Publications

06 Feb 2023
Blog Post

African American Student Union Spotlight on HBCUs

about their experiences before and during the MBA program. Kristen Shipley (MBA 2024) Where is your hometown and which HBCU did you attend? My hometown is Baltimore, Maryland and I attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State... View Details

06 Sep 2022
Blog Post

Student Spotlight: Summer Internships in Business & Environment

(Brazilian Energy & Infrastructure conglomerate) Tom Troxel (MBA 2023, Section K), Summer Internship: Carbon Sequestration Project MBA Intern at Conservation International Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) are actions to protect, restore, and improve the management... View Details

15 Sep 2022
Blog Post

6 Things to Know About Sustainability at HBS

interested in sustainability and the environment will find plenty of company on campus. In addition to becoming Student Sustainability Associates, students can join three clubs (the Energy and Environment Club; the Food and Agriculture... View Details

June 2013 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Château Margaux: Launching the Third Wine

By: Elie Ofek and Eric E. Vogt

Château Margaux, one of only five prestigious estates in the Bordeaux Medoc wine region to have been classified as a "first-growth", is facing a host of strategic decisions in early 2013. Up until this point the estate had been selling two red wines, a first wine whose... View Details

Keywords: New Product Launch; Marketing Plan; Brand Management; Go To Market Strategy; Channels Of Distribution; Wine Industry; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France

Web

Blog - Creating Emerging Markets

15 Feb 2023 Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - Innovations to Address the Global Water Crisis Maxim Pike Harrell 10 Apr 2023 Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - Leapfrogging Traditional Agricultural... View Details

December 2019 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Impossible Foods

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Impossible Foods founder and CEO Pat Brown started the company out of concern over livestock production’s impact on climate change. Impossible’s mission is to end consumption of animals by 2035, and its strategy is to develop and market plant-based foods so similar to... View Details

2014
Book

Empire of Cotton: A Global History

By: Sven Beckert

The epic story of the rise and fall of the empire of cotton, its centrality to the world economy, and its making and remaking of global capitalism. Cotton is so ubiquitous as to be almost invisible, yet understanding its history is key to understanding the origins... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Globalized Markets and Industries; Society; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Find at Harvard

27 Oct 2015
News

Sweet Success

agriculture, and Lydia had a background in the food industry. “It seemed a good match,” he says. “And if you do it right, harvesting maple sap is a totally sustainable agricultural practice.” Good Timing and Good Chemistry Doing it right... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

April 2018
Case

The Bayer - Monsanto Merger: GMOs and 'Science for a Better Life'

By: Martha J. Crawford and James Barnett

This case allows students to explore the economic, ethical and legal challenges faced by agri-business companies, after several decades of promoting and selling Genetically Modified (GM) crops. Starting in the 1980s, the widespread introduction of GM crops was... View Details

Keywords: Merger; Acquisition; GMO; Genetically Modified Crops; Neonics; Pesticides; Crop Seeds; EU; Mergers and Acquisitions; Agribusiness; Genetics; Natural Environment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Consolidation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe; United States

May 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Debt Policy at UST Inc.

UST, Inc. is a very profitable smokeless tobacco firm with low debt compared to other firms in the tobacco industry. The setting for the case is UST's recent decision to substantially alter its debt policy by borrowing $1 billion to finance its stock repurchase... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

February 1985 (Revised September 1988)
Case

Komatsu Ltd.

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Reviews and updates the structure and characteristics of the earth-moving equipment industry presented in the companion case, Caterpillar Tractor Co. After revealing that CAT has suffered major financial losses during the period from 1981 through 1984, the case... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Machinery and Machining; Price; Growth and Development; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Production; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

23 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Arla Foods: How Sustainable Can A Dairy Company Be?

Arla had an appreciation for the natural resources that allowed their business to thrive, but we had several questions about how they anticipated resolving that tension long-term in a world where dairy production and animal agriculture... View Details

May 2009
Case

Ceres Gardening Company: Funding Growth in Organic Products

By: John H. McArthur and Sunru Yong

Ceres is a leading player in the growing organic gardening industry, selling seeds, small plants, and related items. Their distribution depends heavily on retail sales through independent nurseries and garden centers. Because these small dealers are unable to finance... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Procedures; Marketing; Business Growth; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Credit; Financial Statements; Sales; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

October 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Calgene, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and John T. Gourville

In 1993, Calgene is on the verge of introducing the world's first genetically engineered plant product--a tomato will taste better and stay fresh longer. At the same time, it is using biotechnology to produce improved plant products for the cottonseed and the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Launch; Innovation Strategy; Social Issues; Production; Problems and Challenges; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

25 Jan 2021
Working Paper Summaries

India’s Food Supply Chain During the Pandemic

Keywords: by Matt Lowe, G V Nadhanael, and Benjamin N. Roth; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Agriculture & Agribusiness

August 1980 (Revised March 1994)
Case

Freemark Abbey Winery

Freemark Abbey must decide whether to harvest in view of the possibility of rain. Rain could damage the crop but delaying the harvest would be risky. On the other hand, rain could be beneficial and greatly increase the value of the resulting wine. This decision is... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Forecasting and Prediction; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

11 Apr 2023
Blog Post

BTG Bioliquids: Creating Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oil from Biomass Residue Streams

human consumption, such as food production, or used for energy production instead. BTG Bioliquids uses wood instead of livestock derivative products, and avoids deforestation concerns by relying on second generation biomass residues such as woody crops and View Details

December 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Sustainable Tea at Unilever

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Frederik Nellemann

Unilever's Lipton Tea had been successful with the first phase of its certification partnership with Rainforest Alliance. Now the company faced challenges in how to push forward with the transformation of more difficult parts of the supply chain and how to market... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Marketing; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry