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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(25,545)
- People (41)
- News (2,613)
- Research (20,077)
- Events (72)
- Multimedia (149)
- Faculty Publications (18,351)
- June 2023
- Case
Tractor Supply Co
By: David L. Ager and Michael A. Roberto
In February 2023, Hal Lawton, CEO of Tractor Supply Co, the largest farm and ranch retailer in the United States reflected on the company’s 70% growth between 2019 and 2022. Economists had begun to predict an economic downturn and experts were predicting softening... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Demand and Consumers; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry
Ager, David L., and Michael A. Roberto. "Tractor Supply Co." Harvard Business School Case 923-302, June 2023.
- 2017
- Working Paper
Intermediation in the Supply of Agricultural Products in Developing Economies
By: Kris J. Ferreira, Joel Goh and Ehsan Valavi
Problem Definition: Farmers face several challenges in agricultural supply chains in emerging economies that contribute to extreme levels of poverty. One common challenge is that farmers only have access to one channel, often an auction, for which to sell their crops.... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries; Agricultural Supply Chain; Intermediation; Multiple Cahnels; Walrasian Auction; Developing Countries and Economies; Supply Chain; Distribution Channels; Profit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry
Ferreira, Kris J., Joel Goh, and Ehsan Valavi. "Intermediation in the Supply of Agricultural Products in Developing Economies." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-033, October 2017.
- February 2009 (Revised December 2010)
- Case
Upgrading the Economy: Industrial Policy and Taiwan's Semiconductor Industry
By: Willy C. Shih and Jyun-Cheng Wang
The government-led creation and incubation of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan is a striking success for advocates of strong industrial policy. It has led to the island nation's domination of the global "foundry" business in which firms like Taiwan Semiconductor... View Details
Keywords: Economic Growth; Industry Structures; State Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Competition; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan
Shih, Willy C., and Jyun-Cheng Wang. "Upgrading the Economy: Industrial Policy and Taiwan's Semiconductor Industry." Harvard Business School Case 609-089, February 2009. (Revised December 2010.)
- Article
Industrial Ecology and Competitiveness
By: Daniel Esty and Michael E. Porter
In the emerging field of industrial ecology one of the unsettled questions is the degree to which design for the environment, closing energy and materials loops, and other industrial ecology concepts apply at the firm level. In this article we examine this issue with a... View Details
Keywords: Competition
Esty, Daniel, and Michael E. Porter. "Industrial Ecology and Competitiveness." Journal of Industrial Ecology 2, no. 1 (January 1998): 35–43.
- August 1, 2022
- Article
The Supply Chain, Explained
By: Willy C. Shih
Why have supply chains been such a mess? For starters, there are a lot more layers than you think. This article describes some common features of supply chains that help the reader to understand how things could have gone so far off track during the pandemic. View Details
Shih, Willy C. "The Supply Chain, Explained." Wall Street Journal (August 1, 2022). (Online Edition, July 22, 2022.)
- 2019
- Working Paper
Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Institutional Environments and Monitoring Program Design
By: Jodi L. Short, Michael W. Toffel and Andrea R. Hugill
Activism seeking to improve labor conditions in global supply chains has led transnational corporations to adopt codes of conduct and monitor suppliers for compliance, but it is unclear whether these formal organizational structures raise labor standards. Drawing on... View Details
Keywords: Monitoring; Supplier Relationship; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Sustainable Operations; Sustainable Supply Chains; NGO; Globalization; Corporate Accountability; Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Labor; Working Conditions; Business Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Safety; Risk and Uncertainty; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China; Indonesia; India; Bangladesh
Short, Jodi L., Michael W. Toffel, and Andrea R. Hugill. "Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Institutional Environments and Monitoring Program Design." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-001, July 2016. (Revised September 2019. Formerly titled "Code Contingencies: Designing Monitoring Regimes to Promote Improvement in Supply Chain Working Conditions" and "Beyond Symbolic Responses to Private Politics.")
- November 1999 (Revised November 2000)
- Background Note
Economic Liberalization and Industry Dynamics
Programs of economic liberalization often lead to dramatic changes in industry structure. This note presents excerpts from several research papers that summarize findings on how industries evolve following abrupt policy reforms. The note is organized into seven... View Details
Keywords: Industry Structures
Kennedy, Robert E. "Economic Liberalization and Industry Dynamics." Harvard Business School Background Note 700-075, November 1999. (Revised November 2000.)
- Article
Pricing and Production Flexibility: An Empirical Analysis of the U.S. Automotive Industry
By: Antonio Moreno and Christian Terwiesch
We use a detailed data set from the U.S. auto industry spanning from 2002 to 2009 and a variety of econometric methods to characterize the relationship between the availability of production mix flexibility and firms’ use of responsive pricing. We find that production... View Details
Keywords: Empirical Operations Management; Flexibility; Pricing; Automotive Industry; Production; Price; Management; Analysis; Auto Industry; United States
Moreno, Antonio, and Christian Terwiesch. "Pricing and Production Flexibility: An Empirical Analysis of the U.S. Automotive Industry." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 17, no. 4 (Fall 2015): 428–444.
