Publications

August 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Pivots and Incentives at LevelUp

By: Benjamin Edelman and Karen Webster

LevelUp's mobile payments service lets users scan a smartphone barcode rather than swipe a credit card. Will consumers embrace the service? Will merchants? LevelUp considers adjustments to make the service attractive to both consumers and merchants, while trying to... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Payments; Smartphone; Credit Cards; Interchange Fee; Mobile Marketing; Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Mobile Technology; Technology Networks; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

2025
Working Paper

Social Protection and Social Distancing During the Pandemic: Mobile Money Transfers in Ghana

By: Dean Karlan, Matt Lowe, Robert Osei, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Benjamin N. Roth and Christopher Udry

We randomized mobile money transfers to a sample of low-income Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Treated households received eight transfers that sum to roughly one month’s income, while control households only received one transfer. The mere announcement of... View Details

Keywords: Social Distancing; Social Welfare; Economic Relief; Health Pandemics; Poverty

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2018
Dictionary Entry

Communicating about Climate Change with Corporate Leaders and Stakeholders

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Within the corporate sector, climate change represents an unfolding market shift, one that is driven by policy but also by pressures from a variety of market constituents such as consumers, suppliers, buyers, insurance companies, banks, and others. The shift takes... View Details

Keywords: Adaptation; Climate Change; Transition; Innovation Strategy; Markets

October 2018
Case

Recipe for Success: Growth and Evolution at Cafe Cupcake

By: Anthony Mayo and Heather Beckham

Café Cupcake (CC) is a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers artisan cupcakes and light fare throughout the southeastern United States and Texas. This case chronicles the growth and evolution of Café Cupcake. It also considers the specific human resource challenges... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Human Resources; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

Web

Sample Student Projects - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Australia Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Cluster (2016) Saudi Arabia Chemicals Cluster (2016) Pennsylvania Natural Gas Cluster (2013) Abu Dhabi (UAE) Petrochemical Cluster (2012) Norway Oil and Gas Cluster... View Details

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Partnering and the Balanced Scorecard

theme in the internal perspective. (See Figure 2-2.) For example, Mobil, in its Balanced Scorecard, included measures on environmental and safety performance, stressing the importance of being a good employer View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

inside The future of the restaurant industry is especially of concern to us. We collectively share 35 years of restaurant and food industry experience, navigating our way through as waitstaff View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

June 2024 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light

By: Jill Avery and Celine Chammas

On April 1, 2023, social media content creator and influencer Dylan Mulvaney recorded a promotional post. It featured a video of herself drinking from a can of Bud Light beer, offering a virtual toast to her followers. Alongside the video, she posted a photograph of a... View Details

Keywords: Brand Crises; Brand Management; Influencer Marketing; Boycott; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Social Media; Advertising; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

1979
Book

Global Malnutrition and Cereal Fortification

By: James E. Austin

Keywords: Nutrition; Food

Find at Harvard

June 1996 (Revised May 1998)
Teaching Note

Negotiating the Right to Know: Rhone-Poulenc and Manchester, Texas (A-1), (A-2), and (B) TN

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Andrea L Strimling

Teaching Note for (9-895-062), (9-895-063), and (9-898-258). View Details

Keywords: Chemical Industry; United States

June 2008 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

Cook Composites and Polymers Co.

By: Deishin Lee and Michael W. Toffel

Teaching Note for [608055]. View Details

Keywords: Chemical Industry

03 Jun 2013
Research & Ideas

The Power of Rituals in Life, Death, and Business

food—including food as mundane as a carrot. Future experiments will delve into whether rituals affect productivity and morale in the workplace. A Sense Of Control Norton and... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

2017
Article

Refugees Misdirected: How Information, Misinformation and Rumors Shape Refugees’ Access to Fundamental Rights

By: Melissa Carlson, Laura Jakli and Katerina Linos

The global refugee regime represents one of the few generous commitments governments offer to outsiders. Indeed, few persons fleeing armed conflict actually claim international protection upon first arriving in Europe, even though the benefits of legal protection are... View Details

Keywords: Refugees; Knowledge Dissemination; Trust; Risk and Uncertainty; Rights; Europe

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Fast Answer

Sustainability in CPG and Retail

Background readings Consulting firm reports McKinsey: Direct Google search for the firm's reports on sustainability and packaging (e.g., Sustainability in packaging: Inside the Minds of US Consumers. October 2020). Working... View Details

28 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization

Keywords: by Nicholas Bloom, Luis Garicano, Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen; Technology

25 Apr 2022
News

Unicorns and Explosives: A Burning Ship Off Victoria’s Coast Hints at the Dangerous Secrets of Cargo Carriers

Web

Environmental Quality - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

environmental regulation on business by declaring that well designed regulation could actually enhance competitiveness. Since then, Professor Porter and the Institute have continued to explore how new government regulations, as well as... View Details

October 2023
Case

To Fizzle Out or Heat Up? PepsiCo and Coca-Cola’s SodaStream and Costa Coffee Acquisitions

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

U.S. beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola shared many similarities by August 2018—both were founded by pharmacists in the 1890s, grew to offer hundreds of drink brands, and championed rival flagship products that drove loyalists into taste-testing wars. That month,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Acquisition; Diversification; Expansion; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry