Publications

November 2015 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Air Products' Pursuit of Airgas (A)

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Paul M. Healy, Penelope Rossano and Kyle Thomas

This case centers around the Air Products' hostile takeover attempt of Airgas in 2010. Air Products argued that its offer of a 38% premium is generous given Airgas' poor performance, which Air Products attributed to underperforming and entrenched managers at Airgas. On... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business and Shareholder Relations; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry

June 2010 (Revised February 2013)
Background Note

The Precautionary Principle

By: Michael W. Toffel and Nazli Z. Uludere Aragon

This note describes the precautionary principle and its key tenets, highlights challenges associated with its use, and includes many examples of its application, primarily within the realm of regulating activities based on the risk of harm to human health and the... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Health Disorders; Business and Government Relations; Safety; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chemical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

06 Aug 2001
Research & Ideas

Go Global—or No? Can You Make the Case?

Remember, we don't yet have the capability to serve the chemical and pharmaceutical industries here. There are still only 38 of us, and I estimate that building the support infrastructure we need just for... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

20 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 20

industries. We illustrate our model with examples from the field of consumer sporting goods. The significance of user entrepreneurship and the implications of our model for theories of innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry emergence... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

Unplugged: What Happened to the Smart Grid?

deep knowledge of customers' needs." Henderson noted that it is much easier to make money in an industry if there are high barriers to entry and if there are no substitutes for your products. "We love View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Energy; Utilities

18 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

No More General Tso's? A Threat to 'Knowledge Recombination'

Management Unit at Harvard Business School. Perhaps even more surprising was what came next. Seeing the success, American researchers began investigating the use of turmeric as well, combining it with other chemicals to file their own... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health; Food & Beverage; Accounting

June 2013
Supplement

Novozymes/Henrik Meyer, V.P. of Marketing and Business Development, Novozymes

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Video Supplement to the case, "Novozymes: Cracking the Emerging Markets Code." View Details

Keywords: Business To Business Marketing; Emerging Markets; Strategy; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry; China; Denmark

1966
Book

Aromatics and Derivatives

By: Robert B. Stobaugh

Keywords: Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

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21 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 21

Business School Case 112-064 Dow Chemical is one of the few major American industrial corporations founded in the late 19th century that is still in existence. From its origins producing bromine out of the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2017 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Edwin Land: The Art and Science of Innovation

By: Tom Nicholas, Christopher T. Stanton and Matthew G. Preble

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Polaroid first invented—and then continuously reinvented—the field of instant photography. Under the leadership of its mercurial founder Edwin Land, the company regularly released new instant cameras and films, often... View Details

Keywords: Instant Photography; Company History; Change Management; Disruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Intellectual Property; Patents; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Development; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry; United States

27 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Creating Leaders for Science-Based Businesses

other business practitioners. Much of the science discussed will unfold in the Allston complex's four buildings, which will house Harvard's initiatives in stem cells, bio-inspired engineering, systems biology, chemical biology, and... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Biotechnology; Health

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

somewhere to stay. Clustering created positive externalities drawing new entrepreneurs into the industry who could also learn from knowledge spillovers. There were downsides to the new industry. The creation of the national image of a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2024 (Revised March 2024)
Teaching Note

X: The Foghorn Decision

By: Kyle Myers and Walter Frick

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 618-060. View Details

02 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part One]

the authors came to believe, government had inflicted detrimental effects not only on industry but also on the Japanese economy as a whole. Their new book Can Japan Compete? is the result of years of research by Porter, the author of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

02 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 3, 2008

into bribery? How can CEOs manage and prevent outbreaks of corruption? These and other questions are raised by three short case studies of corruption in Germany: at the global engineering firm Siemens, the automaker VW, and the chemical... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2019
Case

Shell: A Company of Opportunity?

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Emer Moloney

The Opportunity Hub was a cloud-based platform that enabled managers to market projects they were working on and associated resourcing needs as “Opportunity Owners” and employees, or “Opportunity Seekers,” to browse these statements of need and engage when they had... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Change Management; Competency and Skills; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Energy; Energy Sources; Non-Renewable Energy; Renewable Energy; Human Resources; Employees; Retention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Jobs and Positions; Job Design and Levels; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Labor; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Leading Change; Resource Allocation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Evaluation; Performance Productivity; Strategic Planning; Projects; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Social and Collaborative Networks; Technology Platform; Chemical Industry; Energy Industry; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United Kingdom; Netherlands

26 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 26, 2007

Materials Harvard Business School Case 107-018 Explores the process and inputs behind financial and operational forecasting in the Electronic Specialty Materials unit at Air Products and Chemicals, a global chemical company. The... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2015
Book

The Impact of Globalization on Argentina and Chile: Business Enterprises and Entrepreneurship

By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrea Lluch

This book compares the effects of globalization on two Latin American countries, Argentina and Chile, over time. The chapters examine the impact of multinationals, the growth of business groups, and the conflicted relations between business and government. The book... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Business Groups; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Globalization; Growth and Development; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Argentina; Chile

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