Publications

13 Dec 2016
First Look

December 13, 2016

to exert over the different segments of their production processes. We describe a property-rights model of firm boundary choices along the value chain that generalizes Antràs and Chor (2013). To assess the evidence, we construct... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

24 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 24

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2575912 Cases & Course Materials Harvard Business School Case 515-011 Muñoz Group: Sustaining Global Vertical Integration Through Innovation Muñoz Group, which supplied supermarket... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2024
Case

Fyffes International SA

By: David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin and Tonia Labruyère

Helge Sparsoe, CEO of Fyffes since 2020, had taken the tropical produce importer and distributor back to a path of stable level of profitability since he joined in 2020. He was now thinking about next steps for the business, which mainly traded in bananas. He was... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Change Management; Environmental Sustainability; Brands and Branding; Demand and Consumers; Supply Chain; Competition; Price; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland; United Kingdom; Republic of Ireland; Colombia; Guatemala; Costa Rica; Ecuador

May 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Camposol

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

With $289 million in 2015 revenues, Camposol is a Peruvian grower, exporter, and marketer of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the high-growth, high-margin blueberry category. Camposol aspires to become Peru’s first multinational branded produce company. It... View Details

21 May 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: From Trash to Treasure: Inside a Waste Management Site in Mumbai

across the city. They operate within urban centers and landfills to collect waste, sort out the plastic, and help\ aggregate them for larger materials processing facilities like HUL and Dalmia’s plant. This fragile ecosystem is supported by effective View Details

September 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

JOANN: Joannalytics Inventory Allocation Tool

By: Kris Ferreira and Srikanth Jagabathula

Michael Joyce, Vice President of Inventory Management at JOANN, championed an effort to develop and implement an inventory allocation analytics tool that used advanced analytics to predict in-season demand of seasonal items for each of JOANN’s nearly 900 stores and... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Machine Learning; Optimization; Inventory Management; Mathematical Methods; Decision Making; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Resource Allocation; Distribution; Technology Adoption; Applications and Software; Change Management; Fashion Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; United States; Ohio

22 Feb 2022
News

Q&A: The Post-Pandemic Path

one economic lesson from the crisis is that government support really works. Look at where we are today with inflation and supply chain problems—I’m not saying those are good things, but we certainly are not... View Details

Keywords: April White

15 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

Post-CrowdStrike, Six Questions to Test Your Company's Operational Resilience

over the software supply chain and application security, enabling them to mitigate risks associated with CI/CD. Are we prepared for an investigation to correct errors when things inevitably go wrong? People:... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and Anita Lynch

02 Mar 2015
News

To Market, To Market

building an agricultural and market infrastructure in places—like parts of Nepal, Romania, Haiti, and Guatemala—where little or none has previously existed. “The way we do this is through value-based development, where we engage farmers in wealth-creating value View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Agriculture; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

18 Jul 2018
Blog Post

Amira Rashad: An Ambidextrous Mind Meets Consumer Needs in the Middle East

focusing the consumer experience on the shopping list, "we know what the customer is going to buy 70 to 80 percent of the time," says Amira. That knowledge informs BulkWhiz's supply chain management, giving... View Details

June 2023
Supplement

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (D)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Scott Mayfield and Philipp Chvanov

Analyzes the company's decision on Project Cowboy following the events described in the C Case View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Growth Management; Demand and Consumers; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Value Creation; Supply and Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; North America

August 2024
Case

Quickmart: Sustaining Growth in a Challenging Economic Environment

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Kuria Kamau

In July 2023, Peter Kang’iri, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest retail chain, sat in his Nairobi office reviewing the company’s first half financial results before the weekly executive committee (EXCO) meeting. The company was in... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Supply Chain; Logistics; Business Strategy; Expansion; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Kenya; Nairobi

February 2008
Article

Where Do Transactions Come From? Modularity, Transactions, and the Boundaries of Firms

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

This article constructs a theory of the location of transactions and the boundaries of firms in a productive system. It proposes that systems of production can be viewed as networks, in which tasks-cum-agents are the nodes and transfers—of material, energy and... View Details

Keywords: Boundaries; Production; Market Transactions; Supply Chain; Management; Cost; Theory; Performance Productivity; Information Management; Complexity

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02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

not going to compete by building a car manufacturing supply chain, a telephony network or a big retail footprint. We are going to use that available infrastructure to our advantage. These startups are like fleas on the backs of dinosaurs... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Nov 2009
HBS Case

Customer Feedback Not on elBulli’s Menu

asks students to consider the operations and marketing of elBulli. There is much about the restaurant that is inefficient, as MBAs are quick to note: Adrià should lower his staff numbers, use cheaper ingredients, improve his supply chain,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

November 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Case

FreshTec: Revolutionizing Fresh Produce

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Ryan Johnson

Entrepreneurial produce packaging firm, which has developed a disruptive technology that keeps fresh produce and flowers fresh for significantly longer, faces strategic growth decisions. CEO Bob Wright must decide how best to bring his company's unique packaging... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Disruptive Innovation; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Supply Chain; Value Creation; Service Industry

November 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Red Tomato: Keeping It Local

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Mary Louise Shelman and Laura Winig

This case describes the operating model and history of Red Tomato, a non-profit organization dedicated to branding and logistical support for locally grown produce farmers in the northeast U.S. The case highlights the challenges involved in making locally grown produce... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Trends; Food; Local Range; Consumer Behavior; Logistics; Supply Chain; Nonprofit Organizations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Northeastern United States