Publications

2014
Book

Business History

By: Walter A. Friedman and Geoffrey Jones

This volume contains a selection of 42 foundational articles on the discipline of business history written between 1934 and the present day by scholars based in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. A wide-ranging editorial introduction describes the... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Business History; History

January 2016 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Citizens United and Corporate Speech

By: David Moss and Marc Campasano

The story of Citizens United began in late 2007, as leading members of the Republican and Democratic parties were preparing for the 2008 presidential primaries. Democrats expected a three-way contest in their party between Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, Senator (and... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Internet and the Web; Political Elections; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business and Government Relations

June 2013 (Revised March 2015)
Teaching Note

Business and Government: Campaign Contributions and Lobbying in the United States

By: Karthik Ramanna and Sandra Sucher

03 Jul 2019
Cold Call Podcast

The Controversial History of United Fruit

Keywords: Re: Geoffrey G. Jones; Food & Beverage

January 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

United Housing—Otis Gates

By: Steven Rogers and Mercer Cook

Otis Gates, the only African-American in his HBS graduating class, is an entrepreneur from greater Boston area and has built a successful affordable housing firm. Along the way, he and his partners have contributed countless hours of community service to the... View Details

Keywords: Affordable Housing; Real Estate; Community Engagement; Social-good; Request For Proposal; Diversity; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Moral Sensibility; Fairness; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Housing; Business and Community Relations; Real Estate Industry

October 1987 (Revised March 1989)
Case

United Parcel Service (B)

With expansion into other countries (Germany), new areas of service (air express), and new ventures (two small acquisitions), UPS had to decide how to adjust its human resource policies to businesses and people which were substantially different from its traditional... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Service Industry; Germany; United States

December 2012
Case

Delwarca Software Remote Support Unit

By: Roy D. Shapiro and Paul E. Morrison

Delwarca Software provides business software to large corporate clients around the world. The firm serves customers who prefer to assemble corporate solutions using a combination of software programs from various suppliers rather than implementing a single enterprise... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Service Delivery; Mathematical Methods; Applications and Software; Problems and Challenges; Customer Satisfaction; Information Technology Industry

February 1987 (Revised August 1989)
Background Note

United States Trade Law

By: David B. Yoffie

Examines the manner in which U.S. trade law and policy has evolved, with emphasis on trade in manufactured goods and services as well as the relationship between the executive and the legislature. The structure and content of U.S. trade law is discussed including a... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Machinery and Machining; Policy; Law Enforcement; Outcome or Result; Business and Government Relations; United States

April 1989 (Revised March 1991)
Case

New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (A)

Concerns a 1983 joint venture between General Motors and Toyota to produce small cars in the United States. Describes the globalization of the auto industry and the competitive positions of the two companies. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Joint Ventures; Globalized Markets and Industries; Auto Industry; Japan; United States

January 1991 (Revised May 1991)
Case

Hoechst in the United States (A)

Describes the U.S. market for chemicals following WW II to the present and the attention of the market for global chemical companies. Traces the involvement of Hoechst in this market up to the 1980s when minimum growth has been offered through Hoechst's U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Chemicals; Acquisition; Chemical Industry; United States

Mar 2012
Article

Choosing the United States

A location decision is, in many respects, a referendum on a nation's competitiveness. When a company decides, say, to build a new plant in China rather than in the United States, it is effectively voting on the question of which country... View Details

May 2015
Teaching Note

The United Kingdom and the Means to Prosperity

By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Hilary White

After struggling through the country's longest recession since 2008, the U.K. was expected to grow faster than any other G7 nation in 2014. Analysts wondered whether the return to growth was because, or in spite of, Prime Minister David Cameron's controversial £113... View Details

November 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Background Note

Business as Stakeholder in Public Education: A History of Business Efforts to Improve Public Schools in the United States

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Explores seven roles businesses and business leaders have played with respect to U.S. public education reform historically and today: "owners" helping set the agenda; "investors" donating funds; "customers" hiring graduates; "experts" contributing management know-how;... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Education; Performance Improvement; Business and Community Relations; United States

Web

Academic Units - Faculty & Research

Academic Units Accounting and Management Business, Government and the International Economy Entrepreneurial Management Finance General Management Marketing Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Organizational Behavior Strategy Technology... View Details

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Note on Comparative Treatment of Business Method and Software Patents in the United States and European Union

By: Robert C. Pozen and Felicia Ellsworth

This note analyses and compares the legal definitions and practical applications of Business Method and Software Patents in the United States and European Union. View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Patents; Business Processes; United States; European Union