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- All HBS Web (351)
- Faculty Publications (120)
- Forthcoming
- Article
Deep Responsibility, SDGs, and Asia: A Historical Perspective
By: Geoffrey Jones
Although it was only in 2015 the 17 SDGs were adopted by UN Member States, many of the underlying ideas can be found in the strategies of some businesses going back to the nineteenth century. Asia was the home of many of the most advanced concepts of business... View Details
Keywords: ESG; Multinational Corporation; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Governance; Leadership; Asia
Jones, Geoffrey. "Deep Responsibility, SDGs, and Asia: A Historical Perspective." Asian Business & Management (forthcoming). (Pre-published online February 7, 2025.)
- 2017
- Working Paper
International Business and Emerging Markets: A Long-Run Perspective
By: Geoffrey Jones
This working paper explores long-run patterns in the strategies of international business in developing countries. There was a massive wave of Western multinational investment in the developing world during the first wave of globalization before the 1920s. The... View Details
Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; History; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges
Jones, Geoffrey. "International Business and Emerging Markets: A Long-Run Perspective." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-020, September 2017.
- July 2010 (Revised September 2023)
- Case
Werner von Siemens and the Electric Telegraph
By: Geoffrey Jones and Bjoern von Siemens
This case describes the nineteenth century founding by Werner Siemens of the Siemens electrical business in Germany. Werner's dual role as inventor and entrepreneur is explored as he created one of the world's first multinational enterprises, whose growth initially... View Details
Keywords: Business Organization; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Growth and Development Strategy; Electronics Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Germany
Jones, Geoffrey, and Bjoern von Siemens. "Werner von Siemens and the Electric Telegraph." Harvard Business School Case 811-004, July 2010. (Revised September 2023.)
- 2016
- Working Paper
Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica
By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora
Between the 1970s and the 2000s, Costa Rica became established as the world’s leading ecotourism destination. This working paper suggests that although Costa Rica benefited from biodiversity and a pleasant climate, the country’s preeminence in ecotourism requires more... View Details
Keywords: Tourism; Latin America; Business History; Sustainable Strategy; Sustainability; Nonprofit; Entrepreneurs; Environment; Entrepreneurship; History; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Industry; Costa Rica
Jones, Geoffrey, and Andrew Spadafora. "Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-136, June 2016.
- 2025
- Chapter
Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America
By: Geoffrey Jones
This chapter argues that since the nineteenth century capitalism has created much wealth, but at the cost of massive ecological destruction, which has been particularly severe in Latin America. During the first global economy before 1929, considerable wealth was... View Details
Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business History; Globalization; Economic Growth; Latin America
Jones, Geoffrey. "Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America." Chap. 8 in A Business History of Latin America, edited by Andrea Lluch, Martin Monsalve Zanatti, and Marcelo Bucheli, 159–174. New York, NY, United States: Routledge, 2025.
- 2019
- Chapter
The Great Divergence and the Great Convergence
By: Geoffrey Jones
This chapter provides a new lens to the extensive debate among economists and economic historians concerning why the West grew rich and the rest of the world lagged behind as modern industrialization took hold in the 19th century. The literature has focused heavily on... View Details
Keywords: Globalization; Growth and Development; History; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America; Oceania
Jones, Geoffrey. "The Great Divergence and the Great Convergence." Chap. 37 in The Routledge Companion to the Makers of Global Business, edited by Teresa da Silva Lopes, Christina Lubinski, and Heidi J.S. Tworek, 578–592. New York: Routledge, 2019.
- May 2005 (Revised October 2022)
- Case
The Octopus and the Generals: The United Fruit Company in Guatemala
By: Geoffrey Jones and Marcelo Bucheli
Examines the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954 in a U.S.-backed coup in support of the United Fruit Co. Over the previous half century, United Fruit had built a large vertically integrated tropical fruit business that owned large banana... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Multinational Firms and Management; Policy; International Relations; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Central America; Guatemala; United States
Jones, Geoffrey, and Marcelo Bucheli. "The Octopus and the Generals: The United Fruit Company in Guatemala." Harvard Business School Case 805-146, May 2005. (Revised October 2022.)
- June 2024
- Article
Oral History and Business History in Emerging Markets
By: Geoffrey Jones
This article describes the motivation, structure and use of the Creating Emerging Markets (CEM) oral history-based project at the Harvard Business School. The project consists of lengthy interviews with business leaders from emerging markets. By June 2024 183... View Details
Jones, Geoffrey. "Oral History and Business History in Emerging Markets." Investigaciones de historia económica 20, no. 2 (June 2024): 1–4.
- August 2007 (Revised October 2022)
- Case
Ken Durham and Unilever as a 'Multi-Local Multinational'
By: Geoffrey Jones and Stephanie Decker
Explores the opportunities and threats to Unilever's global business in 1978 based on the commercial and political challenges faced by three of its subsidiaries, Lever Brothers in the United States, Hindustan Lever in India, and United Africa Company in West Africa.... View Details
Keywords: Business Divisions; Local Range; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Style; Competitive Strategy; Africa; India; United States
Jones, Geoffrey, and Stephanie Decker. "Ken Durham and Unilever as a 'Multi-Local Multinational'." Harvard Business School Case 808-025, August 2007. (Revised October 2022.)