- 18 Nov 2003
- Other Presentation
The U.S. Homebuilding Industry and The Competitive Position of Large Builders
Strategy presentation at the Centex Investor Conference, New York. Topics include: The structure of the homebuilding industry, the competitive advantages of large homebuilders, market assessment of homebuilding versus other industries and the role of investors in... View Details
Porter, Michael E. "The U.S. Homebuilding Industry and The Competitive Position of Large Builders." Centex Investor Conference, New York, NY, November 18, 2003.
- Research Summary
Evolution of firm structure in vertical specialized technology supply chains
By: Willy C. Shih
The global market in many everyday products has been transformed by the internationalization of production. In many industries, semiconductors and electronic products in particular, a sequential mode of production has evolved in which goods are produced... View Details
- February 2014
- Article
Learning by Supplying
By: Juan Alcacer and Joanne Oxley
Learning processes lie at the heart of our understanding of how firms build capabilities to generate and sustain competitive advantage: learning by doing, learning by exporting, learning from competitors, users, and alliance partners. In this paper we focus attention... View Details
Alcacer, Juan, and Joanne Oxley. "Learning by Supplying." Strategic Management Journal 35, no. 2 (February 2014): 204–223.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Markups and Cost Pass-through Along the Supply Chain
By: Santiago Alvarez-Blaser, Alberto Cavallo, Alexander MacKay and Paolo Mengano
We study markups and pricing strategies along the supply chain. Our unique dataset combines detailed price and cost information from a large global manufacturer with matched retail prices collected online for the period July 2018 through June 2023. We show that total... View Details
Alvarez-Blaser, Santiago, Alberto Cavallo, Alexander MacKay, and Paolo Mengano. "Markups and Cost Pass-through Along the Supply Chain." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-009, August 2024. (Revised February 2025.)
- Research Summary
Measuring and Managing Risk in the Supply Chain
Understanding risk factors associated with supply chain decisions and how to appropriately model and quantify those factors. View Details
- April 1989
- Case
Norton Auto Supply
Describes a multiechelon distribution system for the distribution of automobile spare parts. An analyst has been hired by the Norton Auto Supply Co. to improve the company's inventory planning and control techniques. Includes demand, cost, weight, and supplier lead... View Details
Keywords: Business or Company Management; Operations; Distribution Channels; Management Practices and Processes; Management; Strategy; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry
Hammond, Janice H. "Norton Auto Supply." Harvard Business School Case 689-084, April 1989.
- 2012
- Working Paper
Learning by Supplying
By: Juan Alcacer and Joanne Oxley
Learning processes lie at the heart of our understanding of how firms build capabilities to generate and sustain competitive advantage: learning by doing, learning by exporting, learning from competitors, users, and alliance partners. In this paper we focus attention... View Details
Keywords: Learning; Supply Chain; Competitive Advantage; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Competency and Skills; Relationships; Telecommunications Industry
Alcacer, Juan, and Joanne Oxley. "Learning by Supplying." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12-093, April 2012.
- June 2016
- Supplement
Supply Chain Finance at Procter & Gamble Spreadsheet Supplement
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Scott Mayfield and David Lane
In April 2013, Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s largest consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, announced that it would extend its payment terms to suppliers by 30 days. At the same time, P&G announced a new supply chain financing (SCF) program giving suppliers the... View Details
Keywords: Working Capital; Supply Chain Finance; Corporate Treasury; Consumer Packaged Goods; Value Creation; Supply Chain; Supplier Relationships; Banking; Liquidity; Accounts Payable; Accrual Accounting; Financial Reporting; Cash Flow; Cost Management; Banks and Banking; Financial Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Supply Chain Management; United States; Brazil
- 25 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
India’s Food Supply Chain During the Pandemic
Markups and Cost Passthrough Along the Supply Chain
We study markups and pricing strategies along the supply chain. Our unique dataset combines detailed price and cost information from a large global manufacturer with matched retail prices collected online for the period July 2018 through June 2023. We show that... View Details
- December 2016
- Article
Industry Window Dressing
By: Huaizhi Chen, Lauren Cohen and Dong Lou
We explore a new mechanism by which investors take correlated shortcuts and present evidence that managers undertake actions—in the form of sales management—to take advantage of these shortcuts. Specifically, we exploit a regulatory provision wherein a firm’s primary... View Details
Keywords: Investor Shortcuts; Industry Classification; Opportunistic Managerial Behavior; Discontinuity; Management Practices and Processes; Investment; Sales
Chen, Huaizhi, Lauren Cohen, and Dong Lou. "Industry Window Dressing." Review of Financial Studies 29, no. 12 (December 2016): 3354–3393.