Publications

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

August 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2018, LIU Chang (Angela), chairman of Beijing-based New Hope Liuhe (NHL), was considering the strategy of the firm. With $9 billion in sales and a presence in nearly 20 countries, NHL was China’s largest animal feed producer and a major pork and poultry... View Details

December 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B)

By: Michael L. Tushman, Wendy Smith and Daniel Radov

Focuses on Pierre Urech's efforts to change the division structure at Ciba-Geigy to facilitate the marketing of the new product. Details the relationships Urech cultivates and the strategy he pursues as "product champion." Also describes the restructuring of the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Research and Development; Marketing Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Product Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; Switzerland

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

27 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

New Research: Surviving Bankruptcy, Useful Economics, and Retirement

to the Ground Navid Mojir and V. Kasturi Rangan “The case tells the story of Dell Technologies and its efforts to revitalize its value proposition and escape a commodity trap by acquiring EMC for $67 billion—the largest tech acquisition... View Details

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

Supplement 411-002 The Dow board made a bid for Rohm and Haas Company in order to transition its portfolio away from commodity chemicals towards specialty chemicals. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

recommended by theory, top marginal income tax rates have declined, marginal income tax schedules have flattened, redistribution has risen with income inequality, and commodity taxes are more uniform and are typically assessed on final... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2020
Teaching Note

Danone: Changing the Food System

By: David E. Bell, Federica Gabrieli, Daniela Beyersdorfer, Amy Klopfenstein and Aldo Sesia

Teaching Note for HBS No. 520-053.
This is a teaching note for the case “Danone: Changing the Food System?” The case examines the efforts of one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies to resolve the social, environmental, and economic issues within... View Details

Keywords: Food; Goods and Commodities; Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Paris

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

Find at Harvard

18 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

Tips to Reinvent the Department Store

a designer's line and pick from it the point of view we want to represent," while a vendor's own store will typically offer an entire line of products. "[But] there are certain commodity items. A Prada handbag is a Prada... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Retail

25 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 25, 2006

206-046 Using a comprehensive and simple example of a firm exposed to foreign exchange risk, interest rate risk, and commodity price risk, shows how to use corporate-value-at-risk to measure and manage a firm's global exposure to risk.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 17

expenditures, to manage earnings to meet or beat key benchmarks. This paper examines this hypothesis by testing how different types of marketing expenditures are used to boost earnings for a durable commodity consumer product, which can... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Time that Government Reopens for Business

making good money in developing markets, but those opportunities are now considerably diminished due to depreciating currencies in the face of high commodity prices, specifically energy prices, which are dollar denominated. Meanwhile,... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

05 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

In Praise of Marketing

compare prices over the web irons out cross-border price differences and expands trade. A poor farmer in India can check commodity prices on the Internet before he sells his crop to the local buyer. Thanks to a progressive decline in data... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Advertising

15 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Find Your Pragmatic Path through Radical Uncertainty

communicating with those who depend on us for advice and leadership. We must be willing to explain why we can’t answer all the questions. Credibility is a critical commodity in a crisis and it must not be wasted. “Who to trust” is a... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson, Eugene B. Kogan, and Shirley Spence

Research Summary

Overview

Dr. Lurtz researches the history of agricultural economies in Latin America. She has a particular interest in export agriculture and attendant state- and locally-driven modernization projects. Her current work looks to the coffee economy of southern Mexico in the 19th... View Details

February 2016 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Chilli Beans: Peace, Love, and Sunglasses

By: José B. Alvarez, Robert Mackalski and Andrew Otazo

This case illustrates how Chilli Beans became the most popular sunglasses retailer in Brazil and the issues it faced when expanding into the United States. View Details