosméticos S.A. (Natura), prepared for a meeting with key stakeholders to discuss the future of integrated reporting at Natura. A cosmetics company with a strong brand, robust growth in international and... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Decision Making; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Brazil

June 2020
Teaching Note

Global Brand Management of Anheuser Busch InBev's Budweiser

By: Jill Avery

Brian Perkins, chief architect of the $6 billion Budweiser brand, was excited about 2018, in which the company would launch Budweiser into several new markets in Africa and Latin America. He was feeling the pressure to finalize a global brand strategy that would define... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Global Brands; Brand Equity; Brand Storytelling; Brand Communication; Brand Positioning; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; China; Africa; Latin America

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Mercado Libre: The Best Is Yet to Come

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Fernando Fragueiro, Carla Larangeira and Mariana Cal

In 2024, Marcos Galperín, CEO and co-founder of Mercado Libre, reflected on its 25-year rise as Latin America’s largest marketplace, fintech leader, and most valuable public company. With operations spanning 18 countries and a robust ecosystem combining e-commerce,... View Details

MBA Class of 1960 Professor of Management, Paul W. Marshall, is affiliated with the Entrepreneurial Management Unit and teaches The Entrepreneurial Manager in the Turnaround Environment. This Elective Curriculum course focuses on the role of... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; banking; brokerage; computer; consulting; defense; management consulting; manufacturing; metals; professional services; retail financial services; retailing; steel

2010
Casebook

Global Capital and National Institutions: Crisis and Choice in the International Financial Architecture

By: Laura Alfaro

All managers face a business environment in which international and macroeconomic phenomena matter. International capital flows can significantly affect countries' development efforts and provide clear investment opportunities for businesses. During the 1990s and early... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Capital; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations

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October 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Editora Abril S.A.

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan

Brazil's media conglomerate Editora Abril S.A. is Latin America's largest publishing and printing company; it publishes books, and comic books, videos, maps, travel guides, music, and textbooks. It also owns Brazil's largest database marketing company, its... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Communications; Market Design; Media; Service Delivery; Private Ownership; Expansion; Web Sites; Publishing Industry; Service Industry; Brazil

Research Summary

Markets of Progress: Coffee, Commerce, and Community in the Soconusco, Chiapas, 1867-1920

Markets of Progress presents a new holistic story of rural development in Mexico at the turn of the century. In the Soconusco, as in regions throughout the world, the accelerating circulation of commodities and capital, ideas and immigrants reshaped society... View Details

Keywords: Commodities; Coffee; Mexico; Foreign Investment; Institutions; Immigration; Developing Agriculture; Development; Export Crop; Emerging Market; Property Rights; Labor History; History; Capital Markets; Business History; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Mexico; Central America

17 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

The Lessons of Business History: A Handbook

elsewhere. There is still only one overall survey of Indian business history. As Indian companies such as Tata become global giants, we need to understand where they came from. Latin America represents a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Colombia: Strong Fundamentals, Global Risk

By: Aldo Musacchio, Richard H. K. Vietor, Jonathan Schlefer and Carolina Camacho

By mid-2009 Colombian President Alvaro Uribe had ended decades of virtual civil war and strengthened the business climate, but he faced tough economic challenges. Though he had instituted prominent market reforms and brought inflation down sharply, Colombia seemed... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Macroeconomics; Trade; Global Strategy; Infrastructure; Business and Government Relations; Colombia

August 2023
Article

Formal Employment and Organized Crime: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Colombia

By: Gaurav Khanna, Carlos Medina, Anant Nyshadham, Jorge Tamayo and Nicolas Torres

Safety net programs, common in settings with high informality like Latin America, often use a means test to establish eligibility. We ask: in settings in which organised crime provides lucrative opportunities in the informal market, will discouraging formal employment... View Details

Keywords: Gangs; Informality; Crime and Corruption; Job Search; Recruitment; Colombia

Forthcoming
Chapter

Oil, Macroeconomic Volatility and Crime in the Determination of Beliefs in Venezuela

By: Rafael Di Tella, Javier Donna and Robert MacCulloch

Book Abstract: At the beginning of the twentieth century Venezuela had one of the poorest economies in Latin America, but by 1970 it had become the richest country in the region and one of the twenty richest countries in the world, ahead of countries such as Greece,... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Volatility; Crime and Corruption; Values and Beliefs; Non-Renewable Energy; Energy Industry; Venezuela

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05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Bankers, Industrialists, and Their Cliques: Elite Networks in Mexico and Brazil During Early Industrialization

Keywords: by Aldo Musacchio & Ian Read; Banking

02 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

Employees Out Sick? Inside One Company's Creative Approach to Staying Productive

Absenteeism is so pervasive in Latin America and Asia that 10 percent of a business’ workers might not show up on any given day. This risk can create tremendous uncertainty, especially for businesses running... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Fashion

Howard H. Stevenson

Howard H. Stevenson is Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor emeritus, former Senior Associate Dean, Director of Publishing, and Chair of the Harvard Business Publishing Company board. The Sarofim-Rock Chair was established in 1982 to provide a continuing base for... View Details

Keywords: broadcasting; communications; computer; construction; financial services; forest products; health care; high technology; industrial goods; insurance industry; investment banking industry; manufacturing; paper; professional services; real estate; service industry; software; venture capital industry

December 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Marfrig's Quest for Sustainable Beef

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Pedro Levindo and Ruth Costas

Marfrig, one of the world’s leading meatpackers, strived to comply with its commitment to have a deforestation-free value chain in Brazil by 2030. The company also pledged to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases in accordance with the guidelines set by the... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Acquisition; Family Business; Communication Strategy; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Bonds; Food; Global Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Government and Politics; Political Elections; Leading Change; Marketing; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Brazil; Latin America; Argentina; Uruguay; North America; United States; Europe; Asia; China

Web

Global

Understanding a rapidly changing, Dynamic world Global Research MBA 2025 Denver, CO Julia Siegel 38% of our Class of 2024 MBA students are international. The MBA Experience Regional Activities Africa Asia Pacific Europe Japan Latin View Details

Article

Business Investment in Education in Emerging Markets Since the 1960s

By: Valeria Giacomin, Geoffrey Jones and Erica Salvaj

This article examines non-profit investments by business in education in emerging markets between the 1960s and the present day. Using a sample of 110 interviews with business leaders from an oral history database, the study shows that more than three-quarters of such... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Oral History; Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Business History; Emerging Markets; Reputation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Education Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America; Middle East; India; Chile; Colombia; Sri Lanka; Kenya