Publications

Find at Harvard

September 2010 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Aspen Skiing Company (B)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Having begun improving the environmental performance of its own operations, Aspen Skiing Company is considering "greening" its supply chain and lobbying for greenhouse gas regulations. A world renowned ski resort vulnerable to global climate change, Aspen's activities... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Supply Chain; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; Aspen

Article

What to Do When Industry Disruption Threatens Your Career

By: Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin and Whitney Johnson

This article discusses how to diagnose the risks that disruptive industry forces pose to individual careers and offers suggestions on how to mitigate such threats. Recommendations are based on analyses of individuals’ career histories in the professional services... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Personal Development and Career; Strategy

26 Jul 2010
News

Leadership Tips from Tony Hayward (or Not)

08 Dec 2023
Video

Family Businesses in MENA: Setting the Gold Standard

November 1981
Case

Questionable Payments Abroad: Gulf in Italy

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Gulf Oil in Italy was confronted by the need to increase the authorized capacity at a refinery in the face of substantial opposition. Raises the issue of their use of "facilitating gratuities" to minor officials, payments to influence news reports, and the employment... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; Italy

January 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Arcadia Biosciences: Seeds of Change (Abridged)

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Arcadia Biosciences is seeking to introduce genetically modified rice to China that will lower farmers' costs and generate environmental benefits through reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The case describes challenges facing this small agricultural biotechnology... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Intellectual Property; Genetics; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; China

05 Jan 2021
Video

Antonio Celia

Antonio Celia, President of Colombia-based Promigas, describes the company’s diversification policy as they expanded beyond natural gas services. This included entering the fuel distribution business in the 1980s after purchasing Terpel from Ecopetrol and creating... View Details

December 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Brent Spar Incident, The: "A Shell of a Mess"

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Seeking to dispose of an outmoded oil drilling platform in the North Sea, Shell finds itself confronted by Greenpeace and other environmentalists. The protesters land 12 people onto the rig and initiate media coverage of their "occupation." The case follows the events... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Media; Social Issues; Mining Industry; United Kingdom

November 2008 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Transformation of COFCO in a Changing Environment

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Kefei Yang

China's COFCO, the country's leading edible oil and food importer and exporter and its largest food manufacturer, had in its 50-plus years of operation undergone four stages of transformation and was about to embark on a fifth. The global agriculture system was... View Details

Keywords: Food; Leadership; Change Management; Transformation; Globalization; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; China

February 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Dubai: Global Economy

By: Richard H. K. Vietor and Nicole Michele Forrest

This case, along with Saudi Arabia: “Modern Reform, Enduring Stability” (709-042), provides an opportunity to discuss Saudi Arabia's efforts to modernize, without really Westernizing, in sharp contrast to Dubai, a nearby Arab Emirate. As Saudi Arabia's development... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Non-Renewable Energy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government and Politics; Growth and Development Strategy; Saudi Arabia; Dubai; Middle East

September 2010 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Aspen Skiing Company (A)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Having begun improving the environmental performance of its own operations, Aspen Skiing Company is considering "greening" its supply chain and lobbying for greenhouse gas regulations. A world renowned ski resort vulnerable to global climate change, Aspen's activities... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Aspen

Research Summary

The Myth of the Resource Curse

The so-called "resource curse" hypothesis argues that plentiful natural resources distort political systems and lead countries to be worse off in the long run. While it is certainly possible to squander a mining or oil boom, however, there are few cases in... View Details

15 Jun 2016
News

Why Harvard Business School teaches students about whaling

August 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Calera Corporation

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Thomas J. Steenburgh and Lauren Barley

Brent Constantz, founder, CEO, and president of Calera Corporation, felt a surge of optimism as he gazed at the recently commissioned prototype flue gas processing line at Calera's R&D facility in Moss Landing, California. It was late May 2009, and Calera was an... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Product Design; Product Development; Environmental Sustainability; Commercialization; Green Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

2007
Chapter

Disrupting Gender, Revising Leadership

By: D. E. Meyerson, R. Ely and Laura Wernick

In this chapter, we present a case study of men on two off-shore oil platforms—a workplace that has traditionally rewarded men for their masculine displays of bravado and their interactions centered on proving masculinity—in which such displays and interactions were... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Safety; Leadership; Interpersonal Communication; Practice; Gender; Business Processes; Energy Industry

Robin Ely is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She conducts research on race and gender relations in organizations with a focus on leadership, identity, and organizational culture change.... View Details

June 2013
Teaching Plan

Fairstar Heavy Transport

By: Guhan Subramanian and Charlotte Krontiris

This case traces the efforts of Fairstar Heavy Transport, a heavy marine transportation company, to secure a contract associated with the development of the Greater Gorgon gas fields off the coast of Australia. It examines Fairstar's approach to a highly regimented... View Details

Keywords: Fairstar; Gorgon; Bidding; Bids and Bidding; Energy Sources; Shipping Industry; Australia