Publications

21 Nov 2018
Blog Post

Harvard Square's Hidden History

served Newtowne (Cambridge’s name at founding). It was the primary center of commerce for the towns surrounding present-day Harvard Square, including much of the agricultural activity that took place on and near what is now HBS’s campus. ... View Details

Profile

Bridgette Slater

adventure. Also, over the course of my years in consulting, I developed a concrete vision of the work I wanted to pursue – something along the lines of ethical sourcing of agricultural products, namely chocolate, coffee, and tea – and... View Details

07 Jan 2002
Research & Ideas

How Marketing Can Reduce Worldwide Poverty

approaching them. Somebody might approach a poor subsistence farmer in Uganda to say, "We want to give you some agricultural aid. We want to give you a loan." There again, why is advocacy important? Because even in that case,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

(Photo source: iStock) Economic cluster theory has been used to describe the growth of many industries, including the automotive business around Detroit, high tech in Silicon Valley, and digital media in Seoul. These regions benefit by a concentration of complementary... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

November 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Nestle

By: David E. Bell and Mary Louise Shelman

In April 2008, Paul Bulcke took over as CEO of the world's largest food and beverage company. His predecessor, Peter Brabeck, had delivered 12 years of outstanding results while moving the company toward a new vision of health, nutrition, and wellness. Bulcke's... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

May 2016
Case

Seaside Organics

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Alisa Zalosh

This case follows Sara Norton, a soccer player-turned-serial entrepreneur, as she transforms Seaside Organics from a fledgling startup into an $89 million company. Informed by the successes and failures of her first organics venture, WellBar, Norton tries to balance... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Conflict and Resolution; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

November 1991 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Calyx & Corolla

By: Walter J. Salmon and David Wylie

Describes a new entry into the $8 billion flower industry in the United States. Combining the use of overnight air freight (Federal Express), information technology, an 800 number, and a catalog, Calyx & Corolla was changing the way flowers had traditionally been... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Transformation; Distribution Channels; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

20 Oct 2010
Op-Ed

Export Competitiveness: Reversing the Logic

Foreign investment introduced capital and provided jobs for people previously occupied in agriculture. At an aggregate level, capital intensity rose, productivity grew, and prosperity improved, and poverty levels dropped dramatically. With close to half of the working... View Details

Keywords: by Christian Ketels

27 Sep 2021
Blog Post

Working to Change the Food System

dedicate my time and energies toward. This year you’ll be co-president of the Food, Agriculture, and Water Club. What motivated you to pursue this role? What goals do you have as co-president? I think to the broader HBS population, careers today in food and View Details

December 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Zespri

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Mary Louise Shelman

Grower-owned Zespri is the sole exporter of New Zealand-grown kiwifruit outside of Australia and New Zealand. Facing growing international competition, Zespri invested in consumer branding and innovation, which has led to new types of kiwifruit that taste better and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Globalized Firms and Management; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Brands and Branding; Cooperative Ownership; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; New Zealand

Web

Agents of Change: The Founding of the AASU - The Value of Business Education

business education. Washington served as principal of Tuskegee University, which provided vocational training in agriculture and industry, from its founding in 1881. 2 Du Bois believed a liberal arts education played a critical role in... View Details

Web

Electricity - Business & Environment

Ecometano/MDCPAR “Our goal is to provide our corporate clients in Brazil with cost efficient low carbon energy solutions. Ecometano has pioneered the upgrading of high BTU biogas from landfills and other biomass to energy solutions in the Brazilian View Details

January 2021
Case

Saham Group: It's In the Genes

By: Christina R. Wing and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in August 2020 as Moulay Mhamed Elalamy (Mhamed), CEO of the Saham Group (the Group), a pan-African investment company that operates a variety of businesses out of Morocco, contemplates the Group’s identity, its investment strategy, and how to navigate... View Details

Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Family Business; For-Profit Firms; Transformation; Transition; Emerging Markets; Change Management; Private Equity; Investment; Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Morocco; Africa

December 2023
Case

Santa Elena: Table Grape Production in Chile’s Water-Challenged Regions

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

In the fiscal year ending in September 2022, Santa Elena, Chile’s fifth-ranking table grape exporter, a grape producer and exporter since 1980, had exported around 3.5 million boxes (18-pound each). But, due to a 13-year-long drought that plagued table grape-growing... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Natural Resources; Food; Environmental Law; Problems and Challenges; Weather; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chile; South America; Latin America