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- Faculty Publications (127)
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- All HBS Web (339)
- Faculty Publications (127)
- 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.)
- February 2025
- 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 24, no. 1 (February 2025): 25–32.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.)
- 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.
- 2017
- Working Paper
Creating the Market for Organic Wine: Sulfites, Certification, and Green Values
By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean
This working paper examines the history of organic wine, which provides a case study of failed category creation. The modern organic wine industry emerged during the 1970s in the United States and Western Europe, but it struggled to gain traction compared to other... View Details
Keywords: Product Launch; Failure; Problems and Challenges; Complexity; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry
Jones, Geoffrey, and Emily Grandjean. "Creating the Market for Organic Wine: Sulfites, Certification, and Green Values." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-048, December 2017.
- March 2020
- Case
A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue
By: John Macomber, Joseph G. Allen and Emily Jones
Healthy buildings and superior air quality are increasingly important since people now spend so much time indoors. Indoor spaces drive performance and productivity. Commercial real estate landlords and investors are responding to the demands of sophisticated tenants... View Details
Keywords: Health And Wellness; Real Estate; Sustainability; Health; Pollution; Buildings and Facilities; Performance Productivity; Finance; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)
Macomber, John, Joseph G. Allen, and Emily Jones. "A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue." Harvard Business School Case 220-065, March 2020.
- Person Page
Reviews for Beauty Imagined
“This illuminating account of the history of the beauty business, as well as its current challenges in the face of globalization, offers unique insights on the drivers of success and failure in an industry in which branding and marketing are at the heart of... View Details
- 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.
- 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.)
- 01 Jun 2023
- News
Alumni and Faculty Books
leadership intelligence essentials. Faculty Books Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership By Geoffrey Jones, the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, View Details
- 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.
- 17 Feb 2017
- News
Businesses must speak up against flawed policies
- 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.
- 23 Jan 2008
- First Look
First Look: January 23, 2008
answers to secure donations. Blonde and Blue-eyed? Globalizing Beauty, c.1945-c.1980 Author:Geoffrey Jones Periodical:Economic History Review 61, no. 1 (February 2008) Abstract This article examines the... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- 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.)