Publications

July 1985 (Revised January 1990)
Case

Dow Indonesia (B2)

By: James E. Austin, Dennis J. Encarnation III and Louis T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Chemical Industry; Indonesia

July 1985 (Revised February 1986)
Case

Dow Indonesia (A)

By: James E. Austin, Dennis J. Encarnation III and Louis T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Chemical Industry; Indonesia

November 1984 (Revised December 1985)
Background Note

Note on the Ethylene and Commodity Plastics Industries

By: Francis Aguilar, Joseph L. Bower and Benjamin Gomes-Casseres

Keywords: Chemical Industry

Web

Fabrizio Serafini | MBA

experiences that fueled my interest in the intersection of technology and business. While working to optimize production processes for a chemical group that produces biofuels, I learned firsthand the tremendous power technology holds in... View Details

Edgar S. Woolard, Jr.

Upon becoming CEO of duPont, Woolard oversaw a massive downsizing and focused the company on its core products. In addition to drastically cutting costs, Woolard restructured duPont into twenty semi-autonomous units and expanded duPont internationally. By the end of... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

Samuel P. Colt

Colt organized United States Rubber into a vertically integrated business with a centralized administration. Colt also diversified United States Rubber to include non-footwear items, such as tires, which were a booming market at the time of his tenure. Colt grew United... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

12 Apr 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: The Trouble with Tariffs

producers, and thus worthy of slapping with 25 percent or higher penalties as they come in the country. The first three pages were chemicals and medical products, and as a one-time chemist I was surprised to see what the US was aiming to... View Details

Keywords: by Willy C. Shih; Manufacturing; Auto; Steel; Air Transportation; Technology; Telecommunications

01 Mar 2016
News

Reinventing the Wheel

extracting carbon black from discarded models to create new ones. Cardozo first heard about the idea in 2013 while serving as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Dutch incubator YES!Delft. The idea of chipping away at the mountains of old tires without emitting loads... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

18 Aug 2015
News

New HBS Fund Chairs

worked at Chemical Bank and MasterCard after receiving her MBA. Raised as a Quaker with a life-long interest in service, in 1994 she began working at the All Souls Soup Kitchen and for the next 19 years she took a leadership... View Details

14 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The High Cost of the Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout

necessary to produce vast quantities of vaccines. Governments could also invest in parts of the supply chain necessary for making vaccines. One input, for example, is a chemical necessary for detecting toxins in vaccines, which in nature... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

09 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Solving the Complexities of the Biotechnology Industry

even come close to understanding it or imitating its design. The body deploys amazing, interconnected solutions to manage the chemical wonders that continuously run. We continue to explore human physiology, and we continue to learn how... View Details

20 Jan 2011
News

Oil Spill Solution

that has proven effective in pollutant absorption both above and beneath the surface of water. Smith has been working closely with fishermen in the Gulf area to help rid the affected waters of the propylene glycol (a chemical found in... View Details

January 1978
Case

Caustic Soda in Japan (B)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Chemical Industry; Japan

February 1984 (Revised February 1986)
Case

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.: Titanium Dioxide

By: W. Carl Kester, Robert R. Glauber, David W. Mullins Jr. and Stacy S. Dick

Disequilibrium in the $350 million TiO2 market has prompted Du Pont's Pigments Department to develop two strategies for competing in this market in the future. The growth strategy has a smaller internal rate of return than the alternative strategy due to large capital... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Projects; Chemical Industry

November 1973 (Revised April 1983)
Background Note

Sulfur Industry, Background Note

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Keywords: Chemical Industry

November 1997
Teaching Note

CIBA-GEIGY (A), Teaching Note

By: Kenneth A. Merchant and Krishna G. Palepu

Keywords: Chemical Industry

July 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Formosa Plastics Group: Business Continuity Forever

Wang Yung-ching, legendary Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist, passed away in 2008. He left behind an estate worth US $5.5 billion, but did not leave a will. The case discusses the potential motivation for Wang, and uses it to study succession planning for family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Governance Controls; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Chemical Industry; Taiwan

December 2009 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Neoprene

By: Tom Nicholas and Felipe Tamega Fernandes

In 1931, during one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history, Du Pont announced the discovery of an innovative rubber synthetic product—neoprene. Yet at the time of the announcement, Du Pont did not have any neoprene to sell. Manufacturing facilities were still... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Business History; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Chemical Industry; United States