Publications

November 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Zespri Grows

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Controlling about a third of global kiwifruit exports by volume and nearly half by value in 2018, Zespri was a grower-owned “corporatized cooperative” with the exclusive right to export New Zealand-grown kiwifruit (except to Australia). Zespri did not grow fruit but... View Details

December 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

The case concerns the sale of Mãe Terra, one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods, to the consumer goods giant Unilever in 2017. Working with Unilever management, Mãe Terra’s CEO Alexandre Borges must determine whether and how to keep Mãe Terra's B... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America

August 2015 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Hoag Orthopedic Institute

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Jonathan Warsh

Two groups of orthopedic surgeons form a joint venture with a community hospital to establish Hoag Orthopedic Institute, a for-profit hospital and two ambulatory service centers. By controlling and integrating all aspects of the patients' medical treatment, the... View Details

Keywords: Outcomes Measurement; Bundled Payment; Health Care; Activity-based Costing And Management; Measurement and Metrics; Activity Based Costing and Management; Competitive Strategy; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Health Industry

October 2013
Case

Pearle Vision: Clearly Different?

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

Ohio-based optical retailer Pearle Vision, part of the vertically integrated Italian eyewear group Luxottica, sold glasses and offered in-store eye exams. Once the largest U.S. optical retailer, Pearle Vision, with 266 corporate stores and 356 franchised stores in... View Details

Keywords: Eye Care; Competitive Advantage; Market Participation; Retail Industry; Health Industry; United States

28 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

Earth Day Reflections

Below are the views that faculty shared with the HBS community on Earth Day. 1. Robert G. Eccles Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and author of One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy (This article, titled,... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

March 2011
Article

To Join or Not to Join: Examining Patent Pool Participation and Rent Sharing Rules

By: Josh Lerner and Anne Layne-Farrar

In recognition that participation in modern patent pools is voluntary, we present empirical evidence on participation rates and the factors that drive the decision to join a pool, including the profit sharing rules adopted by the pool's founders. In most participation... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Alliances; Vertical Integration; Standards

Read Now

Program

Leadership for Senior Executives

team Take innovation to the next level Create a context that encourages the development of both bottom-up and top-down ideas for improvement Integrate design-thinking principles into your innovation practices Evaluate whether your culture... View Details

December 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

OCP Group

By: Kristin Fabbe, Forest Reinhardt, Natalie Kindred and Alpana Thapar

This case explores the strategy of OCP Group, the 95% state-owned Moroccan firm charged with managing the North African country’s vast reserves of phosphate. Phosphate was one of the most vital macronutrients for plant health, along with nitrogen and potassium, and... View Details

Keywords: OCP; OCP Group; Casablanca; Chemicals; Operations; Transformation; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Chemical Industry; Morocco

25 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

How SHEIN and Temu Conquered Fast Fashion—and Forged a New Business Model

monitors manufacturer performance as closely as it monitors customer preferences. This tight integration likely helps SHEIN persuade factories that it is better to work exclusively with SHEIN than to leak SHEIN’s insights about hot... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Fashion; Retail; Consumer Products

Web

Value-Based Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Measure Outcomes & Cost for Every Patient Outcomes and cost are measured for every patient. Aligning Reimbursement with Value Reimbursement models that reward both better outcomes and efficiency of care, such as bundled payments. Systems View Details

Research Summary

Capital Flows and Capital Goods (joint with Eliza Hammel)

By: Laura Alfaro

We examine one of the channels through which financial integration can help promote growth. In particular, we study the effects of capital account liberalization on the imports of capital goods. We pay particular attention to the effects of equity market... View Details

September–October 2024
Article

Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?

By: John D. Macomber

A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an... View Details

Keywords: Succession Planning; Power Grid; Family Business; Management Succession; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Côte d'Ivoire

April 2024
Case

ChatGPT Enters the Voice Wars 2024

By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah von Bargen

OpenAI joined the Voice Wars in September 2023 when it launched its voice feature for ChatGPT. Initially only available to Pro subscribers, ChatGPT gave free access to all users two months later. It formed partnerships with a variety of companies, including carmakers,... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Partners and Partnerships; Lawsuits and Litigation; Technology Adoption; Market Entry and Exit; Technology Industry

2013
Case

Travelers Insurance: Focusing on Climate Change and Natural Catastrophe Risk

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

The dilemma Evan Blue faces stems from a report by sustainability advocacy group Ceres that calls on companies to take climate change into consideration in their risk models and develop response strategies. The fictional vice president of Traveler's Insurance is tasked... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Business Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Insurance Industry

2011
Other Unpublished Work

Pioneers in Finance: An Interview with Michael C. Jensen - Part 2

By: Michael C. Jensen and Ralph A. Walkling

This interview is Part 2 of a two-part series in which Professor Ralph Walkling, the Stratakis Chair in Corporate Governance and Executive Director of the Center for Corporate Governance at Drexel University, interviews Professor Michael C. Jensen, Jesse Isidor Straus... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Ethics; Research; Markets; Leadership

December 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Embrapa

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

Brazil's national agricultural research corporation, Embrapa, has developed an integrated crop and livestock production system that will allow farmers and ranchers to intensify production and improve profitability. Broad adoption of the technology would provide the... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Technology Adoption; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil

December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

A Wider Europe: The Challenge of EU Enlargement

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Kimberly A. Haddad

By 2002, the euphoria that accompanied the grandest achievement to date of Europe's 50-plus years of integration--full monetary union--was fading fast. European policy makers completed the historically unprecedented monetary integration of 12 countries, and then they... View Details

Keywords: History; Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Problems and Challenges; European Union; Europe