Publications

A native of North Dakota, Dr. Goldberg received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1948, his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1950 and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1952.

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Keywords: fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food; fast food

December 1980 (Revised February 1998)
Case

Burger King Corp.

By: W. Earl Sasser and David C. Rikert

Describes the operating system of a Burger King unit. The case does not have a decision focus; it is designed for use with McDonald's Corp. Students are asked to compare the operating systems of these two fast food hamburger chains. Careful analysis will detect the... View Details

Keywords: Food; System; Operations; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

30 Oct 2019
News

How to Recover Gracefully After Shutting Down Your Startup

December 2000
Case

Daymon Associates

By: Ray A. Goldberg

How does a firm act as a coordinater between the food retailer and manufacturer and satisfy both? View Details

Keywords: Food; Globalized Markets and Industries; Distribution; Production; Sales; Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2010 (Revised August 2012)
Case

The Full Yield

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Noemie Myriam Delfassy

New firm created to provide understanding of the role of food in health and nutrition. View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Food; Health Care and Treatment; Nutrition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Pietro Satriano is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. He sits on the boards of CarMax, the largest omni-channel used car retailer in the U.S. and Metro, a large regional grocery retailer in Canada. Pietro advises a number of food-tech startups and acts... View Details

11 May 2015
Video

HBS Alumni Jared Simon on Feeding the World Sustainably

December 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In the fall of 1999, Kumio Egashira, president of Ajinomoto, a 90-year old, Japan-based processed foods and specialty chemicals company, and his team of senior executives were deciding how to globally maximize the synergies that existed between their food and amino... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Food; Chemicals; Globalization; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan

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December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Rabobank Group: Leadership Role in Global Agribusiness

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

The largest global agribusiness bank has lost its triple A rating and is rethinking its global strategy as the leading global food and agribusiness bank. How does it position itself in the vertical value-added global food system? View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Globalization; Finance; Risk Management; Global Strategy; Value Creation; Banking Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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Career Coach

Nicole Ledoux

Nicole (HBS '08) is Co-founder/CEO of 88 Acres, a Consumer Products company in the Natural Food space. She has experience in brand building, business development, new product launch, fundraising & financing as well as manufacturing.... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products; Entrepreneurship; Investment Management; Financial Services (All)

June 2018
Case

Feeding America (A)

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Alan Lam

This case describes how Feeding America, the third-largest nonprofit organization in the U.S., designed a marketplace for allocating donated food across its network of food banks. It considers the promises and pitfalls of using market-based allocation in the context of... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Food; Resource Allocation; Fairness; Performance Efficiency; United States

January 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

People Analytics at McKinsey

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Olivia Hull

A private equity–backed fast food chain has hired McKinsey’s new People Analytics group to help it improve performance. As the final client workshop approaches, Associate Partner Alex DiLeonardo ponders the best way to present the team’s findings, especially those that... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Customer Relationship Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Measurement and Metrics; Performance; Performance Capacity; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Consulting Industry; Service Industry

December 2009 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Monsanto: Helping Farmers Feed the World

By: David E. Bell, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mary Shelman

Monsanto has led the effort to bring biotechnology to bear on food production. Through some management missteps and consumer resistance the company had difficulties in its early years. But since Hugh Grant became CEO the picture has brightened with widespread adoption... View Details

Keywords: Food; Global Strategy; Leadership; Production; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

August 1999 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Tricon Restaurants International: Globalization Re-examined

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Tarun Khanna

Describes a leading fast food operator/franchiser trying to consolidate and standardize its operations worldwide and focus its efforts on a few key markets. Lends itself to a discussion of how global the fast food industry is, whether Tricon's new international... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Global Strategy; Markets; Operations; Competition; Consolidation; Food and Beverage Industry

May 16 2019
Testimonial

Tackling Challenges with Agribusiness Experts

December 2006 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Disney Consumer Products: Marketing Nutrition to Children

By: David E. Bell and Laura Winig

In an effort to capture market share in the children's foods category, Disney Consumer Products (DCP) debuted a broad line of "better for you" foods, ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to frozen meals, through a partnership with Kroger supermarkets. In answer to... View Details

Keywords: Age; Nutrition; Brands and Branding; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; Social Issues; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

08 Nov 2016
First Look

November 8, 2016

consequence of actual leverage than it is of risk premiums. Standardized Color in the Food Industry: The Co-Creation of the Food Coloring Business in the United States, 1870–1940 By: Hisano, Ai Abstract—This... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2001
Case

Aventis CropScience and StarLink Corn

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James M Beagle

Aventis CropScience responds to the discovery of an unapproved corn variety in food supplies and draws lessons for the company, industry, and governments. View Details

Keywords: Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Food; Science-Based Business; Outcome or Result; Governance Compliance; Problems and Challenges; Nutrition; Food and Beverage Industry