Publications

2012
Article

Behavioral Economics and the Psychology of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

By: Joe Price and Jason Riis

Behavioral economics is an emerging paradigm that challenges the assumptions and predictions of classical economics. This new paradigm emphasizes that consumers do not always make optimal use of available information nor do they always make choices and tradeoffs in a... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Food; Social Marketing; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Nutrition

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12 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 12

Venezuelan subsidiary's financial statements into euros. Purchase this supplement:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/111119-PDF-ENG International Agribusiness in China: Charoen Pokphand Group William C. Kirby, Michael Shih-ta Chen,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2011
Teaching Note

The Dutch Flower Cluster (TN)

By: Jorge Ramirez-Vallejo and Michael E. Porter

Teaching Note for 711507. View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Auctions; Industry Clusters; Competition; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Netherlands; China; Colombia; Ecuador; Kenya

December 2019
Supplement

Mãe Terra and Unilever (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Mariana Cal

Unilever is making strides to integrate the operations of Mãe Terra—one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods—into its own structures, after acquiring the company in 2017. Mãe Terra’s CEO, Alexandre Borges, must decide whether to implement his original... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America

December 2019 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

The case concerns the sale of Mãe Terra, one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods, to the consumer goods giant Unilever in 2017. Working with Unilever management, Mãe Terra’s CEO Alexandre Borges must determine whether and how to keep Mãe Terra's B... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America

August 2014 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Husk Power

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Sid Misra

In late 2013, Husk Power Systems found itself falling further and further behind plan. The founding CEO had decided to resign. His co-founder is faced with the decision of quitting his corporate job in the US to head to India and help form a new management team. Husk... View Details

Blog

How the Pandemic Changed Case Development in Latin America

visits," admitted Cal. "In-person meetings give us a chance to see things that we can’t see in a Zoom meeting—for instance, how people in the company interact. We also might have the chance to observe a company’s manufacturing or View Details

December 2006 (Revised December 2007)
Case

The Convention on Biological Diversity: Engaging the Private Sector

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was a U.N. treaty that by 2006 had been signed by virtually every country in the world except for the United States. The treaty established three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Private Sector; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Genetics; Environmental Sustainability

November 2022
Case

Chêne Bleu: Caught in the Trade Tariff Crossfire

By: Dante Roscini, Elena Corsi and Daniela Beyersdorfer

A French wine estate faced a 25% tariff on its U.S. exports following a multi-decade-long EU-U.S. trade dispute in the aerospace industry. View Details

Keywords: Trade; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Expansion; Family Business; Distribution; Agribusiness; Taxation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France; United States; Europe

01 Mar 2018
News

Democratizing Data to Favor Farmers

illustration by Jon Krause In 2006, Palo Alto native Charles Baron (MBA 2013) decided to join a future brother-in-law on his central Nebraska farm for the duration of the year’s corn harvest. It was what farmers would call a mixed operation: corn, soybeans, wheat, and... View Details

Keywords: Sasha Issenberg

01 Sep 2015
News

@Soldiers Field

Two hives, installed on the first-floor roof of Batten Hall, are home to Italian honeybees that have the capacity to produce 10 pounds of honey annually. They will be maintained by a local nonprofit dedicated to researching bee health. Young Me and the Moons, an ’80s... View Details

Keywords: Dwyane Wade

January 2017 (Revised April 2019)
Case

The Olmos Project: Value Creation and Value Capture

By: John Macomber, Fernanda Miguel, Laura Urdapilleta and Valeria Moy

Private investment in public infrastructure can be encouraged when there are multiple avenues to capture and to share the value created by such a project. Gains in the market value of land adjacent to projects are not customarily channeled back into defraying the... View Details

Keywords: Value Capture; Infrastructure; Decision Making; Agribusiness; Value Creation; South America; Peru

Article

Fixing Market Failures or Fixing Elections? Elections, Banks and Agricultural Lending in India

By: Shawn A. Cole

Keywords: Failure; Voting; Banks and Banking; Agribusiness; India

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July 2021
Teaching Plan

Shorefast: A Strange and Familiar Way to Reimagine Capitalism

By: Brian Trelstad, Wendy Smith and Natalie Slawinski

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 320-098. In 2006, Zita Cobb and two of her brothers, Alan Cobb and Tony Cobb, native Newfoundlanders, launched Shorefast to help grow another leg of Fogo Island’s economy. Like so many rural communities, Fogo Island’s fate was tied... View Details

Keywords: Place Making; Non-profit; Hotel; Economic Development; Tourism; Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Tourism Industry; Canada

October 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Academia Barilla

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

Barilla, the world's largest pasta company, has introduced a new high-quality, high-priced product line that features a range of authentic Italian food products sourced from artisan producers. Management believes the line will appeal to consumers seeking healthier... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Brands and Branding; Decision Choices and Conditions; Family Ownership; Nutrition; Product Development; Investment; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy

January 2024
Supplement

Frank Cornelissen: The Great Sulfite Debate (B)

By: Tiona Zuzul and Susan Pinckney

In 2018, artisanal Italian vineyard Frank Cornelissen was one of the world’s leading natural wine vineyards. Its founder, Frank Cornelissen, faced weather related conditions that forced him to have to decide between staying true to the tenets of the natural wine... View Details

August 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (B)

By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Susan Pinckney and Amram Migdal

The case describes Arla’s history, in particular its climate change mitigation efforts, and how it implemented a price incentive system to motivate individual farms to implement scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions mitigation measures and receive a higher milk price. The... View Details