- July 2019 (Revised November 2022)
- Case
Momofuku Ando and the Globalization of Noodles
By: Geoffrey Jones and Megumi Takada
This case examines the entrepreneurial career of Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-born Japanese entrepreneur who pioneered instant boodles with his Chicken Ramen (1958) and Cup Noodle (1971) products. It begins by reviewing his many previous unsuccessful ventures,... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Failure; Success; Globalization; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan
Jones, Geoffrey, and Megumi Takada. "Momofuku Ando and the Globalization of Noodles." Harvard Business School Case 320-006, July 2019. (Revised November 2022.)
- Spring 2017
- Article
Globalizing Latin American Beauty
By: Geoffrey Jones
This article discusses the growth over time of the beauty industry in Latin America and its bias towards celebrating whiter rather than darker skin. Although alleged Latin American fascination with beauty is regularly ascribed to culture, Latin sensuousness, and... View Details
Keywords: Latin America; Race And Ethnicity; Globalization; Race; Ethnicity; Prejudice and Bias; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Latin America
Jones, Geoffrey. "Globalizing Latin American Beauty." ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America 16, no. 3 (Spring 2017): 10–14.
- 2024
- Working Paper
Private Regulation, Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change: A Business History Perspective
By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones
Private regulatory systems, including voluntary efforts by firms to restrain their own behavior are the primary form of global climate change governance. However, when environmental challenges first rose up on the scientific and political agendas during the 1970s, the... View Details
Keywords: Certification; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Business History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy
Bergquist, Ann-Kristin, and Geoffrey Jones. "Private Regulation, Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change: A Business History Perspective." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-041, January 2024.
- June 2018 (Revised July 2023)
- Case
John Chambers, Cisco, and China: Upgrading a Golden Shield
By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean
This case examines the role of Cisco led by John Chambers in facilitating web filtering in China. It begins by tracing the origins of Cisco as a pioneer of networking equipment. John Chambers, who had worked as a sales manager at IBM and Wang Laboratories, joined Cisco... View Details
Keywords: Cisco; Internet and the Web; Governance Controls; Ethics; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Technology Industry; China
Jones, Geoffrey, and Emily Grandjean. "John Chambers, Cisco, and China: Upgrading a Golden Shield." Harvard Business School Case 318-158, June 2018. (Revised July 2023.)
- 2019
- Chapter
International Business and Emerging Markets in Historical Perspective
By: Geoffrey Jones
This chapter examines international business in emerging markets over the long run. It shows how the strategies of Western multinationals evolved over time. In the first era of globalization in the 19th century, Western firms sought access to resources, and they faced... View Details
Jones, Geoffrey. "International Business and Emerging Markets in Historical Perspective." Chap. 3 in The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets, edited by Robert Grosse and Klaus E. Meyer, 55–76. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2019.
- 2010
- Working Paper
Multinational Strategies and Developing Countries in Historical Perspective
By: Geoffrey Jones
This working paper offers a longitudinal and descriptive analysis of the strategies of multinationals from developed countries in developing countries. The central argument is that strategies were shaped by the trade-off between opportunity and risk. Three broad... View Details
Keywords: History; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations
Jones, Geoffrey. "Multinational Strategies and Developing Countries in Historical Perspective." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 10-076, March 2010.
- November 2003 (Revised May 2016)
- Case
Weetman Pearson and the Mexican Oil Industry (A)
By: Geoffrey Jones and Lisa Bud-Freirman
Taught in the MBA Evolution of Global Business course, a business history course on the growth of multinationals. Explores the role of the British entrepreneur Weetman Pearson in developing the Mexican oil industry before 1914. Shows this entrepreneur's evolution from... View Details
Keywords: History; Risk and Uncertainty; Non-Renewable Energy; Growth Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Energy Industry; Mexico
Jones, Geoffrey, and Lisa Bud-Freirman. "Weetman Pearson and the Mexican Oil Industry (A)." Harvard Business School Case 804-085, November 2003. (Revised May 2016.)
- 2017
- Book
Profits and Sustainability: A History of Green Entrepreneurship
By: Geoffrey Jones
This book explores whether profits and environmental sustainability are compatible through the lens of a global history of green entrepreneurship between the nineteenth century and today. It tells the story of the extraordinary and often eccentric men and women who... View Details
Keywords: Environmental Entrepreneurship; Green Business; Sustainability; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Business History; Religion; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Banking Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Alternative Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Green Technology Industry; Tourism Industry; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America; Oceania
Jones, Geoffrey. Profits and Sustainability: A History of Green Entrepreneurship. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
- 17 Feb 2017
- News
Businesses must speak up against flawed policies
- 07 Nov 2017
- First Look
New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017
Fall 2017 Business History Review The Alternative Business History: Business in Emerging Markets By: Austin, Gareth, Carlos Davila, and Geoffrey Jones Abstract—This article... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel