Publications

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

the boom in LED manufacturing, Chinese local governments would pay for 100 percent of the cost of the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tool used to make LEDs, so naturally what followed was a dramatic over-expansion of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

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

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

16 May 2016
HBS Case

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

parasites, or chemicals to consumers. In 2010, 582 million cases of 22 different foodborne diseases resulted in 351,000 deaths worldwide, with salmonella, E.coli, and norovirus resulting in the greatest number of fatalities, according to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

15 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Going Green Makes Good Business Sense

costs even further, said Reinhardt. While this method is "anecdotally successful," raising your own costs and those of others around you is not easy. The forest products and chemical industries... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

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

May 24, 2016
Article

Build a Culture of Health

By: John A. Quelch

Every company, large and small, has an impact on health. It does so in four ways: first, through the healthfulness and safety of the products and services it sells; second, through its attention to employee health and well-being in its work practices and benefits;... View Details

Read Now

20 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 20

crisis hit the Western markets. The use of project finance has grown at a compound rate of 0% over the last five years, 4% over the past 10 years, and 12% over the past 15 years. This note focuses primarily on private sector investment in View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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

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

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; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry; United Kingdom; Netherlands

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

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

Research Summary

Overview

Hisano’s research addresses the social and cultural implications of technological development and economic changes mainly in the twentieth-century United States. By analyzing the regulation, manipulation, and presentation of food color, her current book project links... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Consumer Behavior; Agribusiness; Food And Environment; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Business And Government; Advertising; Goods and Commodities; Food; History; Government and Politics; Marketing; Business and Government Relations; Advertising Industry; Advertising Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

1993
Chapter

Regulating the International Trade in Hazardous Pesticides: Closing the Accountability Gap

By: L. S. Paine

Keywords: Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Corporate Accountability; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry

25 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

FIELD Trip: Conquering the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

designing and delivering in real-time." “Two-thirds of students graduate into industries where work is done predominantly in teams.” Rising to the task, faculty initially faced a difficult paradox: how do you teach students when the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

20 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2007

caught his attention. First, he noticed that an industry suit to block the government's proposed system to rate tires on tread wear, traction, and temperature resistance had been rebuffed by a U.S. appeals court. Although the court found... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

ReMo Energy: Sizing Up Investors

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Tom Quinn

In 2023, executives with ReMo Energy (founded 2020) were deciding which size ammonia plant to build as their first project. Their innovative model produced ammonia—useful for making fertilizer and for energy storage—from renewable energy, and they had received funding... View Details