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- September 2011 (Revised September 2013)
- Case
The K-Dow Petrochemicals Joint Venture
By: Guhan Subramanian, James K. Sebenius, Phillip Andrews, Rhea Ghosh and Charlotte Krontiris
In 2007, the Dow Chemical Company and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced plans to launch a multibillion-dollar joint venture. Later known as K-Dow Petrochemicals, it would be one of the largest manufacturers of chemicals and plastics in the world. Analysts... View Details
- July 2011 (Revised April 2012)
- Case
The Clorox Company: Leveraging Green for Growth
By: Elie Ofek and Lauren Barley
The Clorox Company needs to decide on the marketing strategy going forward for its three sustainable brands, Brita, Burt's Bees and Green Works. These brands had fared differently over the past 3 years and each presents multiple courses of action heading into 2011.... View Details
- 9 May 2011 - 11 May 2011
- Conference Presentation
How Firms Respond to Mandatory Information Disclosure
By: Anil Doshi, Michael Toffel and Glen W. S. Dowell
When new institutional pressures arise, which organizations are particularly likely to resist or
acquiesce? When subjected to new information disclosure mandates, an increasingly popular form
of market-based government regulation, which types of organizations are... View Details
- February 2011 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
ALAC International
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
ALAC was a small importer of specialty industrial chemicals. The case explores the different financing alternatives to facilitate the company's explosive growth in working capital. At the end of 2009, the company was awarded the United States distributorship for the... View Details
- November 2010 (Revised May 2014)
- Case
Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas
By: Benjamin C. Esty and David Lane
This case analyzes Dow Chemical Company's proposed acquisition of Rohm and Haas in 2008. The $18.8 billion acquisition was part of Dow's strategic transformation from a slow-growth, low-margin, and cyclical producer of basic chemicals into a higher-growth,... View Details
- November 2010
- Supplement
Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas (CW)
By: Benjamin C. Esty
Spreadsheet Supplement for 211020. View Details
- August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
- Case
The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (A)
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton
The Rohm and Haas Board decided how to move forward after its largest shareholder chose to sell all of its shares in the company. View Details
- August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
- Supplement
The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (B)
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton
The Dow Board made a bid for Rohm and Haas Company in order to transition its portfolio away from commodity chemicals towards specialty chemicals. View Details
- August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
- Supplement
The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (C)
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton
The global economy entered a crippling recession in the fourth quarter of 2008 and Dow lost its primary source of funding for its planned acquisition of Rohm and Haas. View Details
- August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
- Supplement
The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (D)
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton
Dow's board and management team worked on arranging appropriate financing to complete the acquisition of Rohm and Haas. Meanwhile, the board of Rohm and Haas filed suit against Dow after it delayed the completion of the acquisition. View Details
- June 2010 (Revised February 2013)
- Background Note
The Precautionary Principle
By: Michael W. Toffel and Nazli Z. Uludere Aragon
This note describes the precautionary principle and its key tenets, highlights challenges associated with its use, and includes many examples of its application, primarily within the realm of regulating activities based on the risk of harm to human health and the... View Details
- May 2010 (Revised May 2013)
- Case
C.K. Claridge, Inc.
Sued for patent infringement, chemical manufacturer C.K. Claridge tries to design a settlement strategy taking into account a decision analysis of litigating v. negotiating. The plaintiffs are the patent holder and its sole licensee, who is also a CKC competitor. (This... View Details
- April 2010 (Revised November 2011)
- Case
Soren Chemical: Why Is the New Swimming Pool Product Sinking?
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sunru Yong
Topics include distribution channels, pricing, and new product marketing. Jen Moritz, the marketing manager for Soren Chemical Co. is struggling with the poor sales performance of Coracle, a new clarifier for residential swimming pools. The performance is puzzling... View Details
- February 2010
- Case
Amyris Biotechnologies: Commercializing Biofuel
By: Gary P. Pisano and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
In 2009, Amyris Biotechnologies was building a plant in Brazil that used synthetic biology to convert sugarcane into both renewable fuels and renewable chemicals. The Amyris' marketing team was investigating the commercial interest for both types of products, while the... View Details
- 2010
- Working Paper
Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights from Multiple Sectors
By: Rebecca Henderson and Richard G. Newell
A combination of concerns about climate change and energy security has recently led to significant increases in public funding for energy R&D. Some commentators are suggesting that these increases need to be sustained, and are advocating for increases of as much as... View Details
- Article
The Evolution of Science-Based Business: Innovating How We Innovate
By: Gary P. Pisano
Science has long been connected to innovation and to business. As early as the late 19th century, chemical companies, realizing the commercial potential of science, created the first industrial research laboratories. During much of the 20th century, large-scale... View Details
- 2010
- Chapter
The Paranoid Style in the Study of American Politics
By: David Moss and Mary Oey
What drives policy making in a democracy? The conventional view is that political actors, like economic actors, pursue their self interest, and that special interest groups dominate the policy making process by satisfying policy makers' need for money and other forms... View Details
Keywords: Policy; Government Legislation; Media; Interests; Power and Influence; Public Opinion; United States
- December 2009 (Revised April 2022)
- Case
Lyondell Chemical Company
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott
Hit with an industry recession and the global financial crisis of 2008, in January 2009 LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A., one of the world's largest internationally diversified chemical companies headquartered in The Netherlands, placed its U.S. operations and a... View Details
- December 2009 (Revised April 2012)
- Case
Neoprene
By: Tom Nicholas and Felipe Tamega Fernandes
In 1931, during one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history, Du Pont announced the discovery of an innovative rubber synthetic product—neoprene. Yet at the time of the announcement, Du Pont did not have any neoprene to sell. Manufacturing facilities were still... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Firsthand Experience and the Subsequent Role of Reflected Knowledge in Cultivating Trust in Global Collaboration
By: Mark Mortensen and T. B. Neeley
While scholars contend that firsthand experience—time spent onsite observing the people, places, and norms of a distant locale—is crucial in globally distributed collaboration, how such experience actually affects interpersonal dynamics is poorly understood. Based on... View Details